Binghamton star Emily Mackay ‘21 Olympic medal hopes came to an end on Thursday afternoon as she failed to qualify for the 1,500m finals.
With just two heats and the top six runners in each race advancing, the pressure was turned up a notch. Mackay ran in the second heat alongside 12 other runners. She finished last in her heat with a time of 4:02.03, missing the top six, which would have earned her a spot in Saturday’s final.
Despite Mackay not qualifying for the final, the United States will still be represented. Nikki Hiltz finished third in their heat with a time of 3:56.17 to earn a spot in the 1,500m finals, and Elle Purrier St. Pierre finished third in the first heat, clocking a time of 3:59.74
While Mackay’s time has come to an end in Paris, she made Binghamton proud, managing to advance to the semifinals against the best 1,500m runners in the world. She finished in sixth place in the fastest heat of the semifinal qualifiers, clocking a time of 3:59.63.
The 1,500m finals will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10 at 2:25 p.m. EST at the Stade de France in Paris, France.
Editor’s Note (8/8/24): A previous version of this article used the incorrect pronouns for Nikki Hiltz. The article has been edited to reflect Hiltz’s use of they/them pronouns.