Maggie Vessey

Maggie Vessey
Personal information
Born 23 December 1981
Residence Soquel, California
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight 127 lb (58 kg)
Sport
Country  United States
Event(s) 800 m
College team Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Mustangs
Coached by Greg Brock
Achievements and titles
World finals 2009, 800 m,
7th in Semi-finals

2011, 800 m,
6th in finals
Personal best(s) 800 m: 1:57.84

Maggie Vessey (born December 23, 1981) is an American athlete who competes in middle distance track events. Vessey represented the United States at the 2009 World Championships in the 800 m.

Early life and education

Vessey grew up in Soquel, California and attended Soquel High School. Later, she attended California Polytechnic State University.

Professional athletics career

While competing for Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Vessey was the Big West Conference 800 m champion twice. She finished second in the 800 m at the 2005 NCAA championships.[1]

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Vessey finished 5th in the 800 m, with a time of 2:02.01.[1] In June 2009, Vessey was a surprise winner at the Prefontaine Classic, in 2:00.18. The race director said Vessey "was a last-minute, last-minute add. One step above a field-filler". The competition included Olympic gold medalist Pamela Jelimo.[2]

Vessey continued her impressive results in 2009. At the Herculis meet in Monaco, she won the race with a time of 1:57.84. At the time, this was the fastest 800 m performance for the year, and tied for the seventh fastest by an American runner. This result earned Vessey a place on the US 2009 World Championship team—she finished 4th at the 2009 U.S. Championships, and needed to break 2:00 to earn an "A" standard.[3][4]

At the 2009 World Championships, Vessey finished seventh in the 800 m semifinal with a time of 2:03.55.[5] At the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final in Greece, Vessey took 2nd and the Silver in a time of 2:00.31.

In 2011, masters runner Rose Monday became Vessey's coach.[6] She qualified for the finals of the 800 m at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, where she finished sixth, even moving up to fifth place later because of the disqualification of Russian Yekaterina Kostetskaya.[7] A week later, Vessey won the 800 m in 1:58.64 at the Hanžeković Memorial as part of the IAAF World Challenge Meetings.[8]

At the 2012 US Olympic trials, Vessey finished eighth in 2:03.44.[9]

On December 21, 2012 Vessey accepted a public warning and loss of results for testing positive for canrenone. She admitted to taking a prescribed skincare product, but was not aware that it contained a diuretic.[10]

Personal life

In 2013, Vessey started a fashion line that caused others to notice her on the track in 2014.[11] Vessey currently resides in Seacliff, California.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gambaccini, Peter. "A Brief Chat With Maggie Vessey". Runner's World. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  2. ↑ "Runner's World: Racing News". Runner's World. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  3. ↑ Masuda, Andrew (August 4, 2009). "Cal Poly alum Maggie Vessey officially headed to World Championships". KSBY.com. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  4. ↑ Battaglia, Joe (July 29, 2009). "Inside Track: Vessey's incredible journey". Universal Sports.
  5. ↑ "Runner's World: Racing News". Runner's World. 2009-08-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  6. ↑ "Runner's World: Racing News". Runner's World. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  7. ↑ Ritchie, Steve. "World Track and Field Championships: Soquel's Vessey sees quest for 800-meter medal end in bittersweet final". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  8. ↑ "Local roundup: Soquel's Vessey wins 800 in Croatia". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  9. ↑ USATF 2012 Olympic Trials results
  10. ↑ US Track & Field Athlete, Vessey, Accepts Public Warning For Rule Violation
  11. ↑ http://ink361.com/app/users/ig-22819062/maggievessey/photos

External links