Article title states that it is the largest field for the Olympic marathon trials ever but does not say anywhere in the article about lowering the standard and thus allowing more individuals able to compete. Was lowering the standard just to make more publicity for the U.S. and to make USATF brag about their soft standard?
http://www.usatf.org/News/2016-U-S--Olympic-Team-Trials---Marathon-Draws-Lar.aspx