LONDON — Haley Nemra, a Marysville Pilchuck High School graduate competing for the Marshall Islands, finished sixth in her heat of the women’s 800 meters on Wednesday at the Olympics.
Nemra’s time of 2:14.90 was the 34th fastest of the 40 women who finished in the preliminary heats. Nemra did not advance to the next round.
Alysia Johnson Montano of the U.S. was the the fastest qualifier with a time of 2:00.47. Defending Olympic champion Pamela Jelimo won her heat in 2:00.54 to advance with the second-fastest time.
The Marshall Islands is the native country of Nemra’s father. The country encouraged her to become a citizen in 2007, and as an 18-year-old fresh-out-of-high-school, Nemra competed in the Olympics at Beijing.
Nemra battled an Achilles injury for almost all of her college career at the University of San Francisco.
Nemra became a two-time Olympian for the Marshall Islands because each country’s National Olympic Committee is allowed to send one male and one female athlete in track and field to compete regardless of whether or not those athletes met the qualifying times, which the 22-year-old Nemra did not.
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