leonard corrillThe athlete, who finished third at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 3, will run the EDP Lisbon Half Marathon in Portugal on Sunday in a bid to improve his world ranking and qualify for the Olympics.his coach scott simmons Korir also told LetsRun.com that he will run in the Rotterdam Marathon on April 14th. If Simmons achieves the Olympic standard time of 2 hours, 8 minutes and 10 seconds in that race, he will qualify for the Paris Olympic Marathon.
Simmons said Korir has recovered well from the trials in Orlando, where he ran 2 hours, 9 minutes, 57 seconds. Rotterdam comes 10 weeks after the trial.
“If you're 100 percent ready for a marathon, you'll recover well,” Simmons says. “If you're not ready, even if you have a good run, it takes a long time to come back. Within two weeks, he was back training.”
The question of whether USATF would allow Korir to run the spring marathon in pursuit of Olympic standards was a matter of confusion before and after the trials. On a Jan. 13 Zoom call (skip to 1 hour, 4 minutes, 40 seconds) prior to the trials, the USATF long distance running program director said: amy begley He said those who placed in the top three at the trials would not be able to run the spring marathon.
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“[The USATF Long Distance Running committees] They decided they wanted to send the best team to the Olympics, so the top three finishers were given an opportunity to run another marathon between the Trials and the Olympics to improve their times to “chase the standard.” didn't want to. '' Begley said by phone.
Two days before the trial, USATF sends email to competitors He said that as long as he “meets the selection criteria or achieves the performance criteria by the end of the selection process,” he will not be removed from the Olympic team if he participates in the spring marathon. The email was an attempt to clarify the situation, but it still confused some players and coaches.
The selection procedure posted on the USATF website states:
Selection event finishers will not be allowed to “chase” the time qualification criteria after the Selection Event if they have not already met the Qualified Athlete Standard or have achieved at least 2:29:30 (Female)/2 Please note in particular. :11:30 (Men) Performance during the qualifying period at the end of the selection event.
However, Korir had By the end of the trial, he had achieved a time of under 2 hours, 11 minutes and 30 seconds, and despite what he said on the Zoom call, there was nothing in the published selection process that would prevent him from chasing his time. In 2019, Simmons successfully appealed to USATF when the agency failed to follow published selection procedures for that year's Pan American Games. He knew that the published selection procedure was important and that Coryir would be allowed to pursue Olympic standards if he wanted – something Begley confirmed to Simmons after the trials.
“The problem is they don't understand their selection procedures,” Simmons said. “At that point, by the end of the trial, it was a contract they couldn't back out of even if they wanted to.”
There are 17 weeks between Rotterdam on April 14th and the Olympic Marathon on August 10th, which Simmons believes is enough time to recover before the Olympics. In fact, it's common for athletes to run a spring marathon before the Olympics. The bigger challenge for Korir will be the fatigue accumulated during the trials and Rotterdam. The Olympics will be his third marathon in seven months.
Turning to Lisbon: “It's going to take a really good half marathon, a really good half marathon for him to change his place.”
Corir currently does not have such standards, so its Olympic status is currently undetermined. To be selected for the competition, he, or the third American after Young or Mantz, must be in the top 80 on the Road to Paris list by May 5, when the qualifying period ends. There is. Currently, Korir is the highest ranked American. Although it is on the list at number 71*, this list does not include Universal spots that have not yet won an award.
*The official website states that Korir is ranked 70th, but this is incorrect as only two Ethiopians are listed. In fact, Korir ranks 71st.
With only a few major spring marathons left, it looks increasingly likely that Korir will qualify for the Olympics. For Korir to be ruled out, 10 players will need to overtake him within the next two months.
“As far as Paris goes, it's a very good situation for him,” Simmons said.
Still, Corir can improve his odds by moving up the Road to Paris list. And he can do that by running a half marathon fast.
Kevin Morris Photos
An athlete's place on the “Road to Paris” list will be determined by the average of the top two performances during the qualifying period (November 6, 2022 to May 5, 2024). At least one of these performances must be a marathon, but the other can be a marathon or half marathon. Corir's current average score is 1186 points, which is the 1191 points he earned by running 2 hours 9 minutes 57 seconds at the Olympic Trials and the 1191 points he earned by running 2 hours 9 minutes 31 seconds at the 2023 Paris Marathon. The average score is 1182 points.
The top 68 people on the Road to Paris list have already achieved the automotive standard, so the highest position Corir can reach on Sunday will be 69th. Here's what he has to do to move up.
#69 Liam Adams, Australia (1192 points)
To pass Adams, Korir would have to average at least 1,192 points. He can earn that point by scoring a performance worth his 1194 points in Lisbon. On the World Athletics scoreboard, the 1194 points correspond to his time of 59 minutes and 49 seconds, which is 6 seconds slower than his 59 minutes and 49 seconds. ryan hallis an American record of 59:43, three seconds faster than Korir's personal record of 59:52 at the 2017 Derry Half. However, since Lisbon is a road race on the World Athletics Elite label, Corir can also earn bonus points for finishing well. If he wins the race, he will earn five bonus points and only need to run 59 minutes and 56 seconds. His second place gives him 2 bonus points (to score 1194 points he needs to run 59:52), third place gives him 1 bonus point (to score 1194 points he needs to run 59:52) (need to run in 59:50) to win.
Korir will probably have to run much faster than 59 minutes 49 seconds to finish in the top three. Last year in Lisbon, he finished third in 59 minutes 10 seconds and fourth in 59 minutes 22 seconds.
#68 Hugo Catrileo, Chile (1198 points)
He will need a great performance to overtake CatriLeo. Koril needs 1206 points in Lisbon, which corresponds to 59:31 in the first half. Even if Korir were to win the race and earn the maximum five bonus points, he would need to run in 59 minutes and 38 seconds.
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Simmons is realistic about what it will take for Korir to be on the list for the Road to Paris on Sunday.
“It's going to take a really good half marathon, a really good half marathon for him to change his place,” Simmons said.
Simmons did not mention Corir's specific target split in Lisbon, but said this race was a great opportunity to run fast considering the quality of the field.
“He's in a good field and wants to be competitive,” Simmons said. “And being competitive allows him to get good times.”
