A year ago, just under the wire before the national coronavirus pandemic shutdown, the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials were held in Atlanta.
It was one of the only major qualifiers held in 2020 for the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed less than a month after the Feb. 29 marathon trials and rescheduled for summer 2021.
The delay left the six U.S. qualified marathoners — four with Arizona ties — in limbo, knowing their Olympic spot was secure even if the Olympics themselves were not. And of having to bridge what suddenly expanded from a six-month to 1 1/2-year training camp until their races, now scheduled for Aug.