Laura Thweatt had to wait four long years for a second chance at the Olympics. Despite running a strong race, she once again missed out on making the U.S. team by two positions.
Thweatt, a 31-year-old from Durango, stormed to the front of the women’s marathon race as part of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Saturday in Atlanta. She ran with the lead group for the opening 19 miles, leading much of the 26.2-mile marathon between miles 8 and 19. But only the top three women to the finish line would earn their spot for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
A little less than four years after Thweatt finished fifth in the 10,000-meters at the Olympic Trials, she once again would finish fifth in the much longer distance Saturday.
With five miles to go, the race broke open, and Thweatt wasn’t able to go with the breakaway trio of Aliphine Tuliamuk, Molly Seidel and Sally Kipyego.
Tuliamuk and Seidel ran at the front together until the final mile before Tuliamuk of Santa Fe broke free to win in 2:27:23. Wisconsin’s Seidel would place second in 2:27:51, and Kipyego of Oregon would hold off any threat behind her to take the final Olympics spot with a time of 2:28:52.
“I didn’t quite get that fairytale ending on Saturday, but I gave it everything I had and raced how I love to race,” Thweatt said in a post to Twitter. “Three incredible women made the team and I’m inspired & driven as I begin to move forward.”
Thweatt, who now calls Boulder home, was 12 seconds behind Kipyego with three miles to go, but she couldn’t close the gap and eventually would be passed by Michigan’s Des Linden, who was fourth in 2:29:03. Thweatt would finish fifth in 2:29:08.
“(Saturday), I put everything I had into racing some of the very best women in the country,” Thweatt said in a post to Instagram. “As we rolled up and over every hill, grinding our way through each lap, testing ourselves and each other over every mile, our goal was ultimately the same. To be the first three across that finish line where the dream of becoming Olympians would turn to reality.”
Thweatt took to the front of a crowded lead group eight miles into the race. She set the pace for 11 miles before the group of more than 10 women broke up.
“I fought and fought and fought and then chased and chased and chased that dream all the way through to the finish line, crossing in fifth place.”
The 2007 graduate of Durango High School was the strongest of the women when the road led uphill. Atlanta featured plenty of hills, with 1,389 feet of climbing. The 2015 cross-country national champion in the 8,000 meters and 2017 cross-country silver medalist at the 10K national championships showed her strength, just as she had hoped to do going into the race.
“I’m a strength runner when it comes down to it, and I prefer a course like New York or Atlanta over something flatter,” Thweatt said 11 days before the race. “My edge and advantage get to come into play.”
Galen Rupp won the men’s race in 2:09:20 for his second consecutive Olympic Trials win. Jacob Riley of Boulder by way of Washington and Abdi Abdirahman of Arizona finished second and third, respectively. It will be the first Olympics for Riley and the fifth for Abdirahman, 43, who became the oldest man to make the U.S. marathon team.
Thweatt’s parents, Jean and Steve, were at the finish line in Atlanta to greet her. During the race, they were described as tense but very proud.
To get to the start line, Thweatt had overcome more than two years of injuries and underwent surgery after she had to drop out of the 2018 Chicago Marathon. The Olympic Trials was just her fourth marathon finish and fifth start in the distance after converting full time to the marathon after the 2016 Olympic Trials and her stunning New York City Marathon debut that same year.
“I’m not going to lie, this one is going to hurt for awhile. But despite coming up short on my Olympic dream, I am proud of the race I ran,” Thweatt said. “I risked it all because I wanted it. I wanted it so freaking bad. I tested myself (Saturday) over 26 miles in ways I haven’t been able to since London. I stood on the start line healthy and crossed the finish line healthy. So although my heart is heavy, I woke up (Sunday) morning knowing there are so many great takeaways to come out of (Saturday). So that’s exactly what I’m going to focus on.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
