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U.S. Olympic Team Trials- Women’s Marathon Recap

Posted April 20th, 2008 at 10:45 AM by Jared Markowitz

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics

deena-kastor-2007-boston-marathon The 2008 Olympic Trials- Women’s Marathon exceeded expectations in almost every possible way. On a crisp, sunny Boston morning Deena Kastor thrilled the multitude of running fans who packed the downtown criterium course with a come from behind victory over heroic front runner Magdalena Lewy Boulet. Blake Russell earned sweet redemption from her 2004 defeat and claimed the last Olympic spot by finishing third.

The race started with most of the main contenders content to sit in a large pack traveling at a pedestrian pace. The lone exception was Magdalena Lewy Boulet, who believed that 2:30 would be good enough to make the team and thought herself more likely to hit it off an even pace. Lewy Boulet gapped the field impressively with a reasonable 1:14:36 first half, building a lead of almost 2 minutes. Afterwards she admitted that she planned to run even but had not expected to run alone, while Kastor and Russell noted that they would have covered the move had they realized it was Lewy Boulet and not a competitor more likely to come back (apparently her braid and sunglasses initially threw them off).

Meanwhile Kastor, Russell, and Mary Akor started to assert themselves in the chase pack. Kastor broke away from her pursuers around 17 miles and began to reel in Lewy Boulet while Russell battled a host of challengers for the next few miles before breaking clear. Lewy Boulet did not slow significantly (only down to about 5:50 pace) but Kastor’s big negative split allowed her to catch Magdalena right around 24 miles. Kastor pulled away and won the race in 2:29:35 with Lewy Boulet second in 2:30:19 and Russell third in 2:32:40.

All three Olympians are great stories and will represent the U.S. admirably in Beijing. Deena Kastor is a Massachusetts native and wanted desperately to win this race after a disappointing second place finish in the 2004 Trials. She is the defending Olympic bronze medalist and hopes to better that feat at the Beijing Games. Magdalena Lewy Boulet is a Polish immigrant who became a U.S. citizen on September 11, 2001. She works full time as a coach at UC Berkeley and has a three year old son from whom she draws inspiration. Blake Russell rounded out a California sweep in this event, putting aside her fourth place finish in 2004 and holding off several challengers to make her first Olympic team.

This Olympic Trials race also represented a “passing of the torch” from 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson to the current generation of Olympic Marathoners. Joan finished in an incredible 2:49:08, breaking the American record for the 50+ age group. She finished the race flying down Boylston Street in a Red Sox cap just as she did did in her first Boston Marathon victory in 1979.

These were just a few of the wonderful stories from an incredible day of women’s marathoning. The U.S. selected a team of which we can all be proud, and we wish them all the best in Beijing.

For more news, analysis, interviews, videos, and results from the 2008 Boston Marathon and USA Olympic Women’s Marathon Trials, please visit: http://boston.thefinalsprint.com/

In addition, check out the official blog of women’s marathon favorite Kate O’Neill at: http://kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com/