Runner qualifies for the Olympics on her first marathon.

In her very first time running the 42.195 km distance, 25-year-old runner Fiona O'Keeffe broke the record set in the US Olympic qualifying competition to earn a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

On February 3rd, in Orlando, O'Keeffe finished first in 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 10 seconds, breaking the Olympic Trials record – the qualifying round for the US track and field team's marathon. The previous women's record belonged to Shalane Flanagan with 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 38 seconds, set in Houston in 2012.

Fiona O'Keeffe won the 2024 Olympic Trials.

Emily Sisson, the US women's marathon record holder with a time of 2 hours 18 minutes and 29 seconds, and Dakotah Lindwurm finished behind O'Keeffe. These three leading athletes also complete the US women's team for Paris 2024.

"I didn't think I'd run this well," O'Keeffe said after his victory that secured his place in Paris this summer. "I had to pinch myself in the last 10km and remind myself to stay calm."

O'Keeffe, born in 1998, primarily runs the 5,000m and 10,000m. But she caused a surprise in Orlando last weekend, becoming the youngest female athlete ever to win the Olympic Trials and the first female athlete to win the event on her first marathon.

O'Keeffe broke away from the chasing pack after the 30km mark and finished 32 seconds ahead of Sisson – who will compete in his second Olympic Games after running the 10,000m at Tokyo 2021. "Very excited," O'Keeffe said of his feelings in the sprint. "I started hearing people say 'You're going to Paris.' But I knew there were a lot of formidable athletes behind me and I was a little nervous."

Fiona O’Keeffe during her victory at the Olympic Trials in Orlando, USA, on February 3rd. Photo: USA Track & Field — Fiona O'Keeffe during her victory at the Olympic Trials in Orlando, USA, on February 3rd. Photo: *USA Track & Field*

For first place in the Olympic Trials, O'Keeffe will receive a prize of $80,000. Sisson will receive $65,000, and Lindwurm will take home $55,000. This prize money is comparable to that of the World Marathon Majors. The Boston champion receives $150,000, while the prize money for the same position in Chicago and New York is $100,000, Tokyo $96,800, London $53,200, and Berlin $22,600.

In the men's Olympic Trials event for the US, Conner Mantz and Clayton Young – training partners and close friends – celebrated their victory with the crowd as they crossed the finish line. Mantz finished first with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 5 seconds, while Young dropped out near the end and finished a second behind. Leonard Korir came in third with a time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, and 57 seconds.

Hong Duy

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