Heather MacLean likes to invite a little Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers over to warm up before the race. A bit of Bachman Turner overdrive might have gone better with her Olympic debut, as the theme that evening was “Taking Care of Business”.

With a crowd of fans watching the nationwide televised broadcast on a big screen at the Leather City Commons in Peabody, as well as family and friends rooting her around the world, MacLean passed her first exam on her Olympic trip in Tokyo. In the third run of the women’s 1,500 meter run, she automatically qualified for the semi-finals in fifth with a time of 4: 02.40.

The 25-year-old world-class runner from Peabody had to finish in the top six of 15 competitors in order to reach the next round, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning (East Coast time, 7:00 p.m. Tokyo time). Each of the top 6 from the three heats progresses, plus the next six best times.

While MacLean’s run was by far the fastest of the three, it left nothing to chance. Her finish in 4:02:40 was the fifth-fastest time among all 45 Olympians in the opening round.

MacLean wore a red top adorned with ‘USA’ and blue racing pants and hung in the middle of the leading group throughout the race. She was in seventh place at 2:11 over 800 meters and 3:15 at the 1200 meter mark.

Battle-tested from her middle-distance running days at Peabody High and UMass Amherst (with multiple records at both schools), she completed the final 300 in 47 seconds to move up two places and finish fifth.

The reigning Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon from Kenya, who won the race in 4: 01.40, was also part of MacLean’s run-up.

MacLean went into the qualifying round with a personal best of 4: 02.09 at the United States Olympic Trials in June.

Reaching this mark with a relatively lighthearted and smooth effort in 86-degree heat that felt 90-plus in the humidity on Monday morning in Tokyo bodes well for MacLean. She is now focused on the next round on Wednesday, where she will qualify for the Olympic final.

All three Americans in the 1500s women, including Ellie Purrier St. Pierre, MacLean’s roommate and training partner under coach Mark Coogan. The Vermont native St. Pierre finished third in the medium heat with a time of 4: 05.34 and appeared calm, collected and in control all the time. The American Cory McGee finished seventh in the first round and made it through on time.