2024 Olympic Marathon Trials: Conner Mantz & Clayton Young Go 1-2 as Fiona O’Keeffe Wins in Debut
Leonard Korir, Emily Sisson, & Dakotah Lindwurm round out Team USA for Paris
By Jonathan Gault
ORLANDO, Fla. – On a sun-splashed morning in Florida, Conner Mantz and Fiona O’Keeffe emerged as champions at the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials to earn the first spots on Team USA for the track & field competition at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Zach Panning of Hansons-Brooks Distance Project made the race on the men’s side, taking the lead during mile 6 and gradually stringing out the field. As late as 22 miles, Panning, who had broken away with Mantz and Clayton Young, was on pace to hit the 2:08:10 Olympic standard, and he would hold the lead until 23 before fading dramatically to 6th in 2:10:50.
As Panning faded, training partners Mantz and Young broke away and would go 1-2 in 2:09:05 and 2:09:06. Third place would remain a battle until the very end. Elkanah Kibet passed Panning shortly after 25 miles but Leonard Korir, who was 4th at the 2020 Trials and 18 seconds behind 3rd at 25 miles, ran down Panning and Kibet in the final mile to take 3rd in 2:09:57.
The US currently only has two guaranteed spots at the 2024 Olympic marathon in Paris. Those will go to Mantz and Young, the men who unlocked those spots by running under 2:08:10 in Chicago in October. Korir will likely join them in Paris as the US is likely to earn a third spot via world rankings. But Korir will have to wait until May 5 for that to be assured.
Galen Rupp, who was seeking a record-tying fifth Olympic team, fell off the lead pack during mile 17 and finished 16th in 2:14:07.
In the women’s race, O’Keeffe, making her marathon debut, took the lead at 14 miles and opened a gap on the chase pack during mile 19. She would stretch that gap to 31 seconds by the finish as she won in 2:22:10. American record holder Emily Sisson took second in 2:22:42 while Dakotah Lindwurm of Minnesota Distance Elite was a surprising third in 2:25:31. Unlike the men, the women will not have to wait to confirm their spots in Paris: he top all ran under the 2:26:50 Olympic standard.
Jessica McClain (nee Tonn), who had never run faster than 2:29 in her previous two marathons, was 4th in 2:25:46, with Sara Hall 5th in 2:26:06. Pre-race favorites Betsy Saina and Keira D’Amato both dropped out of the race.
Top 10 Men’s Results
1. Conner Mantz 2:09:05
2. Clayton Young 2:09:06
3. Leonard Korir 2:09:57
4. Elkanah Kibet 2:10:02
5. C.J. Albertson 2:10:07
6. Zach Panning 2:10:50
7. Nathan Martin 2:11:00
8. Josh Izewski 2:11:09
9. Reed Fischer 2:11:34
10. Collin Bennie 2:12:17
Top 10 Women’s Results
1. Fiona O’Keeffe 2:22:10
2. Emily Sisson 2:22:42
3. Dakotah Lindwurm 2:25:31
4. Jessica McClain 2:25:46
5. Sara Hall 2:26:06
6. Caroline Rotich 2:26:10
7. Makenna Myler – 2:26:14
8. Lindsay Flanagan 2:26:25
9. Emily Durgin 2:27:56
10. Annie Frisbie 2:27:56
This is a flash recap. Check back later on LetsRun.com for a full recap and analysis. You can view all of our post-race interviews with the top finishers here.
