INDIANAPOLIS – USATF has announced the marathon athletes who will represent the U.S. at this fall’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. Led by the third fastest American woman ever, Betsy Saina, and the No. 8 all-time U.S. man, Clayton Young, Team USATF will feature two of the nation’s strongest trios ever fielded for a World Championships.
Saina set her lifetime best of 2:18:19 to finish fifth at Tokyo last year and is an Olympic veteran after placing fifth for Kenya in the 10,000 at Rio 2016. She was also eighth in the 10,000 at the 2015 World Championships and took seventh in the 3000 at the 2016 World Indoor Championships. Saina won two straight USATF 25K Championships in 2023-24.
Making her second World Athletics Championships appearance in the marathon, Susanna Sullivan moved to No. 10 on the all-time U.S. performer list with her 2:21:56 to place seventh at Chicago last year. She was 10th at London in April, matching her placing from 2023, the year she was on Team USATF for the World Championships in Budapest.
Moving up to the marathon after a successful track career that saw her notch personal bests of 15:10.10 in the 5000 and 31:28.69 in the 10,000, Erika Kemp had an impressive finish at Houston in January, running a 2:22:56 that placed her second and put her at No. 12 on the all-time U.S. performer list. She was eighth in the 10,000 at last year’s Olympic Trials and has a pair of USATF titles on her resume from the 15K championships in 2019 and 20K championships in 2021.
Young leads the American men, coming off a ninth-place finish at the Olympic Games in Paris. He set his personal best of 2:08:00 at Chicago in 2023, but also has an aided 2:07:04 that earned him seventh at Boston in April. Young won three USATF titles in 2023, taking gold at the 8K, 10K, and 20K championships, and was also victorious at the 2021 15K championships.
Tenth on the all-time U.S. performer list with a best of 2:08:17 at Chicago in 2024, CJ Albertson is a veteran of more than 20 career marathons since his debut in 2018. Albertson was fifth at the Olympic Trials last year, and in 2023 he won three marathons in the span of just over a month, with 2:11:09 and 2:11:08 efforts coming a week apart.
Rounding out the men’s squad is Reed Fischer, ninth at last year’s Olympic Trials and a 2:10:14 performer at Chicago in 2024. Fischer is making his second international championship appearance after competing in the half marathon at the inaugural World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia, in 2023.
The full team representing USA Track & Field in Tokyo will be announced following the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon July 31-August 3.
AloJapan.com