Marian Joan Burnett (born 22 February 1976 in Linden

Linden, Guyana

Linden is the second largest town in Guyana after Georgetown, and capital of the Upper Demerara-Berbice region, located at , altitude 48 metres . It was declared a town in 1970, and includes the communities of MacKenzie and Wismar. It lies on the Demerara River and has a population of roughly...

) is a female middle-distance runner from Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

 who specialises in the 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

. She competed in the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympic Games

Summer Olympic Games

The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

, reaching the second heat of the 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

 on both occasions.

She won her first international medal at the 1999 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics

1999 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics

The 1999 Central American Championships in Athletics were held in Bridgetown, Barbados.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medal table:-External links:* - GBR Athletics* - GBR Athletics...

, where she finished third in the 1500 metres

1500 metres

The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...

. She went to study at Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 and, representing the LSU Lady Tigers track and field

LSU Lady Tigers track and field

The LSU Lady Tigers track and field team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I women's indoor and outdoor track and field.-History:...

 team, she took the 800 m NCAA indoor title in 2002. She competed for Guyana at the 2003 Pan American Games

2003 Pan American Games

The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....

 and after initially finishing third in the 800 m, she was promoted to the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 after event winner Letitia Vriesde

Letitia Vriesde

Letitia Alma Vriesde is a track and field athlete from Suriname. Her main event is the 800 m. She is the first sportsperson from Surinam to compete at five Olympic Games....

 was disqualified for excessive caffeine

Caffeine

Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...

 use.

The following year she took part in the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships

2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 10th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Budapest Arena, Hungary between March 5 and March 7, 2004...

 and also reached the semi-finals of the women's 800 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics

Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics

At the 2004 Summer Olympics, the athletics events were held at the Athens Olympic Stadium from August 18 to August 29, except for the marathons , the race walks , and the shot put...

. She attended the 2005 World Championships in Athletics

2005 World Championships in Athletics

The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...

 but failed to progress beyond the heats. In 2006, after another appearance on the World Indoor stage, she reached the semi-finals of the 2006 Commonwealth Games

2006 Commonwealth Games

The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...

. She went on to win her first continental title the next year, beating all opposition in the 800 m for a gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

 at the 2007 South American Championships in Athletics

2007 South American Championships in Athletics

The 2007 South American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estádio Ícaro de Castro Mello in São Paulo, Brazil from 7 June to 9 June 2007...

, and also won a silver medal in the 1500 m with a national record

Guyanese records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in Guyana maintained by its national athletics federation: Athletics Association of Guyana .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:ht = hand timingA = affected by altitude-External links:...

 time. She reached the semi-finals of her event at the 2007 World Championships

2007 World Championships in Athletics

The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...

 a few months later.

Burnett set an indoor national record of 2:02.27 for the 800 m at the 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships

2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships

The 2008 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held at the Luis Puig Palace in Valencia, Spain, March 7-9, 2008.-Bid:Valencia was announced the winning bidder by the IAAF on November 13, 2005 at an IAAF Council meeting in Moscow, Russia.-Men:...

, although this was not enough to reach the final. She made her second Olympic appearance at the 2008 Beijing Games, being eliminated in the heats, and reached the semi-finals at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

2009 World Championships in Athletics

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

.

Personal bests

Event	Time (min Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... )	Venue	Date
400 m	53.76	Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South... , United States	21 May 2007
800 m	1:59.47	Palo Alto, California Palo Alto, California Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is... , United States	31 May 2004
800 m (indoor)	2:02.27	Valencia, Spain	8 March 2008
1500 m	4:17.91	Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... , Brazil	27 July 2007

• All information taken from IAAF profile.