U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS – MARATHON HOUSTON, TEXAS (JANUARY 14)
Two of the fastest races in Olympic Marathon Trials history took place on the same day in Houston as the six men and women who will represent Team USA in London earned their way on the squad. Shalane Flanagan set an Olympic Trials record of 2:25:38 in only her second
marathon, while Meb Keflezighi earned his third Olympic berth by winning the Trials in a personal best time of 2:09:08. Flanagan led a Trials record of five women under 2:30 while Meb led four men under 2:10 for the first time in Trials history.
Keflezighi’s performance (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) came only 69 days after his last marathon, where he also ran a then personal best time of 2:09:13 to place sixth at the 2011 ING New York City Marathon. The 2009 ING New York City Marathon winner and 2004 Olympic silver medalist became the first man to win both the U.S. Olympic Trials and the New York City Marathon in his career. At nearly 37 years old, he is the oldest man to win the Olympic Marathon Trials.
Defending Olympic Trials champion Ryan Hall (Flagstaff, Ariz.) led much of the race en route to securing his second Olympic berth. Hall set a torrid pace early, with a projected finish of 2:06 that held up through the half-marathon mark. Wind and leg fatigue slowed Hall’s pace, as he shook his arms out regularly, but it wasn’t enough to keep him from again making the Olympic marathon team as finished second in 2:09:30.
Abdi Abdirahman (Tucson, Ariz.) turned heads in the lead pack. Entering the Trials with the 14th-fastest qualifying time, Abdi hadn’t run under 2:14 since setting his personal best of 2:08:56 in 2006. Soldiering through a year and a half of injury,
Abdirahman finished third in 2:09:47 to clock his fastest marathon since 2006 and make his fourth Olympic Team at age 34.
Dathan Ritzenhein (Portland, Ore.), the top American marathoner at the 2008 Olympics, knelt at the finish with his head in his hands as he was 4th in 2:09:55. Ritzenhein had fallen off from Keflezighi, Hall and Abdirahman at approximately the 18-mile mark, and at one point lost sight of the leaders, but he rallied to finish only eight seconds behind Abdirahman.
Flanagan (Portland, Ore.) bettered the women’s Olympic Trials Marathon record by two minutes and forty-seven seconds in her Olympic Trials marathon debut - just the second marathon of her career. Flanagan was in the lead pack throughout the race, but did not step forward as the clear leader until the 21st mile once the lead group of three was clearly set. Flanagan exchanged the lead with Desiree Davila (Rochester Hills, Mich.) several times before surging ahead at mile 24 to run away with the lead. Her winning time was a personal best by nearly 3 minutes.
Davila added the word Olympian to her growing resume. Davila led portions of the race from five miles on before dueling with Flanagan in miles 22 through 24. Once Flanagan took the lead for good, Davila held on to finish in 2:25:55, only 18 seconds back.
The 2007 World Championships bronze medalist at 10,000 meters, Kara Goucher (Portland, Ore.) claimed her first spot on the Olympic Marathon squad by finishing third in 2:26:06 after not competing in 2010 due to maternity, this is Goucher’s second marathon in nine months after her 2:24:26 showing at the 2011 Boston Marathon.