Maame Biney's trailblazing Olympic run comes to an end

Alex Baker

Team USA speed skater Maame Biney’s PyeongChang Olympics came to an end Saturday night, as the 18-year-old finished dead last in her 1,500-meter short-track heat. After briefly taking the lead early in the race, Biney dropped to the back of the pack, eventually finishing with a time of 2 minutes, 31.819 seconds to come in last in a field of six.

It was the second time in the space of just a few days that Biney had finished dead last in a race. On Tuesday, she was eliminated from the quarterfinals of the 500m, considered her signature event, when she came in fourth in a four-woman heat.

Maame Biney of the United States competes during the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies’ 1500m heats on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic. (Getty)
Maame Biney of the United States competes during the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies’ 1500m heats on day eight of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic. (Getty)

Biney’s finish in the 1500m was a full two seconds behind the third and final qualifier from the heat, Canadian Valerie Maltais. Zhou Yan of China finished second to go through along with winner, Elise Christie of Great Britain.

While she may be going home without a medal, Biney has already made history at these Games, as the first black woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic speed skating team.

More Olympic coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• Vonn speaks on deadly Florida shooting: ‘I can’t understand it’
• Adelson: Holcomb’s legend lives on with U.S. bobsled team
• Vonn’s timeline filled with hate tweets after Super-G loss
• Wetzel: Rippon off to have a stiff drink with mission accomplished
• Adelson: Why Zhou could be star to watch at 2022 Olympics