Team USA will now have a full representation of three athletes in the men’s marathon at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
World Athletics announced the addition of one universality place and four ranking places to the Olympic marathon field on Tuesday, following months of controversy and uncertainty.
The exact reason behind the addition of these four ranking places remains unclear.
However, the announcement comes after pushback from athletes, coaches, and fans who did not appreciate World Athletics’ eleventh-hour changes to the qualification process. Additionally, Korir and his coach were set to involve U.S. Army lawyers to help his case and take back his Olympic spot.
This update means Leonard Korir will be joining fellow Americans Conner Mantz and Clayton Young on the starting line on August 10.
Initially, Korir’s chances of getting a spot were not looking good after World Athletics introduced 11 universality places on May 8. However, the latest update to the Road to Paris list now shows American CJ Albertson qualified in spot #84.
According to USATF selection procedures, Albertson’s spot will be transferred to Korir, who secured third place at the US Olympic Marathon Trials in February. Scott Simmons, Korir’s coach, confirmed to LetsRun.com that Korir is now set to compete in the Olympic marathon.
The other ranking spots were awarded to athletes from Chile, South Africa, and Australia. Australia’s Wide World of Sports highlighted that World Athletics had been working to accommodate highly-ranked athletes within the International Olympic Committee’s sports quota limits.
I STILL don’t understand!!!!!!