Tania Van Heer

Tania Van Heer (born 30 December 1970) is an Australian former sprinter who competed in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and relay events. A two-time Commonwealth Games champion, she won gold in the 4 × 100 metres and 4 × 400 metres relays and bronze in the 100 metres at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. In 1999, she won silver in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the World Indoor Championships, setting Australian and Oceanian indoor records with a time of 3:26.87, and reached the 200 metres semi-finals and 4 × 400 metres final at the World Championships.

Early life Van Heer was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her family left Sri Lanka amid political tensions and settled in Adelaide, South Australia, in the mid-1980s.

Career

Early career At the 1988 Australian Junior Championships, Van Heer won the under-20 titles in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres. She retained the 200 m and 400 m titles the following year. Van Heer later represented Oceania in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 1989 and 1992 IAAF World Cups, finishing sixth on both occasions. Peris subsequently challenged Van Heer's selection, but the appeal was unsuccessful.

In September, Van Heer represented Oceania at the 1998 IAAF World Cup in Johannesburg, finishing seventh in the 200 metres in 22.93 seconds and sixth in the 4 × 100 metres and 4 × 400 metres relays. In August, she was omitted from Australia's team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney despite having achieved the Olympic qualifying standards in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 400 metres.

After several years away from top-level competition, Van Heer returned to athletics with the aim of competing at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. At the 2006 Australian Championships, she finished fourth in the 100 metres in 11.83 seconds and fifth in the 200 metres in 23.90 seconds. She was included in Australia's 4 × 100 metres relay squad for the Commonwealth Games, but did not compete.

Personal life Van Heer is the mother of Australian sprinter Aidan Murphy, whom she coached when he first took up athletics.

Personal bests Event Mark Wind (m/s) Location Date Notes 100 metres 11.29 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 17 September 1998 South Australian record 200 metres 22.42 Canberra, Australia 6 February 1999 South Australian record 400 metres 51.28 Melbourne, Australia 19 March 1999 South Australian record 4 × 100 m 43.39 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 21 September 1998 4 × 400 m (short track) 3:26.87 Maebashi, Japan 7 March 1999 ,