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LOS ANGELES — Just under nine years ago, Jared Ward left for a two-year mission for the LDS Church, a standout high school athlete who put his collegiate distance running career on hold with no time to train or even keep weight off his thin frame.
On a Saturday afternoon, just seven years after returning, he booked his ticket to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as a member of the U.S. Olympic marathon team.
The 27-year-old Ward finished third in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on the four-loop course through downtown Los Angeles, coming in at 2 hours, 13 minutes. Ward finished about a minute behind winner Galen Rupp (2:11:11) and runner-up Meb Keflezighi (2:12:20), who ran as a pair for most of the race.
But the separation between two and three hardly mattered to a beaming Ward once he finished.
"When they're pulling away, I'm watching them, hoping that somebody comes back but just trying to keep myself in contention and in position," Ward told reporters after the race. "The plan with coach was just to be patient, manage our fluids, and keep the pace going."
The plan, aided by BYU track and cross country coach and two-time Olympic marathoner Ed Eyestone, paid off.
"I don't know if I had an inclination on whether someone was going to come back or not, but I felt like I was going to finish the race as fast as I could and see what happened," Ward added.
Former Judge Memorial High runner Luke Puskedra finished just over a minute behind Ward, making him the first alternate for the U.S. squad.
