After four months of uncertainty, Leonard Korir can rest easy. More accurately, he can train hard—the third finisher at the Olympic Marathon Trials in February finally knows that he’ll run the Olympic Marathon on August 10.
On June 4, without public explanation, World Athletics, the international governing body of track and field, expanded the men’s field for the Olympic Marathon. The announced field cap of 80 was set aside to add four spots based on world rankings, with one of those spots allotted to the United States. World Athletics also added one “universality” spot, for Mongolia; at every Olympics, a small number of spots are given to athletes in several sports, even if the athletes haven’t met the sport’s Olympic qualifying criteria. (World Athletics did not respond to questions from Runner’s World about the field expansion before this story was published.)
Amy Begley, USA Track & Field’s director of long distance running programs, told Runner’s World that several USATF officials advocated with World Athletics for an expanded field. USATF subsequently received an email from World Athletics that said the field would be slightly expanded. The email didn’t explain the rationale for World Athletics’s decision, Begley said.
After World Athletics expanded the field, Korir’s coach, Scott Simmons, told Runner’s World, “We did not know that an expansion of the field was in the works.” But, Simmons said, Korir has been marathon training with Zouhair Talbi, who will represent Morocco in the Olympic Marathon. Talbi won the Houston Marathon in January in a course record of 2:06:39.
The Backstory
Unlike at most Olympic trials races, when Korir placed third at the marathon trials in Orlando on February 3, he didn’t immediately know if he would run in the Olympics. Before the trials, the U.S. men had unlocked only two of the three potential spots allotted per country. World Athletics established qualifying procedures to fill each of the 80-runner Olympic marathon fields. Runners could unlock a spot for their country one of three ways during the 18-month qualifying period that ended on May 5: run a qualifying time (2:08:10 for men) on a record-eligible course, have a high enough ranking in World Athletics’ complicated points system, or finish in the top five in certain top-tier marathons. Once a country’s runners unlock the three spots, that country’s federation can name any three of its runners who have met those standards or a slower time standard (2:11:30 for men).
By running faster than 2:08:10 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young secured two spots for U.S. men. As it turned out, they went 1-2 at the trials and left Orlando knowing they’d run the Olympic Marathon. Korir’s coach, Scott Simmons, told Runner’s World soon after the trials that he was 95 percent certain Korir would make the team for Paris. Still, Korir’s future was uncertain.
Through the spring marathon season, Korir’s world ranking looked high enough to unlock the third U.S. spot. Korir’s case appeared even stronger after American CJ Albertson placed seventh in 2:09:53 at the Boston Marathon in April. That performance moved Albertson into 72nd place on the World Athletics list, ahead of Korir. Those positions remained unchanged when the qualifying period ended on May 5. With 70 of the 80 Olympic spots going to time qualifiers, Albertson’s ranking appeared high enough to secure the third U.S. spot. (Because USA Track & Field honors the finishing order in trials races, Albertson, who placed fifth at the trials, or anyone else unlocking the third U.S. spot would have done so for Korir, thanks to Korir’s superior placing at the trials.)
But on May 8, after the qualifying period closed, World Athletics filled the rest of the 80-man field with universality runners. Korir and others who hoped to make the field based on world rankings appeared to be shut out. World Athletics didn’t respond to questions from Runner’s World at that time, nor has it provided a public explanation since why it ignored the rankings it created.
In late May, Australia’s Wide World of Sports reported that World Athletics was working with the International Olympic Committee to expand the field. Those efforts apparently paid off, resulting in the surprising additions to the field on Tuesday.
Korir’s saga has renewed discussion about the state of U.S. men’s marathoning. For now, however, the focus is on a strong team performance on August 10.
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Running Is My Therapy, Advanced Marathoning, and Meb for Mortals. Scott has also written about running for Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
