Indiana Olympic hopefuls come up short at marathon trials: 'A punch in the gut.'
ORLANDO, Fla. – Indiana has produced Olympic medalists in track and field, swimming, diving, gymnastics, cycling, basketball, volleyball, boxing . . . about any summer sport you could imagine.
Never has a Hoosier run in an Olympic marathon, though. For nearly two hours Saturday, it looked as if Zach Panning might run all the way to Paris.
Panning, 28, of Fort Wayne, effectively led from the sixth through the 23rd mile of 26.2 miles. He finished sixth at the U.S. Olympic Trials marathon but won over skeptics and critics, and certainly won the respect of peers.
“Honestly, my heart breaks for Zach for taking sixth,” said runner-up Clayton Young. “He is what made that race happen today.”
Panning finished in 2 hours, 10 minutes, 50 seconds — or 53 seconds behind the necessary third place.
Another Hoosier, Futsum Zienasellassie of Indianapolis, finished 14th in 2:13:58. The 31-year-old, seeded No. 8, won seven state titles for North Central.
“This result will be very tough to swallow,” he said. “I think it’s really going to help me get to that next step in how I approach my training. I’m way better than this performance.”
In the women’s marathon, Indy native Andrea (Kremer) Pomaranski moved up steadily to finish 27th in 2:34:35. The 41-year-old mother of three is a former Bishop Chatard softball pitcher who took nine years off from running and was the silver medalist at the recent 50-kilometer world championship.
“It was hard, don’t get me wrong,” she said. “But I felt so much joy out there.”
Few could have projected Panning would be out there in front. His best state finish at Concordia Lutheran was fourth at 3,200 meters in 2014, and his best time was 9:12.72.
He went on to Grand Valley State, where he swept the 5,000 and 10,000 at the 2019 NCAA Division II meet. Now he represents the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.
Through a half-marathon, Panning was on pace to meet the automatic Olympic standard of 2:08:10. He conceded his inexperience showed, although he finished 12th in last August's World Championships at Budapest, Hungary.
“Maybe I got a little antsy just a little early. Just maybe a pinch too excited,” he said. “Hindsight is 20-20. I’m really proud of how I raced. I think I did everything I could.”
Top two were former BYU teammates Conner Mantz and Young, who were coached there by Ed Eyestone, a two-time Olympic marathoner.
Mantz crossed first in 2:09:05. Young, putting his hands down as if to infer “you first,” was second in 2:09:06. Both were just off the trials record of 2:09:02 set by Ryan Hall in November 2007.
Leonard Korir, a 37-year-old born in Kenya and representing the U.S. Army, was fourth at the 2020 trials. He passed two runners in the last two miles to claim a tentative hold on the third Olympic spot in 2:09:57. Since Korir has not run 2:08:10, he will have to wait until May to see if he makes it into the Paris Olympics.
Galen Rupp, 37, winner of the past two trials marathons, was 16th in 2:14:07.
Zienasellassie said he would next aim at a fast 10,000 meters on the track in a bid to qualify for June’s Olympic Trials or to better prepare for a fall marathon.
“This was a punch in the gut,” he said. “I feel I have to prove myself again.”
Pomaranski said she has nothing to prove except to herself.
Nonetheless, it will be hard to replicate this environment: Olympics at stake, cheering crowds along the course, shouting “I love you” to husband Joe and her parents when they came into view. Amazingly, Pomaranski was faster than in a marathon she ran at Houston just 20 days before.
What’s next?
Maybe breaking her own over-40 American records in the road mile or 50K. Or a sub-2:30 marathon that would be an Indiana record. Or whatever will take her to the trials for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, when she would be 45.
“Whatever lights me up inside is what I’m going to go for,” she said.
Top three women all were under the trials record of 2:25:38 set by Shalane Flanagan in 2012.
Fionna O’Keefe became the first woman to win the trials in her first marathon, clocking 2:22.10. Emily Sisson, who set a half-marathon American record at Indianapolis in 2022, was second in 2:22:42. Dakotah Lindwurm was a surprise third in 2:25:31.
Notre Dame graduate Molly Seidel, bronze medalist at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, did not start because of a knee injury. Molly Huddle, a two-time track Olympian from Notre Dame, dropped out after 17 miles.
Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at dwoods1411@gmail.com . Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: US Olympic Trials Marathon: Zach Panning led 17 miles but misses cut
