“It was an amazing day,” said BYU director of track and field Ed Eyestone who professionally coaches Mantz and Young. “There was a lot of guts shown by both of them. It’s amazing to see them finish in the single digits. To place in the top-nine in the Olympic Games is a pretty great accomplishment, when you consider the marathon and all that can go wrong. I thought they ran a really controlled race. It was a really solid day for both of them.”
"I’m grateful for all those who helped me today," said Mantz. "I hoped to snag a medal and put myself in a good position heading into the hill around 29 km, but couldn’t stay with the pack. I am grateful I hung on and had a great last 10km, despite being dropped by the front pack and running it solo."
"Proud to be in the single digits and run 2:08," said Young. "I've been eyeing top 10 for a long time, and to be able to execute a great race and still have some in the tank. Gets me excited for the future. We thought that 2:08 would be on the podium, but it wasn't quite enough. It was fun finding Conner out there on the course and sharing ice, bottles, and an epic high five. Feeling grateful, motivated, and inspired. Excited for LA 2028!"
Fellow former BYU track and field athlete Team Canada runner Rory Linkletter finished in 2:13:09, crossing in 47th place. Linkletter trained and competed with both Mantz and Young at BYU.
"Today was a beautiful day," said Linkletter. "I'm so proud to have competed here and given it everything I had today. My result is one I am not ahsame of, but certainly not one I believe illustrates my capabilities. This year has been a dream, but it has also been full of mountains to climb. I've been here before, I'll probably be here again."
“2:13:09 is still a solid time for [Rory],” continued Eyestone. “I talked to him briefly after. One of the first things he asked me was about how his former teammates had done. It’s always an opportunity to represent your country and I feel like he did that well. I was able to see him a couple times on the course and cheer for him as well. I’m definitely proud of how he did today.”
