The road to LA28 just narrowed and heated up. Over 10,000 runners attacked the 26.2 miles from Folsom to Sacramento at the California International Marathon, where the fastest found more than a finish line. Well over a hundred athletes left with something bigger, a place in the next Olympic trials. Let’s break down what made this race a turning point.

A total of 107 athletes strengthened the 2028 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials field at the California International Marathon, with 52 American men meeting the 2:16:00 standard and 55 women running under 2:37:00. Futsum Zienasellassie led the men in 2:09:29, while Molly Born topped the women’s division with a 2:24:09 finish. This shift follows the reinstatement of the ‘A’ and ‘B’ standards after the Paris Olympics, reshaping how athletes qualify

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