The heptathlon, a grueling two-day competition involving seven track and field events, hasn’t garnered much attention in the United States since Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s dominance in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The last American to claim gold in the event was Joyner-Kersee, who secured consecutive Olympic titles in 1988 and 1992. This leaves a 32-year gap without an American heptathlon champion.
Anna Hall, the 23-year-old newly crowned heptathlon champion at the U.S. Olympic trials, is determined to change this narrative. “A lot of people don’t know what heptathlon is when I tell them what I do,” she says. “So I definitely think there’s a small chip on my shoulder of, ‘OK, I want to show you guys that America can be good at this too.'” Hall understands the weight of expectations, stating that winning Olympic gold is “kind of my duty, if I want to make heptathlon well-known in America.”
Her Paris performance might just be the turning point. Hall has consistently proven herself on the world stage, securing bronze at the 2022 World Championships and following it up with a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. A gold medal at the Olympics seems like a natural next step, with the heptathlon scheduled for August 8th and 9th at the Stade de France. “She’s going to definitely be a contender,” Joyner-Kersee, who mentors Hall, tells TIME. “She is a greedy type of athlete. She’s going to dig and go deeper than you’d ever imagine.”
Hall’s athleticism is deeply rooted in her family history. Her father, David, excelled in multiple sports at Michigan, playing football and basketball and competing in the decathlon. Her mother, Ronette Ivey Hall, is “athletic,” says Anna, “but didn’t really grow up with a chance to do sports.” Raised near Denver, Hall experimented with various sports—basketball, volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey—before finding her passion in track and field. She initially focused on the high jump and the 1,500 m, an uncommon combination, and confided in her father about her Olympic aspirations in both events. “He was like, ‘No, that’s probably not going to happen,'” says Hall. However, her determination to excel in both disciplines led them to find a solution: the heptathlon.
Hall rose to prominence as a high school athlete, earning a spot on the University of Georgia’s track and field team. During the 2021 Olympic trials, after her sophomore year, Hall was poised to secure a place on the U.S. team, but a mishap in the opening event, the 100-m hurdles, shattered her hopes. She sustained a navicular bone fracture in her foot, rendering her immobile for three months. This setback coincided with her coach’s departure from Georgia, prompting her to transfer schools.
“That was one of the hardest times for me,” says Hall. “For months, I was just like, ‘I think this is my rock bottom.’ Nothing was working out how I wanted. At that point in time, I wasn’t great at looking ahead. ‘Oh, the next Olympics is in three years.’ It just felt like my dream was over.”
Undeterred, Hall embarked on her rehabilitation at her new school, the University of Florida, and went on to win both indoor and outdoor NCAA championships. Her talent caught the attention of Joyner-Kersee at the outdoor event in Eugene, Oregon, in the spring of 2022. Joyner-Kersee was impressed by Hall’s participation in the open 400-m hurdles race alongside the heptathlon. “You’re talking about determination and grit,” says Joyner-Kersee. Hall’s subsequent two world-championship medals further solidified her status.
Hall’s achievements haven’t gone unnoticed by sponsors, with companies like Coca-Cola and the pet-food company Nulo seeking her endorsement. Nulo has even featured Hall and her family dog, Emma, in their advertisements. Emma resides with Hall’s parents in Naples, Florida, a few hours away from Hall’s base in Gainesville, Florida. “I’ve told anybody that will listen that I’m getting a dog after Paris,” says Hall.
Among the heptathlon events, Hall considers the high jump her “baby”; she topped the high jump and the 800 m, the final event, at trials. The javelin, however, has presented her with challenges: last fall, a stray throw during practice came dangerously close to a warming-up athlete, causing them to stop and express their displeasure. Nevertheless, she secured third place in javelin at the trials.
Hall dedicates equal time and effort to all seven events. “I always tell my coaches, I feel like I’m holding marbles in my hands, and I’m just trying not to let one drop at any given time,” says Hall. “But in the back of your head, you actually know that your strong events have to hit. So I think those are even a little bit more pressure than your worst ones.”
Hall views the Olympics as a part of her plan, not just a dream. “I don’t know why I was so confident at 7 years old,” she says. “But I was like, ‘Yep, I’m going. There was no maybe.'”
Since King Gustaf V of Sweden declared decathlon champion Jim Thorpe the “greatest athlete in the world” at the 1912 Olympics, that title has been reserved for the Olympic decathlon champion. So if Hall wins the heptathlon, would she consider herself the world’s greatest female athlete? She offers a nuanced response. “There are so many different ways you can measure that,” says Hall.
However, if she were to secure gold in Paris, would she at least accept the title of the world’s greatest female track-and-field athlete?
“Yes, I would,” says Hall.
And that should catch your attention.
