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Peabody's Heather MacLean's Olympic Run Ends In Semifinals
The Peabody Veterans Memorial and UMass-Amherst alumna came up short of qualifying for the 1,500 meters finals in Tokyo Wednesday morning.
PEABODY, MA — An Olympic run that captivated her hometown of Peabody came to an end for Heather MacLean early Wednesday morning when she fell short of qualifying for the finals in the women's 1,500 meters.
A bold move to the inside to try to make up ground heading into the final lap of the race did not quite pay off for the Peabody Veterans and UMass-Amherst alumna as she finished 12th in her semifinal heat in 4:05.33. MacLean was 21st overall with the top five runners in each of the two semifinal heats reaching the final, along with two at-large berths.
MacLean, who qualified for the semifinals in a preliminary round run that aired during an outdoor viewing party at Peabody's Leather City Commons Sunday night, got out quickly in Wednesday's second semifinal heat and was in fourth place on the inside early in the race.
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But the 25-year-old soon shuffled back in the elite pack before twice trying to move up later in the sprint to the finish line.
"(MacLean's) Olympic run ends in the semifinals, but we couldn't be more proud," the UMass-Amherst cross country and track & field program posted on its Twitter account shortly after the 6:12 a.m. EDT race ended. "UMass' own out there with the best in the WORLD is, and always will be, awe-inspiring."
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Congrats on an incredible Olympic Games @heathair31 Proud of you now and always and we’re so excited to watch you continue to soar! Sky is the limit! : https://t.co/GuVbfbH2Lq#Olympics x #Flagship pic.twitter.com/Nu6rxUh167
— UMass XC/T&F (@UMass_XC_TF) August 4, 2021
MacLean's journey to the Olympics included a third-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 21 after she was bumped in those preliminaries.
She held off the fourth-place runner — Shannon Osika — by just nine-hundredths of a second for the final qualifying spot. MacLean ran 4:02.09 that day 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.)
More Patch Coverage: Peabody's Heather MacLean Races To Olympic Semifinals In 1,500
Peabody To Host Heather MacLean Olympic Outdoor Viewing Party
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