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Born: November 4th, 1955 Hometown: Kenosha, WI College: Universoty of Wisconsin, Parkside Current Residence: Kenosha, WI PRs
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Unfortunately, the fate of our athletes was already determined before the race began. They all were beaten by opinions—opinions that lead to the U.S. boycotting the Olympics. Heiring views the lost Olympic opportunity as one of the biggest disappointments of his life.
After the Olympic Trials, Heiring spent a year working out with the Parkside athletes before moving to the Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs. Race walking at the national level was taking a step in the right direction by establishing a resident athletes program. During this time, Martin Rudow coached Heiring over the phone and via mail while making frequent visits to Seattle.
Heiring’s training was timed perfectly for him to peak again at the Olympic Trials in 1984. Leading by a mile and a half at 10K, he was well on his way to winning his second trials when the knee problems that plagued his career flared up. He relinquished the lead, but not his long-awaited berth on the Olympic Team. He finished second.
In 1986 Heiring moved back to Wisconsin and became reacquainted with Mike DeWitt, who helped him extend his racing distance to 50K. Success followed him to this event as he walked a 4:03 in Rome at the 1987 World Championships.
When Heiring competed at his fourth 20K Olympic Trials, he decided he would just walk his own race. He walked as hard and fast as possible, holding his pace as long as he could. Finishing 4th, he ignored the murmurs he heard from the sidelines. But 3rd-place finisher Paul Schwartzberg was disqualified, making Heiring eligible for the Olympics once again.
As soon as he crossed the finish line at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Heiring retired. He realized that continuing to race no longer made sense to him. While he walked faster than he had at the 1984 L.A. Games, he had finished 10 to 15 spots further back. Without any real hope of winning an Olympic medal, he decided to stop putting life on hold to simply participate on the team.
Heiring has since married, and he and his wife have two sons. When he reminisces about his career, the aspects he most enjoyed barely show up on the competitive radar. "Racing indoors was a blast. Madison Square Garden, with 20,000 people watching!" he recalls fondly. At one point, Heiring held Indoor World Records at the 1500M, 1-mile and 2-mile distances. It seems inconceivable now, but back then the sponsors were generous. The Indoor Grand Prix Circuit could net the top walker a good $20,000 in one year: a unique opportunity for race walkers to earn money.
