Sisay Lemma ran the Boston Marathon to prepare for the Paris Olympics

Although the Olympic marathon remains one of the classic events of any Summer Games, it generally has a major (and not necessarily positive) effect on that year’s Boston Marathon elite.

Most of America’s top runners tend to skip Boston during an Olympic year, as the U.S. Trials are usually held before April. And while many other national programs use a more vague Olympic selection process (other than a one-day trial race), it can be a system in which athletes look to more flat and potentially less difficult.

It’s a process outlined earlier in 2024 by Mary Kate Shea, senior director of the Boston Athletic Association, who spoke with longtime Boston Globe reporter John Powers about how athletes review preliminary Olympic team lists released by many countries.

“You get put on the list and that feeling of hope and expectation probably lasts a week or two and then you get to work,” Shea told Powers. “Then we ask ourselves, ‘Which course will challenge me? » “Where will I be able to excel? » “Where will I get on the podium? » “Where will I win?

“Even if you’re on this list, you have to continually prove yourself until they make the final selection,” Shea added.

Elite runners like former world record holder Eliud Kipchoge, who are aiming for a third consecutive Olympic gold medal, may have chosen to run the London Marathon (also held in April) because it is a flatter and less strenuous route than that of Boston.

However, not everyone views Boston as negative preparation for the Olympics, especially in the context of the 2024 Paris marathon.

Launching in 2022, the Paris Olympic Marathon course includes several major elevation changes as athletes race to the top (and back down) of a pair of hills.

When it comes to preparing for the hills of a marathon course, only one of the World Majors offers similar elevation changes: Boston.

This exact concept was described by 2024 Boston winner Sisay Lemma, who took an early lead and survived the Newton Hills on Monday.

“The reason I came to run (here) is that the Boston Marathon is similar to the Paris Marathon because of the hills, and I know that will help me,” Lemma said after the race. “I’m glad I did it, and it will help me there too.”

In Lemma’s case, he may have felt he needed to practice more on the hills. In his three previous attempts in Boston before 2024, the 33-year-old Ethiopian lost twice and finished a distant 30th. While he ran a remarkably fast time of 2:01:48 at the 2023 Valencia Marathon, it was on a flat course that doesn’t really replicate the challenges he might face in Paris.

However, Lemma has now realized that he can handle both uphill and downhill runs, which will be crucial at the Olympics.

Of course, Lemma is not yet officially on the Ethiopian Olympic list for the marathon (because it’s a country that doesn’t hold a one-day event like the United States). But with his performance in Boston – not only winning but also on a hilly course – Lemma made it seemingly impossible not to justify his inclusion.