Profiling Heidi Hannenian (Nelson)

Heidi Hannenian (Nelson) was born in Haverhill, Mass., and began swimming competitively at the age of four. She was an NCAA All-American, while swimming for Northwestern University. After sustaining a career-ending back injury, she transferred to UC Santa Barbara in 1991 and began swimming with a Masters team. In 1994 she became an LA County Lifeguard and began a competitive career in Surf Lifesaving competitions. She has travelled, lived and competed internationally in countless Surf Lifesaving events, and has been a member of the US National Team for the past 6 years, most recently competing at the Goodwill Games in Australia this year. She coached with the El Segundo Masters team for six years until joining SCAQ to coach/swim in 2001. She loves coaching Masters swimmers because they are motivated to work hard, know how to have fun and are always willing to learn new things.

This story is from the SCAQ website.