Four cities have declared their intent to submit bids to host the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, USATF announced Friday. Atlanta, Austin, Chattanooga, and Orlando all have officially declared their intent to bid to host the Olympic Trials. As was the case in 2012 in Houston and 2016 in Los Angeles, the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials for women’s and men’s marathon will be contested on the same day early in the year, providing a focused, single-day showcase for the country’s top runners.
“To have four new bidders for the Olympic Trials Marathon speaks to the attractiveness of the property and the support for our increasingly successful American marathon corps,” USATF CEO Max Siegel said. “We look forward to taking the Olympic Trials to a new city to select one of the world’s best Olympic marathon teams.”
2017 was one of the most successful years on record for American marathoners. Shalane Flanagan became the first American woman in 40 years to win the TCS NYC Marathon; Galen Rupp was the first American man since 2002 to win the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and was second at the Boston Marathon; Amy Cragg won the bronze medal in the women’s marathon at the 2017 IAAF World Championships; and Jordan Hasay finished third at both Boston and Chicago, where she became the second-fastest American woman in history.
At the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, Mr. Rupp took the men’s bronze medal, with Jared Ward sixth and Meb Keflezighi 33rd. In the women’s 2016 Olympic marathon, Ms. Flanagan was sixth, Desi Linden seventh, and Ms. Cragg ninth.
Final bids for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon are due March 19. A USATF site selection committee, comprised of the chairs of the USATF Women’s and Men’s Long Distance Running Committees, a USATF Athletes Advisory Committee representative, USATF technical director and National Office staff, will review and assess all bids. The USATF Board of Directors will make the final site selection for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon this spring, subject to approval by the United States Olympic Committee.