Heather Hennessy facts for kids
Heather Hennessy, born in 1982, is an American who used to be a sports reporter for Fox Sports. She is also an author and a public figure. Before a serious back injury, she was a national champion in running and hoped to compete in the Olympics.
Athletic Career
Heather was a very talented track athlete in high school. She went to Archbishop Mitty High School and later Los Gatos High School in San Jose and Los Gatos, California. In 2000, when she was 17, she became America's fastest female runner in the 800-meter race. She won the national championship with a record time of 2 minutes and 8.84 seconds. She also finished second in another 800-meter race, behind Neisha Bernard-Thomas.
Heather is the only girl from Los Gatos High School to win a national track championship. Because of her amazing achievements, she was added to the Los Gatos Hall of Fame in 2014. She was also the top-ranked runner at a big championship in North Carolina in 2000.
Heather earned a sports scholarship to the University of Southern California. In 2000, during a team trip, Heather had a serious accident. She jumped from a high cliff into water and seriously injured her spine. She was taken to a hospital and found to have broken bones in her neck and back. She had to wear a body cast for four months. Even with her injury, the University of Southern California still honored her scholarship.
Fox Sports Broadcasting Career
After her athletic career, Hennessy became a reporter for Fox Sports. She worked on national TV shows like Fox Major League Baseball, College BCS Ratings, and Final Score Extra. She interviewed many famous athletes, including Francisco Rodriguez and Chipper Jones.
Author
In 2011, Heather wrote a children's book called The Adventures of Dangles. She used her married name, Heather Hennessy-Howell, for the book. The book teaches kids about being kind and has an anti-bullying message.
Media Personality
Hennessy is featured in a documentary film called The Portal. This film, made by Tom Cronin and Jacqui Fifer, explores how meditation can help change the world. The documentary was shown at the Dances With Films festival in Los Angeles in June 2019.
Personal Life
In 2009, Heather Hennessy married J.P. Howell. He is an American professional baseball pitcher. He played for teams like the Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays. Heather and J.P. met when they were both freshmen at the University of Southern California.
They also trained with Olympic skater Peggy Fleming during an off-season. Heather had met Peggy Fleming when she was a teenager. Together, Heather and J.P. started a non-profit organization called Discover Your Path Foundation. This foundation aims to help kids.
