Katie Heenan's Official Site

About Katie | Biography
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Full name: Katherine Elaine Heenan
Nick name: Katie, Kately, Kat
Birth date: November 26, 1985 in Indianapolis, Indiana
Hometown: South Riding, Virginia
Residence: Athens, Georgia (Freshman at UGA)
Height: 5' 3"
Began gymnastics: 1990 at 4 years old
Elite Gym: Capital Gymnastics with coaches Tatiana Perskaia, Victor Vetrov, and Marina Gerasimova
NCAA Gym: UGA with head coach Suzanne Yoculan
Teammates: Audrey Bowers, Nikki Childs, Adrienne Dishman, Megan Dowlen, Michelle Emmons, Kelsey Ericksen, Ashley Kupets, Courtney Pratt, Samantha Sheehan, Brittany Smith, and Brittany Thome

Katie Heenan was born in Indianapolis on November 26, 1985 to John and Lisa Heenan. She has three brothers all of whom have been involved in sports. Danny, who is 21 and a junior at Catholic University, will be studying to become a priest after he finishes his undergraduate degree. Her younger brothers David and Robby, who are 16 and 8, are also very athletic. David is a junior and on the JV and Varsity Football team and the varsity lacrosse team. Robby is in 3rd grade and does soccer and baseball.

When asked who her role model is, Katie said, "My mother. I love it when people say I look and remind them of her. She is a wonderful person."

Katie's gymnastics career began when she was a toddler, crawling and flipping all over the house, until her mother decided to enroll her in a gymnastics class. What began as a way for Katie to channel her energy away from the furniture turned into the goal of becoming an elite level gymnast. In 1997, Katie won vault and bars at Junior Olympic Level 10 Nationals. Her first US National Championships came in 1998, where she placed sixth on beam in the junior division. Although she had to sit out most of the 1999 season due to an injury, Katie came back in 2000 to finish up her career as a junior. She did so with a strong performance, placing fourth on bars and ninth all-around at US Nationals.

With her junior career over, Katie was ready to move up into the senior division in 2001. However, her back began to hurt so much that the doctor advised she be put in a back brace for six weeks. Unsure if she would even be ready for US Classic in July, Katie surprised everyone by not only competing at Classics, but winning fourth in the all-around. The gymnastics world took notice of Katie, whose poise and elegance looked well beyond her 15 years. Her specialty became the bars where clean lines and a high start value earned her the national title on this event, not only at Classics, but also at Nationals a month later. Katie also won the bronze on floor and finished sixth all-around, which helped earn her a spot on the 2001 US World Championship team!

Katie carried a new found confidence with her to Worlds. Alongside her teammates Mohini Bhardwaj, Tasha Schwikert, Rachel Tidd, Tabitha Yim, and Ashley Miles, Katie had some of the best performances of her life. The US team earned its first world medal since 1995, a bronze just behind Romania and Russia. All six gymnasts earned a place in event finals. Katie, who was simply happy to have made bar finals, proved that not only was her bar routine good enough to contend on the National level, but also against some of the best in the world. She hit her routine flawlessly, earning the World Championship bronze medal!

"It's awesome, nobody expected this. We came out and proved everybody wrong. This is my first international competition and to come out and get a bronze at a World Championships is amazing," Katie said.

Unfortunately, Katie was again out with injuries the following year. Many thought that Katie's career was coming to and end, but she proved them wrong at the 2003 US Championships. Katie was 7th all-around in one of the strongest American fields ever and once again earned the National title on bars! She probably would have been chosen to represent the US in international competitions, however she fractured her left ankle at a training camp later in July. She remained as confident as always though; her determination remained as an inspiration to everyone.

The Olympic year was Katie's final as an international elite gymnast. She earned many medals on both the US and international levels. She became the 2004 American Classic Champion, won two gold medals at the Pacific Alliance Championships (team & bars), and made her seventh US National Team! She was also invited to the Olympic Trials but had to withdraw after two events due to injury. She was then appointed as an athlete representative for the final Olympic selection process because of her great attitude and support for the other girls.

Katie is now competing on a full scholarship as a freshman at the University of Georgia! She is very excited about being a part of one of the greatest NCAA teams and hopes to helps the GymDogs to an NCAA National Title this spring!