2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Men's Marathon Qualifiers Prepare for November 3 in New York City

One hundred sixty athletes, including Khalid Khannouchi, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Brian Sell, Alan Culpepper, and 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, have qualified for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon, to be hosted by New York Road Runners in partnership with USA Track & Field (USATF) on Saturday, November 3, 2007—the day before the ING New York City Marathon. As of early June, 160 athletes had met the qualifying standards.

To qualify for the race, a runner must be a U.S. citizen and meet a standard of 2:22 in the marathon, 28:45 for 10,000 meters, or 13:40 for 5000 meters during the qualifying period. Marathoners with a qualifying time under 2:20 are given an “A” standard; all other qualifiers are given the “B” standard.

Khannouchi, a resident of Ossining, NY, who ran a 2:07:04 at the 2006 Flora London Marathon, is the fastest U.S. qualifier, followed by Hall, who ran a debut 2:08:24 at the 2007 Flora London Marathon, and Abdirahman, who posted a 2:08:56 at the 2006 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. The “A” list also includes Keflezighi, who ran a 2:09:56 at Boston last year, Sell (sub-2:11 times in Chicago and Boston in 2006), Culpepper (2:11:02 in Boston in 2006), Fernando Cabada (2:12:27 in Fukuoka, Japan), Peter Gilmore (2:12:45 in Boston in 2006 and 2:13:13 at the ING New York City Marathon 2006), Mbarak Hussein (2:12:53 in Seoul in 2006), and Dathan Ritzenhein, who ran a 2:14:01 in his marathon debut in New York in 2006.

The Olympic Trials Marathon will serve as the selection race for the U.S. men’s marathon team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The top three finishers in New York on November 3 will make the team, provided they meet international time standards.

The Olympic Trials Marathon course will start in Midtown Manhattan, include loops in Central Park, and finish at the famed finish line near Tavern on the Green. “It will be extremely spectator friendly,” said NYRR president and CEO Mary Wittenberg.

“The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials — Men's Marathon is going to be incredible,” said Fasil Bizuneh, who met the “A” standard with a 2:18:14 at the 2006 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon in Minnesota. “There will be so many guys who could win it, and anything can happen on that course in New York City.”

This is the first time USATF has allowed runners to qualify for the Marathon Trials with times in the 5000 or 10,000 meters. According to Abdirahman, a 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympian at 10,000 meters, the new standards change the landscape completely. “There will be 15 or 16 guys at the Trials who could make the Olympic team,” he said. “I’m one of them, but all it takes is one or two [track runners] to have a good day at the Olympic Trials Marathon and they could knock you out.”

Manhattan resident Anthony Famiglietti, who has yet to run a marathon, has met the “B” standard with track times. Like many of the track specialists, he has yet to commit to running the race, but after winning the USA 8K Championships in Central Park on March 18, he admitted he’s intrigued. “Sixteen weeks is all I really need before I jump into a marathon and see what I could do,” Famiglietti said.

“The road to Beijing in 2008 runs through Central Park in 2007,” said Wittenberg. “We at NYRR are absolutely committed to USA distance running and to supporting our marathoners as they aim to bring home Olympic medals once again.”