Team USA's Conner Mantz and Clayton Young chase gold in Paris Olympics marathon

PARIS, FRANCE: Team USA's marathon runners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young will be chasing gold as they take part in the men’s Olympic marathon on Saturday, August 10.

The two friends and training partners have logged thousands of miles together from their first run in 2017 at Utah’s Brigham Young University.

Conner Mantz and Clayton Young chase marathon glory in Paris

During an interview with NPR, Clayton Young recalled Conner Mantz and said, "We were a pack of 15 to 20 guys. He had just come back from serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he was probably, you know, 20 to 30 pounds overweight, but he was just hanging on for dear life."

He added, "I stayed up with them for about four-and-a-half miles before I was like, there is no way I can hold this pace. I think that's when I first really started to discover, like, how gritty Conner is." 

He also said while praising Mantz, "He was willing to do anything and whatever it takes to get to the next level. Even if that meant just pretty much being thrown to the wolves on his first run back with the team."

One of the biggest moments for the duo took place in February 2024, at the Olympic marathon trials in Orlando where two needed a one-two finish to qualify for Paris.

During the race, runner Zach Panning led and set a pace. Young said that by the time he and Mantz managed to reach mile 16, they were confident that they could qualify.

Young said, "And I finally realized that he (Mantz) wanted a high-five. And so I give him this high-five, and it's probably the sloppiest high-five you'll ever see on national television."

He further said, "But it was this cool moment where I got to really realize that Conner was still Team Clayton. Like, he was still on my side. He was confident. He knew that we could both do this."

Duo believes their faith is common touchstone

Conner Mantz and Clayton Young are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and believe their faith is a common touchstone that also adds perspective to their running.

While talking with NPR, Mantz talked about their faith and said, "Having that knowledge and that faith, it definitely helps in running, because then you know that running is just a sport. It’s just something for fun, but some things are so much more important."

He added, "I think having that grounding is so necessary when you have, like, a bad workout or a bad race. When trials and tribulations come upon us, we’re able to really lean on our faith in Jesus Christ, and lean on his atoning power and his grace."

Mantz added that he’s looking forward to hiking Mount Timpanogos, near Provo as a form of celebration after the Marathon, something he hasn’t been able to do with his focus on racing.

He said, "You know when people go out for ice cream or whatever after a race? That’s my thing. I just want to go out and hike this hike that I’ve been wanting to do for years, but it hasn’t lined up with my training. So that’s the most selfish thing I want to do with my celebration post-race."