Conner Mantz (2:07:47) and Clayton Young (2:08:00) Recap Their 2023 Chicago Marathon, Hitting The Olympic Standard

"We want to compete with the best and we want to have a run at the American record soon. It’s not going to happen next year with the Olympic Trials and the Olympics, but we want to compete with the best. American distance running will eventually get to that level. It would be better to do it with us now than in three to five years with someone else. We’d rather be the ones to get that rather than reacting to someone else hitting it.” Conner Mantz and Clayton Young just became the first two American men to hit the Olympic marathon qualifying standard for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. At the Chicago Marathon, Mantz finished 2:07:47 for sixth place. Young took seventh in 2:08:00. Going into last weekend, no American man had dipped under the 2:08:10 standard so there was a bit of stress about whether any American marathoners would have the mark before the U.S. Olympic Trials in February. Athletes can qualify for the Olympics by hitting the time, placing top five at a Platinum Label Marathon or getting within the world ranking quota. Mantz and Young assured that we will have at least two U.S. men’s marathoners at the Paris Olympics. Now, they’ll have to just finish in the top 3 of the U.S. Olympic Trials to get on the team officially. We’ll discuss that a bit more within the episode. While the performances were strong, we actually didn’t get to watch any of it on the TV broadcast since Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum was much further ahead while on his way to a 2:00:35 world record. In this episode, we’ll unpack how the races played out for them, their key takeaways, what their early thoughts are for the trials and much more. Host: Chris Chavez | @chris_j_chavez on Instagram Guest: Conner Mantz | @connermantz on Instagram Guest: Clayton Young |  @_clayton_young_ on Instagram SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS 🍊 OLIPOP is a prebiotic soda with only 2-5g of sugar that is actually good for your gut health. – and it's delicious. Use code CITIUS25 for 25% off non-subscription orders. Learn more at https://DrinkOlipop.com (click the link or use our promotional code for the discount) 👟 BANDIT RUNNING is a performance and lifestyle running apparel brand founded by members of the NYC Running Community in 2020. What started as socks and accessories has grown into a full-fledged apparel assortment. Check them out here: https://banditrunning.com/ GET 15% OFF YOUR ORDERS AT BANDITRUNNING.COM THROUGH OCT. 31 HOW TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST 💻 Visit CITIUSMAG.com | Our brand-new website hosts tons more podcasts, articles, videos and more. Track and field storytelling all in one place. 🎙️ Subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. 💵 Pledge any dollar amount to us on Patreon.com/CITIUSMAG or Hit us on Venmo @CITIUSMAG 🎥 Subscribe to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel