FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Los Angeles to Host 2016 Olympic Team Trials For Men's and Women's Marathon
LOS ANGELES –The City of Los Angeles will host the Women's and Men's 2016
U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, USA Track & Field, the U.S. Olympic
Committee, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and LA MARATHON LLC announced
Wednesday.
The 2016 Olympic Trials will be held Feb. 13, 2016. With separate starts,
the men's and women's races both will be carried in their entirety on NBC.
"We are thrilled with what Los Angeles will provide to our athletes, the
Olympic movement and the sport of long distance running by hosting this
event," USATF CEO Max Siegel said. "With television coverage on NBC and
incredible public and private support for the race in one of the world's
biggest media markets, everything is in place to continue to elevate the
Olympic Trials and give our athletes a platform on which they can truly
shine."
"I'm happy and honored USA Track & Field and the U.S. Olympic Committee
have chosen Los Angeles as host city for the 2016 Olympic marathon trials,"
said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. "With its iconic landmarks and
decades of experience hosting world class sporting events, Los Angeles is
the ideal location for America's elite marathoners to prepare for the 2016
Olympic Games in Brazil."
"The U.S. Olympic Committee is pleased to be returning to Los Angeles with
this amazing event," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said. "As the host of the 1932
and 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles has a tremendous Olympic legacy and
L.A.'s status as a global center of sport and culture make it an
exceptional host for the Olympic Trials."
Making history
In winning the bid, LA MARATHON LLC proposed a February race date that
accommodates an NBC broadcast and ensures athletes optimal time to recover
should they choose to run in the 2016 Olympic Trials for Track & Field in
June. The LA Marathon will follow a day later, on Feb. 14, 2016, providing
a weekend festival that celebrates road racing on all levels.
"Securing the privilege of hosting the Olympic Trials Marathon could not
have been accomplished without the tireless partnership and commitment from
business and civic leaders across Los Angeles, including the LA Sports
Council," said Tracey Russell, CEO of LA MARATHON LLC. "It truly seems
appropriate that today, some 30 years after Joan Benoit Samuelson's 1984
triumph in the first Olympic women's marathon here in this city, we're
announcing once again that America's Olympic marathoners will create
history and find glory on the streets of Los Angeles. By securing the
Olympic Trials, Los Angeles is now set to deliver this city's biggest
running weekend since that iconic victory, providing our LA Marathon
participants and fans with a rare opportunity to be part of an Olympic
Trials celebration."
"Congratulations to Mayor Garcetti, to our team at LA MARATHON LLC, and to
all of our partners involved in the 2016 Olympic Trials bid," said Frank
McCourt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McCourt Global, who in
2008 acquired the operating rights to the LA Marathon. "Today's
announcement clearly illustrates the positive impact that smart people and
effective public-private partnerships can deliver for the community and for
the sports we're passionate about. We hope that today marks the start of a
very long and productive relationship between LA MARATHON LLC and USA Track
& Field."
National tour
Hosting the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles continues a
national tour for the event: In 2004, the women's Olympic Trials were in
St. Louis and men's in Birmingham, Ala.; the 2008 Olympic Trials were held
in Boston (women) and New York (men); and 2012 saw both races together for
the first time in Houston. USATF entertained bids for the 2016 Olympic
Trials from three cities: Cincinnati, Houston and Los Angeles.
"Houston did a phenomenal job hosting the first combined men's and women's
marathon Olympic Trials in 2012," Siegel said. "In Los Angeles, we will
continue to grow that model and help elevate the excitement for the Olympic
Trials throughout the country."
Start times and specifics on the criterium courses for both the men's and
women's races will be determined in coming months.
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF
encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched
events of Olympic broadcasts, the country's #1 high school and junior high
school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the
United States. For more information on USATF, visit www.usatf.org.
LA MARATHON LLC is a leading U.S. running organization dedicated to
inspiring the athlete in every runner and connecting communities through
health and fitness. The LA Marathon is among the largest marathons in the
country with more than 25,000 participants, thousands of volunteers and
hundreds of thousands of spectators. The "Stadium to the Sea" course,
starting at Dodger Stadium and finishing near the Santa Monica Pier, is one
of the most scenic in the world, taking runners on a tour of Los Angeles
past every major landmark. The race has been named Best Big City Race by
Runner's World.
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