Taking up beach volleyball at the age of 19, Mark Heese was a high school gym teacher before leaving his position to compete full time. He made his international debut in 1992, but had little success until he partnered with John Child in 1995, when he reached the third step on the podium at three international events and was ranked 11th overall in total points. The duo won their first event, and finished 9th overall, in 1996, but these achievements were overshadowed by their performance at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where beach volleyball made its debut. After reaching the quarter-finals, Heese and Child bested Javier Bosma and Sixto Jiménez of Spain and advanced to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by eventual gold medalists Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes of the United States. The Canadians then overcame Miguel Maia and João Brenha of Portugal to capture bronze, which is, as of 2012, the nation’s only medal in the sport.
Heese and Child were ranked 15th overall over the next three seasons and returned to compete for Canada at the 2000 Summer Olympics, where they were eliminated in the eighth-finals by Zé Marco and Ricardo of Brazil, the upcoming silver medalists, and finished joint-fifth overall. They had the same result at the 2004 edition, after being defeated by Bosma and Pablo Herrera of Spain, the eventual runners-up, in the quarter-finals. Child retired in 2006, playing in only three major events in his final two seasons and forcing Heese to find a new teammate. He partnered with Adrien Cadieux and Rich Van Huizen, but never reached the same level of success as he did with Child, although he did win the International Volleyball Federation’s “Most Inspirational Player” award in 2005. He retired in 2007, having won ten Canadian national championships: eight with Child and one each with Cadieux and Van Huizen. As of 2012 he works as a coach, promoter, and motivational speaker.
Canada