Galen Rupp - The outside favorite to win marathon gold at Tokyo Olympics

Galen Rupp has already won an Olympic silver medal (10,000m, London Olympics 2012) and a bronze medal (marathon, Rio Olympics 2016). Either of those medals should have been enough for someone to secure their place in US running history.

However, Galen Rupp isn't done yet. He won the marathon event at the US Olympic Trials in February 2020 in Atlanta and has been biding his time since then, to have another go at an Olympic gold medal.

Galen Rupp is preparing for his fourth Olympic appearance

Rupp has never been to an Olympics where he hasn't excelled, even if he hasn't won a medal. In his maiden appearance in the 10,000m in Beijing, he set the American record at the Olympics, despite finishing outside the top 10. The race was won by the legendary Kenenisa Bekele.

At the London Olympics, Rupp performed really well, coming second behind Mo Farah. Kenenisa Bekele came 4th, beaten by his brother, Tariku Bekele, to 3rd place.

At the Rio Olympics, Galen Rupp was beaten by Eliud Kipchoge and Feyisa Lilesa, both unarguably much faster runners than he has ever been at the marathon.

But then the Olympic events aren't always won by the fastest athletes, as demonstrated by Galen Rupp's training partner, Mo Farah. That would give Rupp plenty of hope that he can win a marathon medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Galen Rupp, Mo Farah and Alberto Salazar in happier times, London Olympics 2012

Galen Rupp may be looking to participate in both 10,000m and the marathon

Galen Rupp may also be looking to make the 10,000m team for the US in Tokyo. He is yet to set a qualifying mark but could do so at the US trials itself, later this month.

He has participated in two events in his last two appearances, much like one of his iconic predecessors, Frank Shorter. Shorter also did the 10,000m and the marathon double at the Olympics.

Frank Shorter was the last US gold medallist in the marathon, at the 1972 Munich Olympics. Many believe he was denied a certain second gold medal by an East German athlete at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, possibly supported by a state-sponsored doping program.

Predictably, Frank Shorter has been one of the most vocal anti-doping advocates in athletics, helping set up the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) in 2000 and serving as its chairman from 2000-2003.

Galen Rupp will want to get over his clouded past

Rupp will always have the cloud of his former coach Alberto Salazar over him. Alberto Salazar was banned by the USADA for 4 years in October 2019 for numerous doping-related offenses.

Rupp is now coached by a very successful coach in Mike Smith. He may also be looking at Tokyo as an opportunity to show he's still an exceptional athlete and worthy of a medal.

Should Rupp win a medal in Tokyo, he will mark another milestone in long distance running success for American athletes. The discipline was revived across the country with Meb Keflezighi winning silver and Deena Kastor winning bronze, both in the marathon event at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Those two medals are believed to have spared renewed interest in running, for the first time since the earlier boom created by Frank Shorter's success in the 70s.

Galen Rupp is one of the best distance runners in the world

Rupp represents the best of the American distance runners of his generation and has held his own against elite global competition, not just at the Olympics but also at other major marathons.

In 2017, he finished second at the Boston Marathon and won the Chicago marathon against some of the best athletes in the world, including some who will line up against him in Tokyo. One of those will be Osako Suguru of Japan, a formemember of the the now-disbanded Oregon Project.

He has also kept a relatively low profile for an athlete who's really popular, letting his running do the talking. It will be interesting to see if he can follow up his Atlanta success in Tokyo in 2021 like he did in Rio after the trials in Los Angeles in 2016.

and Rupp, Farah & Salazar