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Utah duo no surprise; Fiona O’Keeffe shocks the world with fantastic debut

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by Clay Shaw
Photography by Karen Mitchell

The big surprise of the day was Fiona O’Keeffe winning her debut marathon at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in a record 2:22:16. Fiona was the third seed of the twelve women who qualified through the half-marathon, and she was in the front group with a large pack of more experienced marathoners. Fiona and Dakotah Lindwurm were highly visible in their orange Puma kits. Fiona took over the lead on the final lap, where I saw her at mile 19. Behind her was Emily Sisson the current USA marathon holder, Betsy Saina, and Sara Hall. Lindwurm was in sixth.

O’Keeffe kept it up, running strong throughout the final lap.  She finished 1st, setting a new USA women’s Olympic Marathon Trials record, earning a spot on the USA 2024 Paris Olympic Team. Emily Sisson soon dropped her challengers and ran alone, finishing in 2:22:42, 32 seconds behind O’Keeffe. Nearly three minutes went by, when Dakotah Lindwurm with her constant smile, charged home to take third in 2:25:31. Jessica (Tonn) McClain ran strong to earn a personal best of 2:25:46, passing several runners on the final 8-mile loop. Sara Hall, now 40, ran 2:26:06 to place fifth, setting a new USA master’s marathon record.

It was no surprise that the top two men on the current USA qualifying list would place one and two. Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, both of Utah, are training partners and coached by former Olympian Ed Eyestone. Mantz won in 2:09:05. Young was one second back in 2:09:06. Zach Panning of the Hanson-Brooks Distance Project team was running boldly and strong, and had broken away from everyone but the Utah duo. Pannin, who led the USA marathon team with a strong showing in the 2023 Budapest World Championships, would struggle on the final lap and end up sixth in 2:10:50. Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs, CO who was fourth in Atlanta, used every once of strength to pass Elkanah Kibet on the final 800 meters of the race. Korir was third in 2:09:57. Elkanah Kibet was fourth in 2:10:02, and set a new USA masters record in the process, as Kibet is now 40-years-old. CJ Albertson of Fresno was fifth in 2:10:07 and was coming on strong in the final stretch.

We will go into more detail with photos and results in the next few days.

Top 10 Women

  1. 2:22:10 Fiona O’Keeffe, 25, Chapel Hill, NC
  2. 2:22:42 Emily Sisson, 32, Flagstaff, AZ
  3. 2:25:31 Dakotah Lindwurm, 28, Hopkins, MN
  4. 2:25:46 Jessica McClain, 31, Phoenix, AZ
  5. 2:26:06 Sara Hall, 40, Flagstaff, AZ
  6. 2:26:10 Caroline Rotich, 39, Colorado Springs, CO
  7. 2:26:14 Makenna Myler, Flagstaff, AZ
  8. 2:26:25 Lindsay Flanagan, 33, Superior, CO
  9. 2:27:56 Emily Durgin, 29, Flagstaff, AZ
  10. 2:27:56 Annie Frisbie, 27, Edina, MN

Top 10 Men

  1. 2:09:05 Conner Mantz, 27, Provo, UT
  2. 2:09:06 Clayton Young, 30, Springville, UT
  3. 2:09:57 Leonard Korir, 37, Colorado Springs, CO
  4. 2:10:02 Elkanah Kibet, 40, Colorado Springs, CO
  5. 2:10:07 CJ Albertson, 30, Fresno, CA
  6. 2:10:50 Zach Panning, 28, Lake Orion, MI
  7. 2:11:00 Nathan Martin, 34, Jackson, MI
  8. 2:11:09 Josh Izewski, 33, Blowing Rock, NC
  9. 2:11:31 Reed Fischer, 28, Boulder, CO
  10. 2:12:17 Colin Bennie, 28, San Francisco, CA
Conner Mantz and Clayton Young, both of Utah, practically finish together, as Mantz wins in 2:09:05 and Young in 2:09:06.
Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs gave his all to take third place in 2:09:57 in the USA Olympic Marathon Trials. Check out the guy in the Yankees cap on the left.
Emily Sisson, Fiona O’Keeffe, and Dakotah Lindwurm are the 2024 USA Olympic Marathon team.
Top three men at the USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, FL. From left: Conner Mantz of Provo, UT (2:09:05), Clayton Young of Springville, UT (2:09:06), and Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs, CO (2:09:57). (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Top three woman at USA Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, FL. From left: Fionna O’Keeffe of Chapel Hill, NC (2:22:10), Emily Sisson of Flagstaff, AZ (2:22:42), and Dakotah Lindwurm of Hopkins, MN (2:25:31). (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Fiona O’Keeffe of Chapel Hill won her very first marathon in 2:22:10 and set a new USA Olympic Trials Marathon record. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Emily Sisson of Flagstaff, AZ, the USA Marathon record holder, was second in 2:22:42. She is thrilled to represent the USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Dakotah Lindwurm was pleased to make the USA Olympic team after having a share of the lead, falling back to sixth, and coming on strong in the later miles to take third.
Conner Mantz of Provo, UT was the winner of the 2024 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:09:05. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Clayton Young of Springville, UT, is a long-time training partner of Conner Mantz and a BYU teammate. Young was so proud to have the American flag, and couldn’t stop smiling during the press conference. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
Leonard Korir of Colorado Springs, CO was devasted to place fourth in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta 2020. He willed his way to the finish line to get third by passing another athlete in the final 800 meters. (Photo by Karen Mitchell)
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