The On Athletics Club’s Joe Klecker, a member of the U.S. Olympic team at 10,000m for the Tokyo Olympics, will miss the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, he announced on Instagram.

What You Need To Know:

– Klecker wrote on Instagram: “Going for my second Olympic team will have to wait another 4 years. After tearing my adductor earlier this year we did everything we could to get the ranking necessary, and get healthy for the trials. Unfortunately, I’ve run out of time to be ready to race for my second Olympic team. With the quality of runners in the US, my fitness is not where it needs to be. With all that said, I am happy to be back training pain free and am looking forward to putting some races on the calendar later in the year.”

– Klecker has qualified for U.S. team in the 10,000m for the 2021 Olympics, 2022 World Championships and 2023 World Championships. His best finish was a ninth place showing at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

– Klecker has not raced since he ran 27:09.29 for 12th place at Sound Running’s The Ten in March. It was just off his 27:07.57 personal best from 2023 and missed the Olympic standard of 27:00.

– During the indoor season, Klecker ran 8:20.57 for two-miles and 13:06.02 for 5000m.

Another Injury For OAC’s 10,000m Cornerstones

– Klecker will join Alicia Monson, the U.S. 10,000m record holder, on the sidelines at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Monson underwent knee surgery in April and said she will miss the season. Monson is just one of two American women with the Olympic standard, which could be interesting.

Who Else Is Qualified In The 10,000m For Paris?

– Grant Fisher, Nico Young and Woody Kincaid are the only American men who have run under the Olympic standard.

– Aside from Klecker, Paul Chelimo is the only other man in the World Rankings quota.

– It looks like the field at the Paris Olympics could be comprised of – 16 athletes from those who have the Olympic standard; eight from World Athletics’ cross country allocation and three from the World Rankings. At the moment, the athletes that would compete off their World Ranking are Japan’s Tomoki Ota, France’s Jimmy Gressier and Japan’s Jun Kasai.

– However, I believe the door is still open for someone who isn’t ranked at the moment because they have only run one 10,000m in the qualifying window. The athlete could qualify by boosting their World Ranking with a top three finish and running fast at the U.S. Olympic Trials – which could be difficult depending on Eugene’s weather on June 21st. Guys to note are Anthony Rotich (27:08.94 at The Ten); Abdihamid Nur (27:17.28 at The Ten) and Drew Hunter (27:38.87).