Hillary Heron

{{Infobox gymnast

| name = Hillary Heron

| image = 2019-06-28 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Women's All-around competition Subdivision 2 Balance beam (Martin Rulsch) 123.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Heron at the 2019 Junior World Championships

| full_name = Hillary Alexandra Heron Soto

| altname =

| nickname = Hilly

| country = {{PAN}}

| regionsrepresented =

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2004|01|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = Panama City, Panama

| hometown =

| residence =

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| level =

| natlteam = 2017–present

| club = No Limits Gymnastics

| gym =

| collegeteam =

| headcoach = Carlos Rafael Gil

| assistcoach =

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| eponymousskills =Heron (F): (Floor exercise) Double salto backward tucked with 1½ twist

| retired =

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| show-medals = true

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{PAN}} }}

{{MedalCount

|Apparatus World Cup|0|0|1

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}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.panamaamerica.com.pa/deportes/una-nina-prodigio-de-la-gimnasia-en-panama-872379|title=Una niña prodigio de la gimnasia en Panamá|lang=es|trans-title=A child prodigy of gymnastics in Panama|date=11 April 2013|work=Panamá América|access-date=18 April 2024|last1=Espinosa|first1=Allan}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.com.py/estilo-de-vida/2022/06/23/hillary-heron-entre-la-gimnasia-y-la-tradicion-beisbolera-familiar/|title=Hillary Heron, entre la gimnasia y la tradición beisbolera familiar|work=ABC Color|lang=es|trans-title=Hillary Heron, between gymnastics and the family baseball tradition|date=23 June 2022|access-date=18 April 2024}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2017/09/23/2017-south-american-junior-championships-results/|title=2017 South American Junior Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=23 September 2017|last1=Hopkins|first1=Lauren|access-date=18 April 2024}}

Heron started the 2018 season competing at the Pacific Rim Championships where she finished 16th in the all-around and fourth on vault.{{cite web|url=https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=21802|title=U.S. women, McCallum, Bowers take gold at Pac Rim Championships|work=USA Gymnastics|date=28 April 2018|access-date=18 April 2024|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221030908/https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=21802|archive-date=21 December 2018}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18jrpanam_aa.pdf|title=2018 Artistic Gymnastics Junior Pan American Championships 10–15 June 2018 Buenos Aires, ARG WAG Individual Qualifications|website=USA Gymnastics|access-date=18 April 2024|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221035951/https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18jrpanam_aa.pdf|archive-date=21 December 2018}} Additionally, she finished seventh on the floor exercise.{{cite web|url=https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18jrpanam_events.pdf|title=2018 Artistic Gymnastics Junior Pan American Championships 10–15 June 2018 Buenos Aires, ARG WAG Event Finals|page=4|website=USA Gymnastics|access-date=18 April 2024|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012132217/https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18jrpanam_events.pdf|archive-date=12 October 2022}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2018/10/22/2018-south-american-junior-championships-results/|title=2018 South American Junior Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=22 October 2018|last1=Hopkins|first1=Lauren|access-date=18 April 2024}} Her final event of the year was the Top Gym Tournament where she finished 13th on the uneven bars.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2018 Top Gym Tournament Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2018/12/01/2018-top-gym-tournament-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=1 December 2018}}

= 2019 =

Heron was selected to compete at the inaugural Junior World Championships alongside Karla Navas. Together they finished 23rd as a team.{{cite web |title=1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships Gyor (HUN), 27 June – 30 June 2019 Women's Team Final Ranking |url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2019/w_19jrworlds_team.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |publisher=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=28 June 2019}} Individually, Heron finished 44th in the all-around.{{cite web |title=1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships Gyor (HUN), 27 June – 30 June 2019 Women's All-Around Final Ranking |url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2019/w_19jrworlds_aa.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |publisher=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=28 June 2019}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2019/10/21/2019-south-american-junior-championships-results/|title=2019 South American Junior Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=21 October 2019|last1=Hopkins|first1=Lauren|access-date=18 April 2024}}

