Los Angeles will host the 2016 U.S. Olympic marathon trials, city mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday. The qualifying race for the Rio Summer Olympics will be held February 13, 2016, and the L.A. Marathon will be held the following day.
“With its iconic landmarks and decades of experience hosting world-class sporting events, Los Angeles is the ideal location for America’s elite marathoners to prepare for the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil,” .
A smooth and successful Olympic marathon trials might boost the city’s chances of bringing the Summer Games back to the city in 2024. Los Angeles announced its candidacy in September last year and already plans to host the Special Olympics World Summer Games in 2015.
If the City of Angels wins the XXXIII Olympiad, it’ll be the city’s third time hosting (1932, 1984), breaking the 18-year drought of Summer Games in the United States. (Atlanta hosted in 1996.)
With 744 days left to train, marathoners weigh in:
Pretty stoked to be running 2016 Olympic Trials marathon in my childhood “backyard” in LA. Crowd support should be unreal!
—Ryan Hall (@ryanhall3)
So proud of ! Olympic marathon trails are going to be amazing, Feb 13th in LA! They listened to the athletes concerns and nailed it!
—Shalane Flanagan (@ShalaneFlanagan)
I will be channeling my inner on February 13, 2016 as I run the Olympic Trials Marathon! Congrats to LA!
—Kara Goucher (@karagoucher)