MacLean seventh at Indoor Worlds

Mar. 20—Heather MacLean had her first taste of racing for a medal on the international stage this weekend — and it only left her hungry for more.

The 26-year-old American distance runner from Peabody finished seventh in the women's 1500 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. MacLean clocked 4:06.38 in the main event race held Saturday night local time overseas in front of an excited crowd.

In an Instagram post Sunday morning, MacLean expressed gratitude for her teammates, coaches and all her supporters back home, writing:

"My build up these past few months wasn't ideal, but it gave me a new perspective on how grateful I am to be able to practice with my coach and teammates everyday, for my friends and family who always support me, and the opportunity to race and do what l love.

"I'm proud of how far I've come and all the lessons I've learned in only a few months."

Saturday's 1500 meter final was dominated by the Ethiopians with world record holder Gudaf Tsegay setting a course record of 3:57.19 to run away with the gold. MacLean ran a solid, consistent race to stick with the pack behind the three Ethiopian medal winners and finished a mere three-tenths of a second behind her season best time.

Friday night, the qualified for the final by coming in fourth in the semifinals by running 4:08:13. That was good enough to advance on time as the top three runners in each of three heats moved on plus the next three best times.

MacLean made the Indoor World Championships for the first time by winning her first national title at the United States championships last month. The 2020 Tokyo Olympian, who graduated from Peabody High and UMass Amherst, made the semifinals at last summer's games and only continues to improve as she eyes another strong competitive outdoor season coming up.