{{multiple image

| total_width = 650

| image1 = 2019-06-28 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Women's All-around competition Subdivision 2 Floor exercise (Martin Rulsch) 219.jpg

| caption1 = Floor exercise

| image2 = 2019-06-28 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Women's All-around competition Subdivision 2 Uneven bars (Martin Rulsch) 057.jpg

| caption2 = Uneven bars

| image3 = 2019-06-28 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Women's All-around competition Subdivision 2 Balance beam (Martin Rulsch) 122.jpg

| caption3 = Balance beam

| image4 = 2019-06-28 1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics JWCH Women's All-around competition Subdivision 2 Floor exercise (Martin Rulsch) 223.jpg

| caption4 = Floor exercise

| footer_align = center

| footer = Heron at the 2019 Junior World Championships

| caption_align = center

| align = center

}}

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.{{cite web|url=https://thegymter.net/2021/06/08/2021-pan-american-championships-results/|title=2021 Pan American Championships Results|work=The Gymternet|date=8 June 2021|last1=Hopkins|first1=Lauren|access-date=18 April 2024}}

= 2022 =

Heron competed at the Bolivarian Games and was Panama's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.{{cite web |title=Heron Hillary |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=67316 |access-date=29 July 2024 |website=International Gymnastics Federation}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2022 Bolivarian Games Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2022/06/29/2022-bolivarian-games-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=29 June 2022}} 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.{{Cite web|title=U.S. senior men win team title, women capture silver as Pan American Championships end|url=https://usagym.org/u-s-senior-men-win-team-title-women-capture-silver-as-pan-american-championships-end/|work=USA Gymnastics|date=18 July 2022|access-date=18 April 2024}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2022 South American Games Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2022/10/09/2022-south-american-games-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=9 October 2022}}

= 2023 =

Heron competed at the Cairo World Cup where she won bronze on vault behind Joscelyn Roberson and Asia D'Amato.{{cite web |title=Kovtun, Roberson adorned in gold at Cairo World Cup |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3827663 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=2 May 2023}} Additionally, she placed fifth on floor exercise.{{cite web |title=FIG Artistic Apparatus World Cup Cairo, Egypt 27th– 30th April 2023 WAG Finals Floor Exercise |url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2023/w_23cairo_events.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=18 April 2024 |pages=4 |date=30 April 2023}} At the Pan American Championships, she helped Panama qualify for the team final and finish seventh.{{cite web |title=2023 Pan American Gymnastics Championships Team Final Results |url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2023/w_23panamchamps_team.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=18 April 2024 |language=es}} Then at the Central American & Caribbean Games, she helped Panama win the silver medal behind Mexico.{{cite web |title=XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 Women Artistic Gymnastics Team Medalists |url=https://wrs-jcc2023-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2023jcc/reports/GARWTEAM--------------QUAL--------.C92B_1_0.pdf |website=San Salvador 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=25 June 2023}} She won the all-around bronze medal behind teammate Karla Navas and Mexico's Alexa Moreno.{{cite web |title=XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 Women Artistic Gymnastics All-Around Final Individual |url=https://wrs-jcc2023-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2023jcc/reports/GARW1AA---------------FNL---------.C92A_1_0.pdf |website=San Salvador 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=26 June 2023}} She also won the bronze medal on the floor exercise.{{cite web |title=XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 Women Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final Floor exercise |url=https://wrs-jcc2023-resources.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/2023jcc/reports/GARW1APFX-------------FNL---------.C92A_1_0.pdf |website=San Salvador 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=28 June 2023}}

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.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2023 South American Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2023/09/11/2023-south-american-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=11 September 2023}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2023 World Championships WAG Qualifiers |url=https://thegymter.net/2023-world-championships-wag-qualifiers/ |website=The Gymternet |date=30 May 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024}}{{cite web |title=Panama's Heron heralds first World Championships with happiness and hope |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3983238 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=29 September 2023}} At the World Championships, she finished 41st in the all-around, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics as an individual.{{cite web|url= https://www.ecotvpanama.com/deportes/hillary-heron-clasifico-los-juegos-olimpicos-paris-2024-n5927888|title= Hillary Heron clasificó a los Juegos Olímpicos de París 2024|trans-title=Hillary Heron qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games|website=Eco TV Panama|lang=es|date=2 October 2023|access-date=18 April 2024}}{{cite web|url= https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3986502|title= Rendez-vous Paris 2024: See who qualified to the women's team competition!|website=International Gymnastics Federation|date=3 October 2023|access-date=18 April 2024}} 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.{{cite web|url= https://remezcla.com/sports/panamanian-gymnast-hillary-heron-move-simone-biles-has-ever-done/|title= This Panamanian Gymnast Managed to Do Something Only Simone BiIes Has Ever Done|website=Remezcla|date=2 October 2023|access-date=18 April 2024}}

