28 runners hit Olympic Trials standards at Indy Monumental
Indianapolis delivered 28 Olympic Trials qualifying marks in one morning, and most of them were first-time qualifiers for this cycle.
Twenty-eight runners hit a US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifying standard in a single morning at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. Fourteen women ran under the 2:37 standard and 14 men ran under 2:16:00, CITIUS MAG says.
Most of them had never done it before. Eleven of the 14 women were first-time qualifiers this cycle, and so were 12 of the 14 men.
Who got it done
On the women's side the qualifiers were Lindsey Bradley, Isabel Hebner, Melissa Berry, Erin Del Giudice, Maeve Pierson, Bridget Belyeu, Cheyenne Moore, Caitlin Klopfer, Becca Richtman, Adelyn Fairley, Sadie James, Olivia Ballew, Claire Krummenacher and Ashton Swinford.
On the men's side it was Johnnie Guy, Cameron Dickson, Kobe Blanco, Braden Nicholson, Tanner Chads, Robert Pedersen, Hudson Hurst, Eric Vazquez-Olivas, Curtis Eckstein, Zane Chalker, Ian Mcvey, Dylan Parker, Matt Rand and Tom Brady.
That is 28 people who get to say they are going to the Trials, from one race, on one Saturday morning in Indiana. Indy has a reputation as a standard-chasing course and this is why.
The women's field is already bigger than 2024
The part that made people sit up is what Chris Chavez posted after. The 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials had 165 entries on the women's side, with 149 of them starting in Orlando. As of the Indianapolis results, Chavez counts 168 women qualified for 2028.
So the 2028 women's field has already passed the entire 2024 entry list. And it has done it early. The half marathon qualifying window has not opened yet, and Chavez says a big wave more is expected at the California International Marathon, another December race American runners use to chase times.
The standard has not moved to make this easier. Chavez notes it dropped to 2:37 for 2024 and held steady for 2028, meaning the women clearing it are clearing the same bar, just in far greater numbers.
What it actually means
This is depth, not a loophole. The qualifying time is the same as last cycle and the cycle is not close to finished, which points to a Trials start line in St. Louis that is bigger and deeper on the women's side than Orlando was. Expect the conversation about whether the standard should tighten again to get louder every time a race like Indianapolis posts a list this long.
The standard dropped to 2:37 for 2024, held steady for 2028 and so many women have risen to the occasion.
A MONUMENTAL day for knocking out an OTQ
Win the long run conversation
One email a day. Under three minutes. Marathon results, shoe fights and training arguments, settled.