US Marathon Trials: Heartbreak for Defending Champion Aliphine Tuliamuk As She Quits Midway

The 2024 Paris Olympics are less than six months away and the selection procedure is now underway with today’s marathon trials. The marathon squad has six slots available, some of which will be filled in Orlando, Florida, where the top distance runners are exhibiting their prowess. Team USA might fill three marathon spots for both men and women with its already slim roster.

Ahead of the trial, the Kenya-born American athlete Aliphine Tuliamuk had everyone talking about her, given she was the defending champion. However, a recent update came as a shocker when she dropped out, leaving Team USA one top marathoner short.

The US Marathon Trials face something disconcerting amid superior feats

Now, a recent post shared on X by @runnerworld shared America’s defending champion opting out of the Olympics trial marathon, captioned, “Defending Champion Aliphine Tuliamuk Drops Out of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.”

Tuliamuk was forced to withdraw from the marathon event after just 10 miles of the 23-mile trial after a hamstring injury. And even before the race, the 34-year-old stated that her health was not entirely well. The Northern Arizona Elite member last set a personal record with a time of 2:24:37 at the Boston Marathon in 2023 and was among the USA’s top contenders today.

However, it wasn’t an upset finish for Team USA, whose debutant Fiona O’Keeffe made history by winning the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, Florida. Leaving behind America’s fastest-running veteran trio with a time of 2:22:10. She also set the Olympic Trials record for the quickest women’s time ever. She was joined by second-time Olympics qualifier Emily Sisson along with Dakotah Lindwurm, making the three-woman squad headed to Paris. In the celebrations, one cannot overlook Tuliamuk’s fortitude to return after the pandemic marred the Olympics.

Aliphine Tuliamuk’s Tokyo Olympics struggle

Zoe, Tuliamuk’s first child, was born while the Games were postponed because of COVID. However, she shocked everyone by winning the 2020 Olympics trial in Atlanta, Georgia, by 2:27:23. Seven months after giving birth, she raced in Tokyo but dropped out at the 12-mile mark because of a hip injury.

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Later, in a 2021 interview with Olympics.com, Aliphine Tuliamuk discussed her experience returning to track after giving birth. She said: “I had to choose between whether to follow my dreams and run at the Olympics. You never know if you’re going to make another Olympic team, and maybe this is the best shot of running well and medalling. I also didn’t want to look back in future and have regrets.”

Despite being hopeful to further her Olympics dream this year, the marathoner’s 2024 Summer Olympics hopes came to a tragic end today.

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