Fiona O'Keeffe on winning the US Olympic trials on her record-breaking marathon debut: "It was an outcome that I couldn’t have dreamed of"
For most people, running a first marathon is a daunting affair. But imagine if that marathon was an Olympic trial where you could earn a place on your national team for Paris 2024?
That was the case for Fiona O’Keeffe who stormed to victory in February’s US Olympic Team Trials in her first attempt at the 42.195km (26.2 mile) distance.
“Stunning”, “surprise” and “underdog” are just three of the words the media used to describe O’Keeffe’s unexpected victory.
Yet as the athlete, who qualified for the trials through her half-marathon time, revealed in an interview with Olympics.com, making the team - if not winning the race - was all part of the plan.
"The main goal coming was just to make the top three,” O’Keeffe explained. “And I believe that I had a legitimate shot. So I would have been very excited with a top-three finish, and that was the main objective - just to make the team.”
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
While O’Keeffe’s victory sent shockwaves around the athletics world, it was the manner in which she achieved it that really set tongues wagging.
In her first marathon, the 25-year-old shattered the existing Olympic trials record by over three minutes, reaching the finish line in 2 hours 22 minutes and 10 seconds. She is also the youngest-ever winner of the trials and the first person to claim victory on their trials debut.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, the Stanford University graduate was racing against some of the greatest marathon runners in US history, including current American record holder Emily Sisson and the previous holder of that crown, Keira D'Amato.
It would be easy to think that being in such celebrated company might leave you starstruck.
But for O’Keeffe, who is also an elite 10,000m runner with a strong collegiate background in track & field, competing against America’s best was an opportunity to learn the art of marathon running on the fly - even in the pressure cooker of a national trial.
“Watching how they handled small things in the race, like navigating the road or taking water, because it was a hot day, that was honestly pretty helpful,” she said. “And it was nice to know that they really know what they’re doing because, in a way, I’m in really good hands in this race.”
From student to master - all in the space of 26 miles
While O’Keeffe may have been studying her rivals’ race management techniques, it wasn’t long before she took matters into her own hands and began her charge towards history.
At around the 18-mile mark, she broke from the pack and started to put distance between herself and her decorated competition.
At the time, the choice to take the lead must have been a scary one but the marathon novice also trusted the long hours of training that had taken her to the start line prepared, ready and quietly confident about her chances.
“It helped watching some of my teammates, people that my coaches have also trained, have really good marathons in Chicago… so that gave me a lot of confidence, knowing that they’ve been through the same program that I had, that what I was doing was going to have me ready on the day,” she explained.
Even with all of that, it’s one thing feeling you are prepared and another completely to execute on race day. The marathon distance has a habit of scuppering even the best-laid plans - of debutants and veterans alike.
“I didn’t know even when I’d broken away how people were running behind me,” admitted O’Keeffe. “And I knew Emily Sisson (who finished second) was having a good day, too. And I didn’t know if she was suddenly going to run super fast and hunt me down. So I didn’t let it fully sink in that I was going to win until the final stretch.”
Fiona O'Keeffe led the US marathon trials from mile 18
An unexpected victory and a chance to shine at Paris 2024
When O’Keeffe did eventually pass the finish line at the end of her historic run, bleeding from a self-confessed “little chafing situation”, the emotions she had held at bay throughout the race surfaced rapidly as she celebrated her record-breaking achievement.
“It was just overwhelming in the best way,” she told us. ‘It was an outcome I couldn’t have dreamed of, honestly. So, yeah, it was just like disbelief, joy and just a lot of gratitude for the moment.”
But no matter how impressive, the trials were just the beginning of O’Keeffe’s Olympic journey, with the upcoming marathon race at Paris 2024 a chance to test herself against the greatest runners on the planet.
"I’m just really excited to experience that highest level," she said. “And know that it’s truly the best in the world - and see where I can line up in that situation.”
And when the eyes of the world hone in on her as she attempts her second-ever marathon - this time on the greatest sporting stage of all - O’Keeffe will be hoping to inspire a new generation of young athletes who dare to think the impossible, even when it involves going where nobody has gone before.
“Definitely hold onto those dreams,” is the advice O’Keeffe offers when asked what she would tell those who look at her achievements and are inspired to follow in her footsteps. "You never know what can happen. But also stay patient and have fun with your sport, whatever your sport is.
"There’s so much time, and when you’re young, it should really be fun. That’s the best way to make it sustainable and give you a shot at long-term success.”