Hillary Heron

Hillary Alexandra Heron Soto (born 29 January 2004) is a Panamanian artistic gymnast. She is the 2023 South American champion and the 2021 and 2024 Pan American silver medalist on vault. She represented Panama at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Heron was born in Panama in 2004 to Ricardo Heron and Yaroslavi Soto. She is the granddaughter of the late New York Yankees scout Karl Heron. The 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing inspired her love for the sport of gymnastics.

Junior gymnastics career

2017–18

Heron made her international debut at the 2017 South American Junior Championships. She finished eighth in the all-around, seventh on vault, and eighth on floor exercise.

Heron started the 2018 season competing at the Pacific Rim Championships where she finished 16th in the all-around and fourth on vault. She next competed at the Junior Pan American Championships, where she helped Panama finish seventh as team; Heron finished 11th in the all-around and fourth on vault. Additionally, she finished seventh on the floor exercise.

In October, Heron competed at the Junior South American Championships where she placed fourth in the all-around. During event finals, she placed second on vault and balance beam, fourth on uneven bars, and fifth on floor exercise. Her final event of the year was the Top Gym Tournament where she finished 13th on the uneven bars.

2019

Heron was selected to compete at the inaugural Junior World Championships alongside Karla Navas. Together they finished 23rd as a team. Individually, Heron finished 44th in the all-around. Heron ended the season competing at the Junior South American Championships. She placed fourth in the all-around and helped Panama place third as a team. During event finals, she placed first on vault, third on uneven bars, fourth on balance beam, and eighth on floor exercise.

Senior gymnastics career

2020–21

Heron became age-eligible for senior competition in 2020; however, most competitions were canceled or postponed in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, Heron did not compete that year. She returned to competition at the 2021 Pan American Championships where she helped Panama place fourth as a team, and individually, she placed 12th in the all-around. During event finals, she placed second on vault behind Natalia Escalera.

2022

Heron competed at the Bolivarian Games and was Panama's flag bearer in the opening ceremony. She helped Panama finish third as a team. Individually, she finished third in the all-around and on vault and won silver on floor exercise. She next competed at the Pan American Championships where she helped Panama finish tenth as a team during qualifications. Individually, she placed 29th in the all-around. At the South American Games, Heron won the silver medal on vault and the bronze medal on floor exercise. She also placed fifth with the Panamanian team and 12th in the all-around.

2023

Heron competed at the Cairo World Cup where she won bronze on vault behind Joscelyn Roberson and Asia D'Amato. Additionally, she placed fifth on floor exercise. At the Pan American Championships, she helped Panama qualify for the team final and finish seventh. Then at the Central American & Caribbean Games, she helped Panama win the silver medal behind Mexico. She won the all-around bronze medal behind teammate Karla Navas and Mexico's Alexa Moreno. She also won the bronze medal on the floor exercise.

Heron won the all-around bronze medal at the South American Championships behind Brazilians Gabriela Barbosa and Josiany Calixto. She won the vault title and also won silver on the uneven bars behind Calixto. Mistakes at the Pan American Championships prevented her from receiving an all-around qualification spot to the World Championships, but she was still able to perform on every event due to qualifying through the World Cup series. At the World Championships, she finished 41st in the all-around, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics as an individual. On the floor exercise, she performed a double layout half out, also known as the Biles, becoming the first gymnast other than Simone Biles to perform one of Biles' named skills at a World Championships.

After the World Championships, Heron represented Panama at the 2023 Pan American Games. She helped the team finish seventh, and individually, she placed tenth in the all-around final and sixth in the floor exercise final.

2024

Heron began her season at the Cairo World Cup. During the qualification round, she performed a new element in her floor exercise, a double back tucked salto with one and a half twists, which was named after her. During the floor exercise final, she finished sixth. She also competed at the Cottbus World Cup but did not advance into any finals. Then at the Baku World Cup, she placed eighth on the floor exercise. She represented Panama at the 2024 Summer Olympics, placing 44th in the all-around. She finished 14th on vault, 71st on uneven bars, 59th on balance beam, and 29th on floor.

Eponymous skill

Heron has a floor exercise skill named after her in the Code of Points, a double back tucked salto on floor with 1.5 twists.

Competitive history

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Hillary
2004 births
21st-century Panamanian women
21st-century Panamanian people
Panamanian female artistic gymnasts
Competitors at the 2022 South American Games
Living people
South American Games silver medalists for Panama
South American Games bronze medalists for Panama
South American Games medalists in gymnastics
Sportspeople from Panama City
Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Panama
Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Panama
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in gymnastics
Gymnasts at the 2023 Pan American Games
Bolivarian Games silver medalists for Panama
Bolivarian Games medalists in gymnastics
Bolivarian Games bronze medalists for Panama
Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Olympic gymnasts for Panama