The 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials is the race where we find out which American will punch their ticket to Paris. With a relatively straightforward women’s race, the men’s race will be anything but, with only two of three guaranteed quota spots earned so far.
In this article, we’ll highlight four men and four women to keep your eyes on when watching the Olympic Trials.
Key athletes to watch At The Olympic Trials
sara Hall
ASICS
Age: 40
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2022 World Athletics Championships Marathon (Eugene, OR)
Highlights:
Fourth All-Time American Marathon (2:20:32, The Marathon Project, 2020)
5th, 2022 World Athletics Championships – Marathon
🥈 2022 Houston Half-Marathon
What To Watch For:
Sara Hall always seems to be on the cusp of greatness, only for something to go awry. She’s briefly held the American record in both the half and marathon, only to lose it in short order, and never regain it. She’s run a number of Marathon Majors in quality times, finishing in the top 10. She had a fantastic 2022, placing fifth at Worlds in the marathon, and running 2:22 in Tokyo. She was slated the Houston Half Marathon in preparation to run the Olympic Trials on Saturday, however, pulled out at the last minute due to an injury.
Scott Fauble
Nike
Age: 32
World Athletics Profile
Qualifying Race: 2022 Boston Marathon
Highlights:
Top American in the last three Boston Marathons, 7th overall each time. (2019, 2:09:09; 2022, 2:08:52; 2003, 2:09:44)
36th, 2017 World Athletics Cross Country Championships
4th, 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (10,000m)
What To Watch For:
Scott Fauble has always been a consistent competitor among the Americans. With a marathon personal best of 2:08:52 achieved at the 2022 Boston Marathon, Fauble has stood out as the top American finisher in the last three Boston Marathons, securing 7th place each time. Despite entering the 2019 Boston Marathon with the second-slowest seed time in the elite field, Fauble finished 7th overall. Fauble documented his training journey to the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon in the book “Inside a Marathon,” co-authored with his then-coach Ben Rosario.
Emily Sisson
New Balance
Age: 32
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Highlights:
American Marathon Record Holder (2:18:29)
Second All-Time American Half Marathon (1:06:52, Houston 2023)
2020 Olympics 10,000m – 10th (31:09.58)
What To Watch For:
Emily Sisson comes into the US Olympic Marathon Trials as a major favorite in the women’s field. She currently holds the American record in the marathon with a time of 2:18:29 set at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in 2022. She also secured a 10th-place finish in the 10,000m at the 2020 Olympics. In the half marathon, Sisson holds the second all-time fastest mark by an American woman, clocking 1:06:52 at the Houston Half Marathon in 2023. She has also excelled in various distances, winning eight USATF Championships from 5K to the half marathon. Additionally, Sisson achieved notable performances in the World Athletics Championships, finishing 9th in 2017 and 10th in 2019 in the 10,000m event.
Conner Mantz
Nike
Age: 27
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2023 Bank of American Chicago Marathon
Highlights:
2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon – 6th, 1st American
🥇 2022 USATF 20km Champion
🥇 2021 USATF Half Marathon Champion
🥇 2x NCAA Cross-Country Champion
What To Watch For:
Conner Mantz, who turned professional in December 2021, comes in as one of the favorites to make the Olympic Team after he quickly made an impact in professional distance running. In 2023, he achieved notable success at the Chicago Marathon, securing a sixth-place overall finish and the top American spot with a time of 2:07:47, meeting the qualifying standard for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Earlier that year, Mantz raced the Boston Marathon, finishing as the third American (11th overall) in 2:10:25. His marathon debut occurred at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, where he finished seventh overall with a time of 2:08:16, the second-fastest debut by an American. Before transitioning to marathons, Mantz took fifth place at the 2022 United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon with a time of 1:01:40 and won the USA Half Marathon Championships in Hardeeville, South Carolina, with an impressive time of 1:00:55.
Kiera D’Amato
Nike
Age: 39
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2022 Chevron Houston Marathon
Highlights:
American Record-holder in the half marathon (66:39)
Former American Record-holder in the marathon (2:19:12)
World Best time for women-only 10 Mile (51:23)
What To Watch For:
Kiera D’Amato made a return to competitive running in 2016, where she transitioned to marathon racing, steadily improving her times. In January 2022, at the Houston Marathon, D’Amato made history by setting the American women’s marathon record with a time of 2:19:12. Impressively, with only two weeks’ notice, she represented the United States at the 2022 World Athletics Championships, finishing eighth in the marathon with a time of 2:23:34 in a historic showing where all three American women secured Top 8 positions. D’Amato also holds three USATF National Titles: the 2021 Women’s Half Marathon title (1:07:55), the 2022 Women’s 6K title with a course record of 17:52 in Canton, Ohio, and the 2022 Women’s 20k title with a course record of 1:04:29 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Clayton Young
ASICS
Age: 30
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Highlights:
🥇 4-time USATF Champion (8K, 10K, 15K and 20K)
🥇 2019 NCAA Champion, 10,000m
7th-fastest U.S. marathoner all-time
8-time NCAA All-American
What To Watch For:
Clayton Young’s standout performance in 2023 was at the Chicago Marathon when he secured a seventh-place finish overall and claimed the second spot among Americans with an impressive time of 2:08:00, meeting the Olympic A standard for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Prior to this, he clinched national titles in the 8km and 20 km US Road Running Championships in the same year. In 2022, Young finished 18th at the Chicago Marathon, ranking as the fifth American finisher with a time of 2:11:51. His collegiate accomplishments include winning the 10,000 meters at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Betsy Saina
ASICS
Age: 35
Qualification Time: 2:21:40
Qualification Race: 2023 Tokyo Marathon
🥇 2023 USATF 25 km
🥇 2018 Paris Marathon
🥇 2023 Sydney Marathon
5th, 2016 Olympics, 10,000m
What To Watch For:
Betsy Saina, the Kenyan-born long-distance runner who now competes for the United States, has carved a notable career in athletics. With a marathon personal best of 2:21:40 achieved in Tokyo, Japan, in 2023, Saina has been successful in both the full and half marathon distances. Her accomplishments include world-leading marks in the 5,000 meters and notable performances in road races, such as victories in the New Balance Falmouth Road Race and the Tilburg 10k in the Netherlands. Saina’s versatility extends to track events, with an 8th-place finish in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Games. Known for her consistency, Saina continues to be a formidable presence in the American distance running scene and will be one to watch during the Trials.
Galen Rupp
Nike
Age: 37
World Athletics Profile
Qualification Race: 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon
Highlights:
🥉 2016 Olympics – marathon
🥈 2012 Olympics – 10,000m
🥇 2017 Boston Marathon
🥇 2017 Chicago Marathon
🥈 2021 Chicago Marathon
What To Watch For:
The last time Galen Rupp ran an Olympic Marathon Trials, he won. He’s coming into the 2024 Trials at the back end of his career, hoping to make his fifth Olympic Games. Rupp has been a big name in the American distance scene for years now, and rightfully so. Among a laundry list of accomplishments are two Olympic medals, silver from the 2012 London Olympics (10,000m) and bronze from the 2016 Rio Olympics (Marathon). Rupp is going to be going for a podium spot in Orlando, but will really be hoping to take one of the top two spots, so that he doesn’t have to rely on Team USA getting that third spot on the start line in Paris (which they don’t currently have).
