Former Red Dragon Mickey Kelly crosses the finish line during the cross country portion of the modern pentathlon at the 2007 Pan American Games. Kelly won the bronze medal and earned a berth into the 2008 Olympics. (Photo by Tim Hipps/U.S. Army)
Michelle “Mickey” Kelly, a former SUNY Cortland standout runner and a native of Chatham, N.Y., qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, with her bronze medal performance in the modern pentathlon Monday (July 23) at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janiero, Brazil.
Editor's Note (Summer 2008): Mickey Kelly was relegated to "alternate" status for the Olympics since three U.S. athletes were invited to the Games and only two spots were available (
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Kelly finished third out of 14 competitors with a score of 5,252 points. Yane Marques of Brazil won the gold with 5,484 points and Monica Pinette of Canada won the silver with 5,288 points. Canada's Kara Grant placed fourth with 5,168 points. The top two North American finishers (Pinette and Kelly) automatically qualify for the Olympics.
Kelly was in fifth place after the first four events – shooting (20 shots with an Air Pistol at a target 10 meters away), fencing (epee blade; round-robin matches vs. the other competitors), swimming (200-meter freestyle) and equestrian show jumping (15 obstacles over a course 350-450 meters long on a randomly-drawn horse).
In the final event, the 3,000-meter cross country run, Kelly started the race approximately 20 seconds behind the third and fourth-place competitors. A staggered start is used so that the race's order of finish also indicates the final standings order. Kelly passed those two competitors and finished 58 seconds behind the champion, nine seconds behind the silver medalist and 21 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher.
An Olympic alternate in 2004, Kelly is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and is part of the Army World Class Athlete Program. A student-athlete at Cortland from 1996-2001, she earned 11 All-America honors with the Red Dragons. Kelly was a three-time Division III cross country All-American, placing fourth nationally in 1999, sixth in 1998 and 10th in 1997. She also earned eight track and field All-America honors, including second-place national finishes in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters at the 2001 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Kelly officially graduated from Cortland in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Kelly is believed to be SUNY Cortland's first Olympic qualifier since swimmer George Breen '56. Breen won bronze medals in the 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyles and a silver medal in the 800-meter relay in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. In 1960, he captained the swimming team and won a bronze medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle in Rome.
Jack Daniels, Cortland's cross country coach during Kelly's career, introduced her to the modern pentathlon. A member of the U.S. modern pentathlon team, Daniels earned a silver medal in the 1956 Olympics and a bronze medal in the 1960 Olympics in the team competition.
Kelly's upcoming competitions include the World Championships in Berlin next month and the World Cup Finals in Beijing in September.
Story (with photos) on U.S. Army Web Site
