O'Keeffe's marathon Trials record earns her USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Winning the women's Olympic Trials marathon in a record-setting time in her debut at the distance, Fiona O'Keeffe (Chapel Hill, North Carolina/USATF North Carolina) earned recognition as the 4th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2024.

Taking command in the latter stages of the race through the streets of downtown Orlando, O'Keeffe was a comfortable winner in 2:22:10, slicing more than three minutes off the existing Trials record and turning in the fastest debut marathon ever by an American woman. She easily bettered the qualifying standard of 2:26:50 for the Paris Olympic Games and will be joined on Team USATF by Emily Sisson and Dakotah Lindwurm, the silver and bronze medalists in Orlando.

O'Keeffe, who placed 11th in the 5K at the inaugural World Road Running Championships last fall in Riga, Latvia, qualified for the marathon Trials on the strength of a 69:34 half marathon in North Carolina in December, but did have a 67:42 half on her resume from Houston in 2022, a time that puts her at No. 7 on the all-time U.S. performer list. At age 25, O'Keeffe is the youngest winner of the women's marathon Trials and is now No. 10 on the American all-time performer list.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Conner Mantz won the men's U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon in Orlando in 2:09:05, the second fastest time ever run at the Trials.
• Hobbs Kessler won the men's 1500 at the New Balance GP in Boston with a world-leading 3:33.66, making him the No. 3 American all-time indoor performer.
• Tia Jones moved into a tie for third on the all-time U.S. performer list with her world-leading 7.72 win in the 60 hurdles at the New Balance GP in Boston.
• Elkanah Kibet, 40, bettered the U.S. men's masters record in the marathon with a 2:10:02 to place fourth at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon.
• Sara Hall, 40, bettered the U.S. women's masters record in the marathon with a 2:26:06 to place fifth at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon.
• Grant Holloway won the men's 60 hurdles at the New Balance GP in a world-leading 7.35, a time only he has ever bettered on the U.S. all-time list and is =6th on the world all-time performances list. Holloway has not lost a 60H race since March 16, 2014.

Now in its 23rd year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2024 Winners: January 17, Weini Kelati; January 24, Cooper Teare; January 31, Nico Young; February 7, Fiona O'Keeffe.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.

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