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New Balance is scrambling to replace Emily Mackay and Heather MacLean after their sudden departures from the track and field team. The Boston-based program will now be down three Team USA Olympians this summer at the 1,500-meter distance.
It plans to sign new athletes after next week’s NCAA Championships but it is hard to replace such prominent names as Mackay and MacLean. (I do find it very funny that both of their names just so happen to start with Mac- !)
Although it is not uncommon for track and field athletes to switch coaches and move teams, it is perhaps more rare than, say, NASCAR or action sports. Runners often work with the same coach throughout their entire careers or for an extended period of time. Brands typically stay with the runners as long as they are performing. There is a sense of loyalty when it comes to sponsorships— and that goes both ways.
Heather MacLean joined New Balance Boston in 2018. She grew up in Massachussetts and ran for the University of Massachussetts. The partnership made a lot of sense. However, the 800- and 1,5000-meter specialist only qualified once for the NCAA track final so her signing was a bit of a gamble. It paid off in a big way when she ran a personal best of nearly three seconds at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2021 to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. MacLean followed that up with a U.S. Indoor title in the 1,5000 in 2022 and broke an American indoor record in the event earlier this year.
This just goes to say she’s still got it. Heather MacLean is only 29 years old!
Even though her relationship with New Balance Boston has been one of the team’s biggest success stories, she is choosing to move on. MacLean will leave the team and coach Mark Coogan to train with Juli Benson but she will still be based in Boston and still sponsored by New Balance.
Emily Mackay is also going to be sponsored by New Balance moving forward but will not run for New Balance Boston. It is another hit for coach Coogan and his team.
Mackay had been with New Balance Boston since 2022. She lowered her personal best in the 1,500 by more than eight seconds under the tutelage of Coogan while running alongside MacLean and became one of the best female middle distance runners in the country. 2024 was a breakout year. The fast-rising 27-year-old earned a bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships and finished second at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Her next training setup has yet to be decided.
The departures of Heather MacLean and Emily Mackay leave New Balance Boston with the following roster:
- Parker Valby, who has been in Florida to rehab an injury
- Elle St. Pierre, who gave birth to her second child in May
- Katrina Coogan
- Kate Mitchell
- Millie Paladino
- Lea Meyer
- Christian Noble
- Derek Johnson
It plans to add new athletes to the team as soon as they are eligible. I fully expect New Balance to go hard after some of the most promising rookies to make a splash after the Macs decided to leave.