The women’s field at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando will be without one of the best marathoners in America.
Emma Bates announced on Saturday evening that she would be withdrawing from the Olympic Marathon Trials that’s set to take place in three weeks.
“I have some good news and some bad news. I’m back to doing workouts with Team Boss. The bad news is I’m withdrawing from the Trials. There’s just not enough time to be where I need to be. Another four years to wait for another Olympic team. I’ll be okay.”
Bates suffered torn plantar during this year’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon. She announced in December that she suffered from shin splints. Bates took some time to recover from the injury that she sustained, and recently returned to training with her training group in Colorado, Team Boss.
Bates was coming into the race with one of the fastest times in the women’s field with her personal best time of 2:22:10, which she ran at the Boston Marathon last April. She finished as the top American in the field.
In 2022, she finished seventh overall in the women’s marathon at the World Championships in Eugene.
The Olympic Marathon Trials will take place in Orlando on February 3.
