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

Haitian-American Haitian Americans (french: Haïtiens-Américains; ht, ayisyen ameriken) are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area ...

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) was 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 (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

in the women's 200-meter and 400-meter sprints.

Biography

She was born and raised in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, 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. 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". After graduating from

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 magne ...

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

in 2009, she enrolled at Oklahoma, where she was given a full scholarship, but later she transferred and she enrolled at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and should graduate in 2013. She is majoring in psychology. She won the 400-meter sprint for Clemson in April 2012 at the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

(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 is the only one of her parents' five children that considers themselves Haitian-American. Haitian Olympic hurdler Nadine Faustin-Parker encouraged her to run for Haiti. She earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n designation in March 2012 in a Division I championship at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. 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. 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. 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. Wesh's brother

Darrell Darrell is a given name derived from an English surname, which was derived from Norman-French , originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France. There are no longer any towns in France called Airelle, but is the French word for huckleberr ...

could also have run for Haiti in the 2012 Olympics but chose to try to make the American team. He graduated from

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. Eventually, he also started competing for Haiti. He competed in the 2016 Olympics for Haiti. Wesh appeared on the twenty-sixth season of '' The Bachelor''. She was eliminated on week 5.

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 of Haiti Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Haiti Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Clemson Tigers women's track and field athletes Olympic female sprinters Bachelor Nation contestants