Leading up to the February 13th U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, FloTrack will highlight the storylines of the contenders on both the men's and women's side. 

Deena Kastor: The Veteran Still Has It

Name: Deena Kastor

Age: 42

Hometown: Mammoth Lakes, Calif. 

Marathon PR: 2:19:36 (London 2006)

Best Trials Qualifier: 2:27:47 (Chicago 2015)

Previous Trials Results: 1st in 10K (2000), 2nd in marathon (2004), 1st in marathon (2008), 6th in marathon (2012)

Our Take: At 42-years-old, Deena Kastor has the most storied career of all the top marathon contenders heading into the Olympic Trials. With the experience of three Olympic Games, 19 U.S. teams, an Olympic bronze medal, and her fastest marathon since setting the American record 10 years ago, Kastor has a great shot at making her fourth Olympic team this week. 

Kastor finished 18th in the first round of the 10K at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, and followed the Olympic year with her first marathon ever in 2001. She made her debut with a 2:26:58 and a seventh-place finish in New York City. At the time, it was the fastest performance of any American woman ever and the fastest debut in the distance for an American. With an obvious skill for the marathon distance, Kastor made the event her main focus for the next three Olympic Trials. 

In 2004, Kastor’s talent continued to break barriers when she finished third at the Olympic Games in Athens. The medal-earning performance ended a 20-year draught for American women in the event. 

In 2006, Kastor accomplished the unthinkable when she won the London Marathon in an American record time of 2:19:36. The victory ranked her No. 1 in the world that year and still stands as the American record. 

Two years later, Kastor competed at the 2008 Olympic Trials where she won in 2:29:35. Unfortunately, the experienced Olympian broke her foot mid-race in Beijing, which forced her to drop out of the Olympic Games.



In her recovery from the major injury, Kastor managed to return just a year later to finish fifth at the Chicago Marathon. 

In 2012, Kastor competed in her fourth Olympic Trials where she finished a heartbreaking sixth overall, missing Team USA by three spots. Since 2012, Kastor has not only been setting Masters records on the road, but most recently ran her fastest marathon since 2006 in Chicago last year. 

In 2014, Kastor set five world masters records in one race during the Philadelphia Rock ’n’ Roll Half-Marathon where she shattered the previous record with a time of 1:09:36. In 2015, Kastor’s most notable performance came at the Chicago Marathon where she finished seventh overall in 2:27:47. The performance was her fastest marathon since setting the American record in 2006. 



At 42-years-old, Kastor is running at a level that brings her to be ranked No. 4 in the qualifying times for the Trials. No matter her age, the Olympic bronze medalist and American record-holder should never be counted out when it comes to making teams.