PARIS, France – Emily Mackay has advanced to the semifinals of the women's 1,500 at the Olympic Games in Paris. Running in the first of three 15-runner heats in the opening round on Tuesday morning at the Stade de France, the 2021 Binghamton alum placed sixth with a time of 3:59.63.

The top six finishers in each heat advanced to Thursday's semifinal round, which begins at 1:35 p.m. EST and will air live on both NBC and Peacock. Mackay's heat was the fastest of the three sections, with the winning time of 3:58.84 being turned in by Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia.

"I'm officially an Olympian now and I couldn't be happier about walking off with a big Q," Mackay said afterwards. "The energy is insane here and I was super excited to get this party started."

Mackay's two American teammates – Nikki Hiltz and Elle St. Pierre – also advanced to the semifinals but their heats were much slower. Hiltz was third in the second heat with a time of 4:00.42 while St. Pierre was third in the final heat with a time of 4:03.22. The second heat was won by Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia (3:59.73) while Nelly Chepchirchir of Kenya captured the third heat (4:02.67).

After her race, Mackay said she was expecting to run a fast time in order to advance to the semifinals.

"Looking at the field beforehand, I was ready to run sub-four today," she said.

The remaining nine finishers in each heat will compete again on Wednesday morning in the Repechage Round. There will be two heats in the Repechage Round with the top three finishers in each heat also advancing to Thursday's semifinals.

NOTE: The Binghamton Division of Athletics will host a watch party on campus for Thursday's semifinals. The event will run from 1:15-1:45 p.m. and will take place at the MarketPlace, which is located in the University Union. The watch party is open to the campus and local community and refreshments will be served.