Emily Sisson qualified for the marathon at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
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In the world of track and field, the Olympic team trials are heating up as athletes aim to earn their place on the national team. The trials give a sneak peek into what we can expect in Paris, and the humid weather in Orlando, Florida is helping athletes prepare for what they’ll face in France later this year.
However, for marathon runner Emily Sisson, the heat in Florida is perfect for fine-tuning her preparations. Emily came second in the women’s marathon trials, finishing behind Stanford’s Fiona O’Keeffe. She’s set on making her first Olympics a special one. Even though the trials began at noon, which surprised many, Emily believes that the timing couldn’t have been better.
The former high school champion from Nebraska has earned her spot for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Emily, known for her time running at Omaha Marian and Millard North, secured her place with a stellar performance at the Olympic Marathon Trials on Saturday in Orlando. She finished in 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 42 seconds – the second-fastest in the field.
Fiona O’Keeffe won, with Dakotah Lindwurm taking the last qualifying spot. Emily moved to the St. Louis area during her junior year of high school. She ran for the 2020 Summer Olympics and placed 10th in the 10,000-meter race in Tokyo. She also set an American record at the Chicago Marathon in 2022 which hasn’t been beaten yet.
According to an interview, Emily thinks running the trials in Orlando is a great warm-up for Paris. In her words, this is “pretty close to what we’ll get in Paris.” Emily believes the conditions in Orlando are just right for understanding how to compete well in the 2024 Paris Olympics. It’s all about getting as close to the real thing as possible.
Emily Sisson began her pro-running career with New Balance at the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, running in the 10,000m and getting a fifth place. That September, she earned third in the 5 km Road Running Championship in Providence, Rhode Island. The following year, Sisson placed 10th in the 10,000m at the US Olympic Trials.
She also came second in the US 20 km and 5 km Road Running Championships that September, with Aliphine Tuliamuk winning both. Sisson snagged her first US national title on October 10, 2016, by speeding ahead in the 10 km Championship, beating Sarah Pagano by 44 seconds. On January 15, she set a new American record for the Houston Half Marathon, clocking in at 1 hour, 6 minutes, and 52 seconds—19 seconds faster than her previous best.
She ran that race at an impressive pace of just over 5 minutes per mile and finished second. Keira D’Amato would later break this record on July 1, 2023. Sisson came back to win the US 20 km Road Running Championship on March 6. On October 8, despite suffering from a painful side stitch, she was the fastest American runner in the Chicago Marathon, finishing seventh with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 9 seconds.
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