LUCK HASN’T ALWAYS been on Anna Hall’s side the last few years. Yes, she’s certainly had plenty of success — podium finishes in the last two world championship heptathlons — but anytime she seems to be gaining momentum, injuries have popped up.
Still, Hall is nothing if not resilient. The 23-year-old Colorado native has found a way through everything fate has thrown at her. The latest example came at the Olympic Trials, where she rebounded from January surgery to not only make the team for Paris, but dominate the competition.
It was a dramatic conclusion to a turbulent saga that began three years ago. Coming into the ’21 Trials, Hall was an up-and-coming star, expected to contend for a slot on the Tokyo roster. Disaster struck just seconds into the first event of the heptathlon when she crashed out in the 100 hurdles and broke her foot.
“I didn’t really know what the future would hold or if I would have to switch events, she told T&FN several months later. “Just coming back from the foot thing has definitely been a very big struggle.”
Hall transferred from Georgia to Florida after that season and excelled in ’22 with NCAA and U.S. titles, then came away with a breakthrough score of 6755 points to earn the bronze at the World Championships in Eugene.
She turned pro after that and headed into 2023 as a favorite to move up the podium. Picking up where she’d left off, Hall won the USATF Indoor title in the pentathlon at 5004 points, an American Record that moved her to No. 4 on the all-time list. She also won the individual 400 at that meet, demonstrating her impressive speed.
At Götzis, Austria — the premiere international combined events invitational — she raised her heptathlon PR to 6988, making her the fifth-best of all-time, and No. 2 behind legendary Jackie Joyner-Kersee among Americans. She defended her U.S. title with ease, but a freak injury while training for the long jump caused her to hyperextend her knee, nearly knocking her out of the World Championships in Budapest. Once again she rallied, scoring 6720 and taking silver.
“We did everything we could through all the treatments and rehabs, and I thought I was ready to go and by no means can I expect anything less than gold for myself,” she said after a gutsy 2:04.09 in the concluding 800 left her just 20 points behind Great…
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