Marlena Hilari Wesh (born February 16, 1991) is a

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (; ; ) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest population of Haitian citizens in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area. In addition, they have sizeable popu ...

sprinter who competed in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

for

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

in the women's 200-meter and 400-meter sprints. She appeared on the twenty-sixth season of '' The Bachelor.''

Early life

Wesh was born on February 16, 1991, in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...

. Both of her parents, Hernould and Margareth Wesh, were born and raised in Haiti and she is a dual citizen. She is one of five siblings, including fellow sprinter

Darrell Wesh Darrell Wesh (born 21 January 1992) is a Haitian-American athlete competing in sprinting events. Earlier he represented the United States. He is the Haitian 100m record holder at 10.16 seconds. He graduated from Landstown High School in Virginia ...

, and the only one to consider herself Haitian-American. She attended

Landstown High School Landstown High School Governor's STEM and Technology Academy is a public secondary school located in Virginia Beach, Virginia which first opened in 2001. The school features the Technology Academy and Governor's STEM Academy, two of several magn ...

in Virginia Beach, where she was a track star, being named as the 2008-09 Gatorade Virginia Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year and ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...

'''s 2009 Female Athlete of the Year. After graduating in 2009, she enrolled at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, where she was given a full scholarship, but she transferred and enrolled at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, where she majored in psychology.

Athletic career

Wesh was approached by Haitian Olympic hurdler

Nadine Faustin-Parker Nadine Faustin-Parker (born 14 April 1976) is a Haitian hurdler born in Brussels, Belgium. She has represented Haiti at three Summer Olympics; (in 2000, 2004 and 2008). She competed for the United States up to and including the 1999 indoor sea ...

, who encouraged her to run for Haiti. She first competed at the

Central American and Caribbean Championships The Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships was an international track and field athletics event organised by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC), held once every two years from 1967 to 2013. Only athlete ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in July 2011, coming in 8th place in the

400m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

and 13th place in the

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. She won the 400-meter sprint for Clemson in April 2012 at the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) outdoor championships with a time of 51.43 seconds, which was a meet record and her 4th consecutive 400-meter ACC championship. It is a current American college record and 17th best in the world. This time made her eligible to compete in the Olympics for both Haiti and America. She earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n designation in March 2012 in a Division I championship at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. In early July 2012, just prior to the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Wesh ran her personal best in the 400-meters with a time of 51.23, just 0.03 seconds behind the first-place finisher, at the 2012 North America, Central America and Caribbean Under-23 Championships in Mexico. Four of the five athletes representing Haiti at the 2012 Olympics were not from Haiti. Wesh's brother Daren could also have run for Haiti in the 2012 Olympics but chose to try to make the American team. Wesh said, "I still feel Haitian even if I wasn't born there". On 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. On August 4, she failed to make it to the finals, placing 8th in her heat and 19th overall, with a time of 52.49.

Later career

Wesh appeared on the twenty-sixth season of '' The Bachelor'', competing to date

Clayton Echard Clayton Ray Echard (born April 29, 1993) is an American television personality best known for his appearances as a contestant on season 18 of ''The Bachelorette'', and as the star of season 26 of '' The Bachelor''. He played college football f ...

. She was eliminated on week 5. She works as a real estate agent in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, although she previously worked in corporate human resources.

Personal bests

Achievements

References

External links

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Tilastopaja biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wesh, Marlena 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia Track and field athletes from Virginia American sportspeople of Haitian descent Haitian female sprinters American female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Haiti Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Haiti Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Clemson Tigers women's track and field athletes Olympic female sprinters Bachelor Nation contestants 21st-century American sportswomen 21st-century Haitian sportswomen