(Reminder: The mens marathon had been contested at the Games since 1896).
Men, step aside.
The women are here to close out the show.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/Amanda K Bailey
Were the stars, Lindwurm tells SELF with a laugh.
I love that theyre really highlighting women on the 40th anniversary.
It wasnt an easy route then and it isnt now, either.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
And thats important, since the 2024 field is shaping up as one of the fastest in history.
Get to know a little bit more about the athletes running the longest distance in Paris.
There was nothing to lose.
Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann
I was just genuinely curious to know what I was capable of over the distance.
Until then, OKeeffe is heading to altitude training camp in Mammoth Lakes, California.
Im married to a therapist, so he helps a lot with this stuff, she said, laughing.
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
It probably also helps to know youre the fastest US female marathoner in history.
Sisson set the American record of 2:18:29 at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, where she finished second.
And from that day forward, a lot of fans considered her a lock to make the Olympic team.
She wasnt always an ace at 26.2 miles, though.
At the 2024 trials, I think I handled the distance really well.
I feel like my bodys getting stronger and the 26.2 miles is a little less daunting and scary.
Going into Paris, shes been focusing a lot more on hill work.
I only have control over what I can do to get myself there, Sisson says.
If Im worried about what someone else is doing, Im not focused on what Im doing.
You want to appreciate the big moments when they come, she says.
But then also stay a little bit hungry for more.
Each is its own variety of crazy, she says.
But thats not the story she told herself.
You shouldnt really set any limits on yourself, Lindwurm tells SELF.
But life changed the moment she made the 2024 Olympic team.
When it comes to training for the Olympic marathon, however, its business as usual, Lindwurm says.
She doesnt want to make more of the raceher 15th marathonthan it is.
Were just approaching it like its any other marathon.
Theres no reason to put any extra pressure on this one day, she says.
Thats the way that Ill perform best.
The Minnesota summer is reliably replicating the harsh conditions that she may encounter in Paris.
It must be working: She ran her fastest half marathon (1:08:04) in June in Duluth.
The best boy ever, she says), as well as playingpickleballwith her boyfriend, Montana Popehn.
Shes come a long way since those days on the hockey rink.
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