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]
*Distances have varied as follows: Mile (1967–2002), except 1997 and 1999, 2007 and odd numbered years since 2011, 1500 meters 1997, 1999, (2003–6, 2008–2010) and even numbered years since 2010
