Mantz, who was a standout distance runner at Sky View High School and then at BYU, was the first American finisher in the men’s race. The Smithfield native also placed seventh overall — he was only beaten by athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia and Japan — and he covered the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 16 seconds.

This was Mantz’s first-ever foray into marathon running, and he posted the second-fastest time ever by an American in his debut race at 26.2 miles. Leonard Korir clocked in at 2:07:56 at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2019.

Meanwhile, Parkinson, who stared at Mountain Crest and then at Utah State University, finished 13th overall in the women’s competition, including seventh among Americans. The Wellsville native crossed the finish line in 2:33:20.

Both Mantz and Parkinson destroyed their respective U.S. Olympic qualifying standard, meaning they both punched their ticket to the 2024 USATF Olympic Team Trials. The automatic qualifying standard on the men’s side is a 2:18:00, while the women’s standard is a 2:37:00.

Mantz recently reigned supreme at the USATF 20-kilometer championship race, which was contested in New Haven, Connecticut. The 25-year-old clocked in at 59:08. Mantz was the gold medalist at the USA Half Marathon Championships a year ago and finished that race in 1:00:55.

Parkinson turned some heads this summer by capturing the women’s title at the Deseret News Half Marathon. Parkinson, who won the Big Bear (California) Marathon a year ago, also beat all comers on the women’s side at the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon last month.

Athletes from Kenya swept both titles at the latest installment of the Chicago Marathon. Benson Kipruto was triumphant on the men’s side with his time of 2:04:24, while Ruth Chepngetich emerged victorious in the women’s field for the second straight year. Chepngetich clocked in at 2:14:18.

Emily Sission was the runner-up on the women’s side and shattered the course record for an American women, in the process. Sission completed the race in 2:18:29.

More than 40,000 runners competed in this race, according to an AP story. This is one of the six major marathons in the world, alongside the Tokyo Marathon, TCS London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Boston Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon.