Debbie Heald

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Debbie Heald (born 20 August 1955) is a former American track and field athlete, known for her success in middle-distance races. [1]

Contents

Early life

Heald is the daughter of Richard and Ernestine Heald. She grew up in La Mirada, California. [2]

Career

At the age of eleven, Heald was a member of the Hutchinson Track Club. [2] At a meet in Lancaster, she finished a mile race with a time of 5:33.9, which at the time was the fastest time recorded for a girl of her age. [3] By the time she was fourteen, Heald had won three state running championships and five district Amateur Athletic Union titles. She also held two national crowns. [4]

Heald defeated the then-current 1500m world record holder Tamara Pangelova of the USSR on March 17, 1972, at the Richmond Coliseum. [5] [6] [7] [8] Her win was a significant victory as it was during the height of the Cold War and prior to this the Soviets had predominantly dominated the sport. [9]

As well as winning, with that race Heald also set an American high school record for the indoor mile for girls track (with a time of 4:38.5), which stood for over 40 years, until finally broken on January 26, 2013, by Mary Cain. [10] [2] [11] [12] Until that time, Heald's record was the longest-standing of any girls' high school record. [13] [14]

Heald attended California State University, Fullerton, graduating with a degree in education. [9] Heald continued to train throughout her college years, but her career was progressively hampered by repeated injuries and tendonitis from overtraining, as well as a diagnosis of schizophrenia. [2]

In 2002, Heald carried the Olympic torch in Los Angeles on its nationwide tour in advance of the Winter Olympic Games at Salt Lake City. [9] [15]

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References

  1. ↑ Debbie Heald at World Athletics OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Debbie Heald Set an Important Record". Runner's World. 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  3. ↑ "Faces In The Crowd". Sports Illustrated. 17 July 1967
  4. ↑ "Faces In The Crowd". Sports Illustrated, 14 December 1970.
  5. ↑ United States. Congress (1972). Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  6. ↑ Putnam, Pat. "THEY'RE SWEET 16 AND DESERVE A KISS". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  7. ↑ The Sports Illustrated Vault - SI.com
  8. ↑ Belson, Ken (16 February 2013). "High School Junior Makes Mile the Race to Watch". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 3 Pucin, Diane (2002-01-14). "Rough Run". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  10. ↑ "Mary Cain shatters high school mile record after taking SATs". January 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Rock 'n' Roll Running Series". www.runrocknroll.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  12. ↑ "Women's Indoor High School Records".
  13. ↑ [High School Junior Makes Mile the Race to Watch"]. New York Times. KEN BELSON February 15, 2013
  14. ↑ "Mary Cain shatters high school mile record after taking SATs - USA TODAY High School Sports". Archived from the original on 2013-12-26. Retrieved 2014-01-03.
  15. ↑ Janet Heinonen (1979). Sports illustrated running for women . Lippincott. ISBN   978-0-397-01331-9.
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