Roman William Cress is a track athlete from the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...

. He was born to an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 father and Marshallese mother.

Cress has won the bronze medal in the 100 metres sprint at the 2006 Micronesia Games and gold in the 200 metres event at the same Games. He was the first Marshallese track athlete in history to compete in the Olympic Games

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

, representing his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. At the 100 metres he finished 8th in his heat in a time of 11.18 seconds He is currently a school administrator at North View Jr. High School in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.