Background
Heiner was born in Shellharbour, New South Wales on 15 May 1987.
Heiner was born in Shellharbour, New South Wales on 15 May 1987.
She placed fourth in the women"s 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2014. She took up running seriously in 2002. As a 17-year-old, she represented Australia in the 1500 metres at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Grosseto, but was eliminated in the heats.
She competed in the World Cross Country Championships again in 2006, this time placing 18th in the junior race, but missed the IAAF World Junior Championships later that year due to an injury.
She studied pharmacy and did not return to the track after recovering from the injury. In the summer of 2013, actively working as a pharmacist while also continuing her studies, Heiner decided to resume running.
She joined the training group of coach Adam Didyk. Her first race back was in January 2014, after a hiatus of almost eight years.
Encouraged by the good results, Heiner continued her comeback with an eye on the 2015 World Championships in Beijing and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
She was briefly the 2015 world leader in the 3000 m steeplechase after winning at the Melbourne Track Classic in a personal best 9:31.03. She improved her times further at the Diamond League meetings in Doha (6th in 9:2841) and Rome (5th in 9:2156). The latter time ranked her second behind Donna MacFarlane on the Australian all-time list.
Heiner was selected for the 2015 World Championships in both the steeplechase and the 5000 metres.