Berlin produces five new US Olympic Trials qualifiers
Brendan Martin, Jacqueline Gaughan, Allie Kieffer, Katja Goldring and Gabriella Smith punched tickets to St. Louis.
Berlin was not just a fast day up front. Behind Guye Adola's 2:02:50 and Tigst Assefa's 2:11:04 (earlier), five American men ran under the 2028 US Olympic Marathon Trials standard of 2:16:00 and eight American women went under the women's standard of 2:37:00, according to Chris Chavez.
Most of them were already in. On the men's side, only Brendan Martin was new, with 2:14:36. Chavez notes that St. Louis will be Martin's third US Olympic Marathon Trials. Charlie Sweeney led the American men in 2:09:33, well inside a standard he had already hit with a 2:11:28 at Boston in 2026. Will Nation ran 2:11:08, Lars Dewall 2:12:13 and T-Roy Brown 2:12:38, all of them previously qualified.
Four new women's qualifiers
The women's race produced more first-timers. Jacqueline Gaughan ran 2:27:43 for 18th overall, Allie Kieffer 2:30:41 and Katja Goldring 2:31:55, and all three hit the standard for the first time. Rebecca Schmitt was the fastest American woman in 2:27:38 for 17th, already qualified off a 2:28:46 at CIM in 2025. Savannah Berry (2:31:31), Rachel McCardell (2:35:57) and Tessa Barrett (2:36:04) were also already in.
The close one was Gabriella Smith. Her gun time was 2:37:42, which is over the standard. Her chip time was 2:36:44, which is under it, and Chavez says that is the mark that counts. So she qualifies by 16 seconds on a clock that started when she crossed the mat rather than when the gun went off.
What it actually means
Big city marathons in the fall are where the American Trials field gets built, and Berlin's flat course did what Berlin does. But read the list carefully before you call it a qualifying bonanza. Of the 13 Americans under the standard, eight already had their tickets, so the real news is five new names for St. Louis.
The chip time detail is the part worth filing away. Runners starting behind the elite gun can lose close to a minute before they reach the line, and in Smith's case that gap was the difference between qualified and not. Chavez's read is that her 2:36:44 will stand.
Gabriella Smith – 2:36:44 off her chip time vs. 2:37:42 gun time, which will count!
Win the long run conversation
One email a day. Under three minutes. Marathon results, shoe fights and training arguments, settled.