Swiss Olympic Marathon trial

At the moment the Olympic Games are still the big target for elite distance runners this year – but there have been very few marathons held in the last year.

All but a handful of the usual big-city races that make up the competitive calendar have disappeared with no clear prospect of when they will become possible again. With this in mind Swiss Athletics has reverted to the old model of a federation-organised national marathon trial which they plan to hold in Belp on 14 March. The course will be the same as that used for the Swiss championships over 10km and the half marathon last autumn.

Some of the best Swiss endurance specialists have announced their participation including the already-qualified Tadesse Abraham. Qualifying times for Tokyo (or Sapporo, where the Marathons will be run) are 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women.

The race will be held with anti-covid precautions in place and starting places limited to 50. There are numerous foreign runners on the start list as well as the Swiss elite, which should enhance the competition.