The road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games marathon will begin in St. Louis, Missouri, for six Americans.
USA Track & Field (USATF) and the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) announced on June 6 that St. Louis has been selected to host the 2028 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon. The event, scheduled for March 25, 2028, will determine the six marathon runners named to Team USA for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“We are proud to name St. Louis as the host of the 2028 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon,” said USATF CEO Max Siegel. “Throughout the bid process, the local organizing committee demonstrated the professionalism, vision and passion necessary to host one of the most important events on the road to Los Angeles.”
Organized by the St. Louis Sports Commission in partnership with GO! In St. Louis, the race will be broadcast live by NBC.
The marathon course will weave through some of the city’s most notable landmarks. Athletes will pass Washington University, home to the stadium used during the 1904 Olympic Games and regarded as the world’s oldest active Olympic stadium. The route will also travel through Forest Park and feature views of the Gateway Arch and Busch Stadium before finishing inside Energizer Park, home of Major League Soccer club St. Louis CITY SC. Organizers say the final course layout will be released in the coming months.
Based on the landmarks indicated, there will be an initial descent. The race features a net downhill of 140 feet over the first 13 kilometres (eight miles) as runners move from the higher elevation of Washington University and Forest Park down toward the Gateway Arch near the riverfront. Repeated Climbs will factor later. The multi-loop section of the course requires athletes to conquer a 70-foot climb three separate times. And there will be a challenging finish. The final 3kms (two miles) leading up to the finish at Energizer Park are designated as highly challenging, featuring gradual, rolling inclines that will test the runners’ late-race speed.
“It is a wonderful privilege and opportunity for our region to host the 2028 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon,” said St. Louis Sports Commission President Marc Schreiber. “As America’s first Olympic city, we’re excited to add another chapter to our Olympic history.”
St. Louis occupies a unique place in American Olympic history. The city hosted the 1904 Olympic Games, which included the first Olympic marathon contested on US soil. It also staged the 2004 US Olympic Marathon Trials.
The region has produced several Olympic champions, including 1984 relay gold medallist Ray Armstead, 2008 Olympic 100-metre hurdles champion Dawn Harper-Nelson, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee, widely regarded as one of the greatest all-around athletes in history. Joyner-Kersee won Olympic gold in both the heptathlon and long jump at the 1988 Seoul Games before defending her heptathlon title in Barcelona four years later.
“It is a tremendous honour to be selected as host of the 2028 Marathon Trials,” said Joyner-Kersee, co-chair of the local organizing committee. “St. Louis is ready to deliver a first-class experience and provide the kind of atmosphere athletes can draw energy from as they pursue a place on Team USA.”
The event will serve as the first Olympic team selection competition across all sports for the Los Angeles Games.
To qualify for the Trials, athletes must achieve standards of 2:16:00 for men and 2:37:00 for women during the qualifying period.
For American marathoners, the journey to LA28 will begin when qualifying for the Trials that will take place in a city where Olympic history runs deep.
