The US didn’t have any marathon runners who had qualified to compete at the 2024 Olympics. But, the doors to Paris opened for America as two elite US marathoners made the Olympic qualifying time at the Chicago Marathon. While the long-distance runners are happy with the fact that they qualified, they aren’t satisfied with their current standing.

Clayton Young and Conner Mantz recently bagged a ticket to Paris via Chicago. The NCAA champions recently appeared in a podcast episode where they spoke about their qualification and the way forward. Interestingly, both athletes discussed a mentality that limits every marathon runner in America. In fact, the duo believes that this mindset can make the future of marathons stagnant in the US.

The limitations that choke the growth

Clayton Young and Conner Mantz made several headlines with their Olympic qualification after their success in Chicago. The duo is now preparing for the next big stage that is brimming with even tougher competition. Both Mantz and Young are aware of where they currently stand and wish to elevate themselves further. A tweet by Citius Mag recently revealed that the duo appeared on their podcast and shared their insights on limitations.

According to the tweet, the American marathoners said, “If you’re always racing for that top American spot, you’re never going to reach your potential, and American distance running is never going to reach its potential as a whole. We have to raise our expectations, our vision, and really see what we can do on an international level.” The marathon runners spoke about the ways in which athletes usually box themselves and fail to aim higher. 

Being NCAA champions themselves, they know that being the best in America can only take them so far. As things stand, Mantz and Young have a lot of work to do. Especially since they barely made the qualifying time for the Olympics.

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Elite marathon runners with a long road ahead

The Olympic Games are responsible for setting a qualification barrier for each sport with important revisions whenever needed. The barrier set for the Olympic marathon event was 2:10:08, which Mantz crossed in 2:07:47, while Young crossed in 2:10:00. While the initial problem was the fact that no America had qualified for the event, the current problem is that the Americans stand small chances of winning. 

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The duo share the sentiment of getting better to bolster their chances of standing on the podium for the US. While the marathon runners said that they don’t wish to limit themselves just to the US, they also aim to break the American record. However, unlike setting it as their end goal, they know that it is but a giant stepping stone. Will the US marathon runners be able to bring an Olympic medal home in 2024?

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