Athletics: Road to Athens Continues in St. Louis on April 3

Kastor, De Reuck, Wells Headline U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials

On Saturday morning, April 3, more Olympic dreams will be realized as St. Louis hosts the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's Marathon. Over 130 of the best U.S. female distance runners from across the country will be competing for three Olympic team berths to Athens, the national title and $250,000 in prize money.

2000 Olympian Deena Kastor, U.S. marathon record holder, is the prohibitive favorite to win the Trials title, but if past U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials are any indication, there is likely to be a surprise or two. 2000 Trials champion and dark horse winner, Chris Clark will not be competing although she has qualified, while Sara Wells, the 2003 USA Marathon champion, will defend her title that she won in St. Louis on the same course.

Along with Kastor and Wells, eleven other women - Colleen De Reuck, Deeja Youngquist, Blake Russell, Milena Glusac, Magdalena Lewy, Jenny Spangler (1996 Trials winner), Sylvia Mosqueda, Jill Boaz, Jeanne Hennessy, Kelly Keane and Susannah Beck - have earned the Olympic "A" standard for the marathon (2:37:00 or faster) and are entered in the Trials race. The inaugural 1984 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials champion and Olympic Marathon gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson is also entered.

The Trials race will begin at 7:00am at Washington University's Francis Field with the majority of the racing over a criterium course in nearby Forest Park and a finish below the World's Fair Pavilion.

Below find 2004 U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials stats and fun facts.

Prize money = $250,000
Trials champion = $35,000 plus $10,000 bonus for Olympic Marathon
participation

Qualified = 150 U.S. women
Entered = 132
Qualifier states = 32
Entrant states = 30

Average age = 33.4 years (33.5 in 2000 and 28 in 1984)
Average height = 5'-4.5"
Average weight = 111.5 lbs

Single (61) = 41% out of 150
Married (89) = 59%

College Degree = 92.6% (national percent - 24.4%)
138 of 149 responses

ADVANCED DEGREES
Master's Degree = 36
PhD = 4
JD = 3
MBA = 3
MD = 3
VMD = 1

STATES WITH MOST QUALIFIERS AND ENTRANTS
California = 26/24
Minnesota = 11/10
Colorado = 10/8
Massachusetts = 9/8
Pennsylvania = 8/6

COLLEGE
University of Oregon = 5
Villanova University = 5
University of North Carolina = 4
Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo = 3
Stanford University = 3
University of Colorado = 3
University of Utah = 3
University of Wisconsin = 3

MAJOR
Psychology = 14
Biology = 10
Exercise Science = 10
Education = 9
Nutrition = 8

OCCUPATION
Athlete = 23
Teacher/Professor = 15
Parent = 10
Student = 9
Coach = 8

SIX-TIME OMT QUALIFIERS by time
Bev Docherty, 45, St. Paul, MN
Angela French, 45, Lacey, WA
Cindy Keeler, 46, Clermont, FL

Also, Joan Benoit Samuelson is technically a six-time OMT qualifier, but her
1988 "qualifier" was automatic because she was a 1984 Olympian.

MS. CONSISTENCY
At St. Louis, Docherty can become the first six-time Olympic Marathon Trials
finisher in history. Below are her Trials finishing times and places.

1984 = 2:45:33, 68th
1988 = 2:50:00, 82nd
1992 = 2:54:19, 57th
1996 = 2:59:33, 114th
2000 = 2:54:46, 72nd

Resources:
U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials media guide and supplement at: www.usatf.org/groups/RoadRunning/news.asp,

Women's OMT entry list (132) at: www.usatf.org/events/2004/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Women/entry/status.asp,

Women's OMT qualifier list (150) at: www.usatf.org/events/2004/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Women/entry/eligible.as.