2008 USA Women's Olympic Trials - Complete Coverage

2008 USA Women's Olympic Trials - Complete Coverage
The Olympics happen just once every four years and represents some of the best sport in the world - and for most athletes and marathoners in particular, there is no higher achievement than earning a medal or even competing at the Olympics - the birthplace of the marathon.

The USA chooses its Olympic Marathon teams via a one-chance race the top three in the Trials make it (with two alternates) and that is it - one chance to make it.

We will be continually updating this page to add content and commentary. Please come back often as we will try to provide the most intelligent coverage of the Olympic Trials available....

The History Past Races The use of one Qualifying race to choose the USA Olympic Marathon Team was introduced in 1984 and has been in use since then. The 2008 Trials will represent the 7th running of this event, and each of the six preceding Trials tells a great story of USA marathoning in that era. Complete USA Women's Olympics Team Trials History    Live Race Coverage The Best and Smartest Race Day Coverage Read: As the Race Happened

The 2008 Athletes The Qualifiers List 182 Women qualified for the Olympic Trials and 160 entered. The list is a who's who of current American women marathoners and some others... Complete List of Qualifiers With Commentary The Veterans - Overview Ask anyone who they think will be among the favorites to make the 2008 USA Olympic Marathon team and these women who have been around for a while will be on the list: Deena Kastor, Coleen DeReuck (unfortunately not starting), Marla Runyan (also not starting) and the emotional favorite: Joan Benoit Samuelson. Who are these women, what do they mean to American marathoning? The Veterans About the Favorites The Contenders Beyond the favorites are some women who are strong and will be around for a while: Elva Dryer, Kate O'Neill, Mary Akor and others. Here is a list of additional women to watch. Article in process of final edits. About the Contenders