For fans of distance running, the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon has become the most-anticipated 26.2-mile race in the country. And in just one year, it’s back. On February 3, 2024, the best American distance runners will once again go head-to-head, this time in Orlando, Florida, to decide which three athletes will compete for Team USA at the 2024 Paris Games.
The event also marks the 40th anniversary of the first women’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, which took place on May 12, 1984, in Olympia, Washington. It was about 12 weeks before the Los Angeles Games, but the quick turnaround didn’t seem to have much effect on Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won in 2:31:41 after rushing to recover from knee surgery, then went on to also win the first women’s Olympic gold medal (2:24:52) in the event.
It was the beginning of decades of enormous growth for women’s running. Back in 1984, the qualifying time to participate in the trials was 2:51:16. In 2024, women have to run 2:37 (or a 1:12 half marathon) to earn a place on the start line in Orlando—eight minutes faster than in 2020, when 512 women achieved the standard of…
