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Marlena Wesh

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Marlena Wesh
Personal information
Full nameMarlena Hilari Wesh
Born (1991-02-16) February 16, 1991 (age 33)
Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight140 lb (63.50 kg)
Sport
CountryHaiti Haiti and United States United States of America
SportRunning
Event(s)200 m, 400 m
Updated on 29 December 2014

Marlena Hilari Wesh (born February 16, 1991) is a Haitian-American sprinter who competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics for Haiti in the women's 200-meter and 400-meter sprints.[1]

Biography

She was born and raised in Virginia,[1] but is eligible to compete for Haiti because both her parents were born and raised there. She has never been to Haiti though she is a citizen there also.[2][3][4] Four of the five athletes representing Haiti at the 2012 Olympics are not from Haiti. Wesh says, "I still feel Haitian even if I wasn't born there".[5]

After graduating from Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia in 2009, she enrolled at Oklahoma, where she was given a full scholarship, but later she transferred and she enrolled at Clemson University in South Carolina and should graduate in 2013. She is majoring in psychology.[1][4] She won the 400-meter sprint for Clemson in April 2012 at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Outdoor championships with a time of 51.43 seconds, which was a meet record and her 4th consecutive 400-meter ACC championship.[4] It is a current American college record and 17th best in the world.[2] This time made her eligible to compete in the Olympics for both Haiti and America. She is the only one of her parents' five children that considers themselves Haitian-American.[3] Haitian Olympic hurdler Nadine Faustin-Parker encouraged her to run for Haiti. She earned All-American designation in March 2012 in a Division I championship at Boise State University in Idaho.[6] In early July 2012, just prior to the London Olympics, Wesh ran her personal best in the 400-meters with a time of 51.23, just 0.03 seconds behind the first-place finisher.[7] On Friday, August 3, she achieved her goal of making it to the 400-meter semi-finals in the 2012 London Olympics, having come in third in her heat.[3][8] On Saturday, August 4, she failed to make it to the finals, placing 8th in her heat and 19th overall, with a time of 52:49.[9]

Wesh's brother Darrell could also have run for Haiti in the 2012 Olympics but chose to try to make the American team. He graduated from Virginia Tech.[3] Eventually, he also started competing for Haiti. He competed in the 2016 Olympics for Haiti.[10]

Wesh appeared on the twenty-sixth season of The Bachelor.[11] She was eliminated on week 5.

Personal bests

Event Result Venue Date
Outdoor
100 m 11.70 s (wind: +0.7 m/s) United States Coral Gables, Florida 19 Mar 2011
200 m 23.06 s (wind: -0.3 m/s) United States Charlottesville, Virginia 21 Apr 2012
400 m 51.23 s A, NR Mexico Irapuato 7 Jul 2012
400 m hurdles 57.49 s United States Austin, Texas 7 Apr 2011

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Haiti
2011 Central American and Caribbean Championships Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 13th (h) 200 m 24.08 (wind: -0.1 m/s)
8th 400 m 54.49
2012 NACAC Under-23 Championships Irapuato, México 2nd 400 m 51.23 A
Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 8th (sf) 400 m 52.49
2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Xalapa, México 8th (h) 100m 12.80 A (wind: -0.4 m/s)

References

  1. ^ a b c "Marlena Wesh". London 2012 Olympics. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Rubama, Larry (May 21, 2012). "Ex-Landstown sprinter Wesh going to Olympics". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Rubama, Larry (July 15, 2012). "Olympics Former Landstown track star runs for Haiti". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "Clemson Track & Field" (PDF). CBS Sports. June 9, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  5. ^ Daniel, Trenton (July 22, 2012). "Haiti's Olympic team in London isn't very Haitian". WALB News. Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2012.[permanent dead link‍]
  6. ^ Rubama, Larry (March 12, 2012). "Local track athletes do well at national meets". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Rubama, Larry (July 9, 2012). "Local runners do well at NACAC track meet". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  8. ^ "Haiti's Marlena Wesh Advances to Semi-Finals in Olympic 400m Competition". Defend Haiti. August 3, 2012. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  9. ^ Rubama, Larry (August 4, 2012). "Wesh doesn't advance to finals of Olympic 400 meters". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  10. ^ "Virginia Beach sprinter Darrell Wesh is returning to the Olympics – this time to compete". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  11. ^ "'Bachelor' cast revealed: Meet the 31 contestants vying for Clayton Echard's heart". WLS-TV. December 15, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
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