2024 U.S. Olympic marathon trials: How Jesse Joseph’s revealing race bio made him a viral sensation
Olympics.com spoke to the American runner about his upcoming participation in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon and the story behind his now-famous athlete bio.
Athletics
It’s not often that an athlete bio on a race website catches the attention of the world. But a social media post by Olivia Katbi, wife of Jesse Joseph who will run in the Olympic marathon trials in Orlando on 3 February, resulted in her husband’s bio being shared across the globe.
The post featured a screenshot of Joseph’s biography and, with almost 600,000 views and 12,000 likes, it has become a viral sensation.
It was at once an honest portrait of Joseph’s greatest passions (with no sugarcoating) and an open love letter to Katbi.
Greatest accomplishment?
“Getting married to my amazing and hot wife, Olivia Katbi, which will soon be topped by having a child with my amazing and hot wife, Olivia Katbi”.
Now there’s a way to earn some brownie points.
Favorite post-race indulgence?
“Jameson on the rocks”.
Favorite motivational quote?
“There are two thumbs”.
You get the picture.
With such an intriguing set of answers to seemingly innocuous questions, Olympics.com reached out to talk to Joseph about his life, the upcoming marathon trials and the person behind that viral race bio.
Jesse Joseph and Olivia Katbi
So how did Joseph even come to writing a bio that captured so many people’s hearts?
“Liv (Olivia) was on the other end of the couch, and I was like, I’m just gonna type stuff because I want to get it done with. You know, at the end of the day I would like to sit down and not be doing tasks anymore,” he says.
“So I had her look at a couple of things and was like, ‘Is this fine?’ and she was like, ‘Are you sure you want to write this?’ and I said, ‘It’s fine - they’re not gonna look at it.
“But also, I didn’t really care if anybody looked at it because it more or less reflects the things that am into. I love my wife, I love to eat a hard boiled egg (his favorite breakfast answer).”
With that question resolved, what better way to continue than to look at the stories behind some of the answers behind Joesph’s now-famous athlete bio.
Favorite running memory: Qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, and hugging my wife after
It goes without saying that qualifying for your first Olympic marathon trials would be among your most cherished running memories. But for Joseph, the memory was made all the sweeter by the payoff of embracing his wife at the finish line after she herself had finished the same race.
“I feel a little bad that the first thing she thought about was if I hit my time,” Joseph tells us with a laugh. “But I was ecstatic, it was really exciting and everything just felt perfect… the fact that I was doing it right there with her and she was also in the race was even more perfect and it just felt like something that we did together.”
So is Joseph just a hopeless romantic?
“Oh yeah, I love my wife, I love to tell people that I love my wife, and I like to do things with my wife. We like to go on little dates and we like to spend time together and I never really get tired of her.
“There’s a lot of relationship advice to make sure you have your own personal space and time and whatever but I never really feel I need that and that’s really nice.
“You know, we’re going to have a baby (in April) and until me and Liv got together I wasn’t really gung ho about having kids or anything, it’s not something I thought about much but because I’m married to Olivia and because it feels perfect that makes me want to raise a kid.”
Jesse Joseph
Favorite song: I run in silence haunted by my echoing empty mind
While “I run in silence haunted by my echoing empty mind” may sound like the lyrics to a song by an Emo revival band, Joseph does indeed prefer to train in noise-free tranquillity.
And that’s not the only thing he does accompanied by his own quiet solitude.
“Actually, my wife makes fun of me because I do all the cooking in the house and whenever I’m cooking or doing chores or anything, I never listen to music, because I never think to put music on” he says.
“And I used to listen to music all the time but for whatever reason I just stopped remembering to put music on when I’m doing things. So, she’ll come downstair and I will be there cooking in total silence, having spoken to nobody.
“I haven’t talked to her, I haven’t heard anything, all I’ve done is my chores silently for an hour and a half.”
But what about when Joseph runs? Surely he sometimes feels the need to escape the echoes of his mind.
“That’s more that I don’t want to carry something to play music,” he explains. “I guess you can get watches now that will store music on them…
“One time I went to Best Buy because I thought the idea of listening to music while I ran was a good one. So I went to Best Buy or Target and bought an old-school MP3 player - I was surprised they still make them. And then the chore of putting new podcasts and stuff on all the time was too much for me, so I didn’t use it!”
Favorite TV show/Series: The Great British Baking Show
For someone who lives in Portland, Oregon, it may come as a surprise that Joseph’s television tastes stretch to the quaint British countryside county of Berkshire, where the Great British Baking Show (Great British Bakeoff in the UK) is filmed.
But there’s something about the simplicity of the series that draws the athlete in.
“It’s a really pleasant thing to watch,” explains Joseph. “You know, they’re in the tent and there’s a nice garden around them, everything’s green and they’re just baking and there are pleasant pastel colors and people are trying their hardest."
There is also a camaraderie in the show - something Joseph also admits he loves about the sport of running - that resonates with an athlete who has been training together with his loyal teammates in the Jacuzzi Boys Athletics Club for many years now.
“They’re all friends, they become best buddies,” he says of the show. “They help each other when time is running short on their bakes, somebody will jump in and help decorate or help hold the cake pan or whatever.
“I think it’s really fun and nice, especially at the end of the day watching people be nice to each other where the only enemy is the clock.”
What’s next for Jesse Joseph in 2024?
Of course, the US Olympic marathon trials will be at the forefront of Joseph’s mind. This will be the first trial he has run, although he does harbor hope of returning with wife Olivia to “shoot for the 2028 trials” together.
But after this race there’s the small matter of the couple’s first baby arriving in April. And ever the competitor, Joseph is already planning an attack on some of the most ambitious race times in the world of athletics.
“I haven’t tried to push a stroller while running yet and I’m pretty small, even for a runner,” he says.
“I’m a little worried that I’m not going to have the upper body strength for it… but honestly, my coach thinks that some of those stroller records are a little soft.”
You can watch Jesse Joseph live at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon on Saturday 3 February.