Recapping the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Madness – What a Race!

Chris Chavez and Matthew Luke Meyer unpack all of the madness from the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta.

Galen Rupp took the win on the men’s side by pulling away after 21 miles to win his second consecutive U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials title in 2:09:20. Jacob Riley ran the race of his life and pulled one of the ballsiest moves by snatching a tiny American flag with less than half a mile to go. Abdi Abdirahman hung on for the third spot and qualified for his fifth Olympic team at the age of 43.

Aliphine Tuliamuk won the women’s race after surging ahead at Mile 20 to win in 2:27:23 and head to her first Olympics. Molly Seidel, who had not run a marathon in her career but was an accomplished cross country and 10,000m star at Notre Dame, was the runner-up in 2:27:31. She will also head to her first Summer Games. Sally Kipyego returns to the Olympics as a mother for the first time. In 2012, she won an Olympic silver medal in the 10,000m while representing Kenya.

We recap the races, break down the biggest surprises, why we overlooked the people who ended up on the team and where we go from here. Also, the Chonky Bois were out in full force.

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Photo by Kevin Morris

Chris Chavez

Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.