Sara Lopez won the women’s race with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:33:48 at the 2023 Eugene Marathon on Sunday, April 30. Photo by Maggie Troxell.

By Israel La Rue

Sara Lopez won the women’s race at the Eugene Marathon in 2:33:48, becoming the only female runner in the field to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, which has a significantly faster qualifying time than the previous one.

“I’m on top of the world,” Lopez said. “This is the best day.”

The new standard is 2:37, eight minutes faster than the 2020 standard of 2:45. The change will mean a smaller field, but Lopez thinks the elite runners will rise to the challenge.

“I think it’s really good for the sport,” she said. “I think women’s running in the U.S. is so deep right now. So I think it’s really good for the sport. It really pushes us women to the best that we can be.”

Clint McKelvey won the men’s race with an Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:16:34 at the 2023 Eugene Marathon on Sunday, April 30. Photo by Maggie Troxell.

Men’s winner Clint McKelvey was one of five male finishers who qualified for the Olympic trials. The men’s standard also got lowered, but not as drastically. The 2024 standard of 2:19 is only one minute faster.

McKelvey won with a time of 2:16:34, which is the third-best time in the race’s history.

“The number one goal was getting the Olympic trial standard and getting the time to go to Orlando,” McKelvey said.

Lopez and McKelvey both said the conditions – cool and cloudy, with a bit of rain – were perfect to run this marathon.

“I’m from Seattle, so when it was drizzling in the beginning I was like OK, this is perfect,” Lopez said. “This is what I’m used to, so that’s good.”

McKelvey isn’t from the Pacific Northwest; he trains in Arlington, Va. But he agreed.

“It even drizzled a couple of times during the race, which was kind of nice to keep cool ‘cause it wasn’t enough to soak your shoes,” McKelvey said. “I think even pretty late in the race, I never felt like I was getting too hot or anything, which is really what you need in a marathon. I think we really lucked out with a good day.”

The other four male runners who hit the qualifying standard are David Fuentes, Jesse Joseph, Zachary Hine and Bradley Taylor.

Now that the two runners have clinched spots in Orlando next year, the goal is to continue training for the trials.

“It feels really good,” Lopez said. “It feels like a nice weight off my shoulders, and we can just focus on some speed this summer and get ready for the trials next year.”