“The day has come- this is it!” - Paul Chelimo set for marathon debut in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 2024 in Orlando
Two-time Olympic medalist Paul Chelimo has announced that he will be making his marathon debut at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 2024, scheduled in Orlando on February 3, 2024. Chelimo is known for winning two Olympic medals in the men’s 5000m event — a silver in Rio in 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo in 2020.
Although he has never competed in the marathon before, he made his half-marathon debut at the United Airlines NYC Half in 2019, finishing third with a time of 1:02:19. Paul Chelimo qualified for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 2024 after he clocked a timing of 1:02:22 in the Berlin Half Marathon in April last year. He finished in 14th place in the event.
The Kenya-born American was listed among the participants of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials after the qualification window for the trials had shut on December 5, 2023. His agent, Riad Ouled, also informed Runner's World, a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners, that his participation in the event will be announced in the middle of January 2024.
Chelimo confirmed his participation in the event through his Instagram handle, saying that running a marathon had always been his childhood dream. He wrote:
“Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of running a marathon… The day has come- this is it! 02.03.24 - 10:00”
Paul Chelimo rose to fame for the first time in 2016 when he clinched the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. His name was initially removed from the results along with Canada's Mohammed Ahmed and Ethiopia's Muktar Edris, as they had exchanged elbows during the final turn.
However, after the United States appealed, the medal was reinstated and only Edris, who initiated the contact, faced disqualification. With this, Chelimo became the first medalist for the U.S. in the men’s 5000m event since Bob Schul and Bill Dellinger achieved the feat in the 1964 Summer Olympics.
33-year-old Chelimo did it with a personal best time of 13:03.90.
Paul Chelimo received U.S. citizenship in 2014
Hailing from Iten, Kenya, Paul Chelimo moved to the U.S. in 2010 for his studies at Shorter College, Rome, Georgia, and transferred to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2011. After his graduation, he obtained U.S. citizenship in 2014 through the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program.
He trained there and worked as a water treatment specialist. Chelimo concluded his college career as a silver medalist at the World University Games, becoming a two-time runner-up in the NCAA 5000m and a five-time NCAA All-American.