The diminutive athlete is currently the number one ranked heptathlete in the nation. She scored 5,053 points last summer in the heptathlon. At only 5’4” tall, her favorite athletes are Olympic gold medal decathlete Bryan Clay and Olympic heptathlete Jackie Joyner Kersee. Bryan Clay is an undersized mutli-event athlete and that is something Pinnick has in common with him. She aspires to be an Olympic Gold Medalist one day.
Pinnick is multi-talented in many events. Last year she qualified for the indoor state championships in eight different events(55m dash, 55 hurdles, 200m, 400m, 800m, high jump, long jump and 4x4 relay). One of her toughest decisions each year is which events to compete in. She is always one of the top athletes in every event she competes in. After just two meets this year, she has already qualified in 5 events for the indoor state championship.
This past summer at the AAU national championships, Pinnick won two national titles to bring her total to 10 AAU National Championships. She also has as many USATF national titles and over 20 indoor AAU/USA national championships. In 2007 Shakeia set the national record in the 400m hurdles at 59.48. Her time in the 400m hurdles this summer(58.98) would have qualified her for the NCAA championships(while still being a high school junior).
After being heavily recruited by almost every major track and field program she finally decided on
Shakeia is pictured here with sprint coach Kenny McDaniels and Head Coach Greg Kraft of ASU.