Peabody To Host Heather MacLean Olympic Outdoor Viewing Party

PEABODY, MA — Peabody residents can come together and watch a hometown hero represent her country at the Tokyo Summer Games Sunday night when the city holds an outdoor viewing party at the Leather City Common to cheer on Heather MacLean.

MacLean will be competing in the women's 1,500 meters in the race scheduled for about 8:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. local time in Japan).

The viewing party will follow the Sunday night concert — featuring the Lisa Love Experience — from 6 to 8 p.m. that includes food from local vendors.

"It promises to be a fun and festive night listening to great music and rooting for Peabody’s Olympic hero, Heather MacLean," said Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt, adding that members of MacLean's family are expected to attend and watch the race on a giant screen.

The Leather City Common is located on Lowell Street with plenty of free parking.

On June 21, the Peabody Veterans Memorial and University of Massachusetts-Amherst alumna finished third in the 1,500 meters in Eugene, Oregon to earn Team USA's final spot in the event in Tokyo.

MacLean held off the fourth-place runner — Shannon Osika — by just nine-hundredths of a second for the final qualifying spot. The 25-year-old MacLean ran 4:02.09 with Osika a step behind in 4:02.18.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)