By Duncan Mackay

Los Angeles has been chosen to host the 2016 US Olympic marathon trials ©Getty ImagesJanuary 29 - Los Angeles has been awarded the United States Olympic marathon trials for Rio 2016, it was announced today. 


The decision is being interpreted as a boost for the city's campaign to be chosen by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as the country's bid for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, 

The event is due to be held on February 13, 2016, with separate starts, the men's and
women's races both will be broadcast in their entirety on NBC.

"We are thrilled with what Los Angeles will provide to our athletes, the Olympic movement and
the sport of long distance running by hosting this event," USA Track & Field chief executive Max Siegel said.

"With television coverage on NBC and incredible public and private support for the race in one of the world's biggest media markets, everything is in place to continue to elevate the Olympic trials and give our athletes a platform on which they can truly shine."

Los Angeles was chosen ahead of Cincinnati and Houston. 

"I'm happy and honoured USA Track & Field and the US Olympic Committee have chosen Los
Angeles as host city for the 2016 Olympic marathon trials," said Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti.

"With its iconic landmarks and decades of experience hosting world class sporting events, Los Angeles is the ideal location for America's elite marathoners to prepare for the 2016
Olympic Games in Brazil."

The trial races will be the centrepiece of running activity in the city, with the mass participation Los Angeles Marathon being held the day after on February 14. 

American Joan Benoit wins marathon gold at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics ©Getty ImagesAmerican Joan Benoit wins marathon gold at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics ©Getty Images


"The US Olympic Committee is pleased to be returning to Los Angeles with this amazing
event," USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun said.

"As the host of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games, Los Angeles has a tremendous Olympic legacy and LA.'s status as a global centre of sport and culture make it an exceptional host for the Olympic trials."

Backers of Los Angeles' campaign to be chosen as the American candidate for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics will point to the strong public-private collaboration that supported the trials bid as an example of why they should be chosen.

Among those who worked on it were Anita DeFrantz, a member of the International Olympic Committee and head of the LA84 Foundation, and AEG, which owns Staples Center, L.A. Live, ice hockey team Los Angeles Kings and football club LA Galaxy.

"Securing the privilege of hosting the Olympic Trials Marathon could not have been
accomplished without the tireless partnership and commitment from business and civic leaders
across Los Angeles, including the LA Sports Council," said Tracey Russell, chief executive of LA
MARATHON LLC.

"It truly seems appropriate that today, some 30 years after Joan Benoit Samuelson's 1984 triumph in the first Olympic women's marathon here in this city, we're announcing once again that America's Olympic marathoners will create history and find glory on the streets of Los Angeles.

"By securing the Olympic Trials, Los Angeles is now set to deliver this city's biggest running weekend since that iconic victory, providing our LA Marathon participants and fans with a rare opportunity to be part of an Olympic Trials celebration."

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