After the World Championships, Heron represented Panama at the 2023 Pan American Games. She helped the team finish seventh,{{cite web |title=American women clinch sixth-consecutive team gold at Pan Am Games |url=https://usagym.org/american-women-clinch-sixth-consecutive-team-gold-at-pan-am-games/ |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=22 October 2023}} and individually, she placed tenth in the all-around final and sixth in the floor exercise final.{{cite web |title=Women's All-Around Results |url=https://results-santiago2023.org/#/discipline/GAR/final-rank/W.1AA--------------- |website=Santiago 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024}}{{cite web |title=Women's Floor Exercise Results |url=https://results-santiago2023.org/#/discipline/GAR/final-rank/W.1APFX------------- |website=Santiago 2023 |access-date=18 April 2024}}

= 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.{{Cite web|date=16 February 2024|title=Hillary Heron hace un doble mortal con giro y medio; su nombre queda escrito en la historia de la gimnasia artística|url=https://www.prensa.com/deportes/hillary-heron-hace-un-doble-mortal-con-giro-y-medio-su-nombre-queda-escrito-en-la-historia/|access-date=16 February 2024|language=es|work=La Prensa|trans-title=Hillary Heron does a double somersault with a twist and a half; Her name is written in the history of artistic gymnastics}} During the floor exercise final, she finished sixth.{{cite web |title=Olympic qualification is on as 2024 Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup series comes alive in Cairo |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=4105340 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=20 February 2024}} She also competed at the Cottbus World Cup but did not advance into any finals.{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2024 Cottbus World Cup Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2024/02/26/2024-cottbus-world-cup-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=18 April 2024 |date=26 February 2024}} Then at the Baku World Cup, she placed eighth on the floor exercise.{{cite web |title=FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup AGF Trophy Women Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus Final |url=https://static.usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2024/w_24baku.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |publisher=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=18 April 2024 |pages=4 |date=10 March 2024}} At the 2024 Olympic Games Heron finished forty-forth during qualifications and did not advance to any finals.

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.

Apparatus	Name	Description	Difficulty{{efn\|name=difficulty\|Valid for the 2022–2024 Code of Points}}	Added to the Code of Points
class="wikitable"
Floor exercise	Heron	Double salto backward tucked with 1½ twist (540)	F	2024 Cairo World Cup

Competitive history

colspan="8" \| Junior
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;" ! align="center" \|Year ! align="center" \|Event ! style="width:30px;" \|Team ! style="width:30px;" \|AA ! style="width:30px;" \|VT ! style="width:30px;" \|UB ! style="width:30px;" \|BB ! style="width:30px;" \|FX
rowspan="1" \| 2017	align=left \| South American Championships		8	7			8
rowspan="4"\|2018	align=left \| Pacific Rim Championships		16	4
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	7	11	4
align=left \| South American Championships		4	{{silver2}}	4	{{silver2}}	5
align=left \| Top Gym Tournament				13
rowspan="3"\|2019
bgcolor=#CCCCFF \| align=left\|Junior World Championships	23	44
align=left \| South American Championships	{{bronze3}}	4	{{gold1}}	{{bronze3}}	4	8
colspan="8" \| Senior
rowspan="2" \| 2021
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	4	12	{{silver2}}
rowspan="3" \| 2022	align=left \| Bolivarian Games	{{bronze3}}	{{bronze3}}	{{bronze3}}		7	{{silver2}}
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	10	29
align=left \| South American Games	5	12	{{silver2}}			{{bronze3}}
rowspan="6" \| 2023	align=left \| Cairo World Cup			{{bronze3}}			5
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	7		9	25	16	10
align=left \| Central American & Caribbean Games	{{silver2}}	{{bronze3}}	5			{{bronze3}}
align=left \| South American Championships	4	{{bronze3}}	{{gold1}}	{{silver2}}		4
bgcolor=#CCCCFF \| align=left \| World Championships		41
bgcolor=#f0fccf \| align=left \| Pan American Games	7	10				6
rowspan="6" \| 2024	align=left \| Cairo World Cup						6
align=left \| Baku World Cup						8
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	5		{{silver2}}
align=left \| RomGym Trophy		8	5	8	5
bgcolor=98FB98 \| align=left \| Olympic Games		44
align=left \| South American Championships	{{bronze3}}	{{silver2}}
rowspan="2" \| 2025
bgcolor=#F5F6CE \| align=left \| Pan American Championships	6				8