In this 21 June 2007 photo, Abdi Abdirahman of the US crosses the finish line winning the Men's 10000 Meter during the 2007 AT&T US Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Mike Carroll Stadium on the campus IUPUI in Indianapolis, Indiana. (JEFF HAYNES / AFP)

ATLANTA - It is often said that age is nothing but a number. For 43-year-old marathoner Abdi Abdirahman, it was little more than an afterthought at Saturday’s US Olympic marathon trials.

Abdi Abdirahman first joined Team USA two for Sydney 2000, where he placed 10th in the 10,000 metres, and followed that with 15th- and 10th-place finishes in the subsequent two Games

Slicing through his younger peers on a hilly and demanding Atlanta course, Abdirahman defied the years and the odds to take third place in 2:10:03, becoming the oldest American man to book a spot on the US Olympic marathon team.

“I never count myself out,” Abdirahman told reporters after the race. “Everything worked the way I wanted ... getting third or first, second is the same – we’re all going the same place and we all accomplished the same goals we wanted.”

ALSO READ: Qualify first: Marathoners say no time to fear Olympic cancellation

Prior to Saturday’s race, many speculated whether the 43-year-old, four-time Olympian would crack the top 10. Few, however, expected him to walk away Tokyo-bound to a jaw-dropping fifth Olympics.

He first joined Team USA two for Sydney 2000, where he placed 10th in the 10,000 metres, and followed that with 15th- and 10th-place finishes in the subsequent two Games.

He competed in the marathon at the London Olympics but failed to finish.

Part of his successful run-up to Atlanta included a 12-week stint in the high altitudes of Ethiopia, where Abdirahman told reporters he put in “a lot of training” alongside four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of the UK.

“After 20 years of running, I remember making my first Olympic team,” he said. “I think it will be my last Olympics but it won’t be my last trials.”