Anna Hall now a member of heptathlon's exclusive 7,000-point club, world record within reach

Winnipeg Free Press

5 days ago

On New Year's Eve, Anna Hall designs a decorative vision board that outlines her upcoming goals. Her most recent list includes being a good dog mom, making track fun and deepening friendships.
Not appearing on her artfully crafted board for the first time in a while — breaking into heptathlon's exclusive 7,000-point club. She just didn't want to add that sort of pressure coming off a knee injury.
Cross it off anyway.
Because last month at a meet in Austria, Hall became the fifth female to eclipse 7,000 points in the seven-event competition. Her grand total of 7,032 points puts her within striking distance (260 points, to be precise) of breaking the world record that her idol and Hall of Famer Jackie Joyner-Kersee set nearly 37 years ago.
It could happen at the U.S. track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon, which start Thursday. Or, presuming she makes the team, at the world championships in Tokyo in September. Or sometime before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
'I've had it long enough,' Joyner-Kersee said of the record. 'I would be so happy for Anna.'
The two communicate quite often — one heptathlete to another. Joyner-Kersee made sure to reach out after Hall broke into the hallowed 7K-point club.
'It was tears of joy,' Joyner-Kersee recounted. 'For her just being healthy and happy again. For the 7,000 points. I always knew she could do that. I know she can do even more.'
Knee surgery
Last season was so physically and emotionally demanding for Hall. Hence, her mixed feelings about finishing fifth at the Paris Olympics.
On one front, there's her perseverance. She underwent knee surgery early in 2024 and recovered fast enough to win the event at the Olympic trials.
For that, she's grateful. But she was hoping to be on the podium in Paris after taking silver at the 2023 world championships in Budapest.
'I think I'm more disappointed that I didn't medal. But everyone on my team is going to say the opposite,'' the 24-year-old Hall said. 'That's part of what lit a fire under me of, like, 'I need to come back better.''
Without adding any pressure, either.
The working theme of her motivational board — the one that hangs in her bathroom — revolved around restoring joy.
'Because last year was just so hard,' said Hall, who captured the 2022 NCAA heptathlon title while at Florida. 'I just wanted to have fun doing track. I wanted to not be in pain all the time. So I wasn't even putting numerical marks on my vision board this time around.'
The heptathlete
Growing up in Denver, Hall had her own version of the heptathlon as she dabbled in skiing, swimming, field hockey, volleyball, lacrosse, soccer and track.
Eventually, the list was whittled down to track. Even more, to the heptathlon, which consists of the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin and finally the 800.
Hall has been knocking on the door of the 7K club since amassing a personal-best 6,988 points in May 2023.
At the meet in Austria, everything fell into place. She set career-best marks in four of the seven events, including the 800 to close it out. Upon crossing the finish line, she fell to the track in exhaustion — but no pain.
'That felt in and of itself like a victory,' Hall said.
The number she's chasing is 7,291 points, which Joyner-Kersee accumulated on her way to winning gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
'Give her time. Anna is still young and she's steadily evolving and steadily getting better with the event,' Joyner-Kersee said. 'Sometimes, when we see greatness within our younger athletes, people start to rush it.'
A few minor tweaks here and there could bring Hall even closer to Joyner-Kersee's record. Like maybe in the long jump, an event in which she's confessed to having a love-hate relationship. Or the shot put, where she used to make an expression her dad called her 'shot-put face.'
'I definitely think it's attainable,' Hall said. 'But it is an out-of-this-world challenge.'
Modeling
Hall is used to photographers taking her picture on the track. Now, she's getting more and more comfortable with the cameras as part of her burgeoning modeling career. She recently appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition.
'My first few shoots in front of a camera I was so uncomfortable and out of my wheelhouse,' explained Hall, who's dating New York Giants receiver Darius Slayton. 'I was just telling the people on set, 'I don't know what I'm doing, but I can listen. Give me all the critiques. I want to be coached.'
'I definitely have a lot more confidence going into a heptathlon than I do a photo shoot.'
Vision board
The concept of her vision board started a while back with teammate Jasmine Moore, a bronze medal-winner in the long jump and triple jump at the Paris Games.
It's a way to creatively set goals in track and in life. This season, she wants to be the best dog mom to Cross, her Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever.
The boards are framed works of art that eventually move to her office to make room for the next version.
She's still trying to decide what to do with the board she made heading into 2024, which is a reminder of an arduous season. The board is currently sitting on her floor.
'Maybe I should keep it? I'll remember it for when I make my 2028 vision board,' Hall said in reference to the Los Angeles Games.
She also keeps a detailed journal in order to reflect on her thoughts from workouts and meets. She steers clear of scribbling anything negative in her notebook.
'I feel like once you write it down, it's speaking it into existence,' Hall explained. 'For me, journaling has been such a powerful tool to reframe the conversations that I'm having with myself. … All of those things build confidence down the road.
'Nobody's coming to save you. Nobody's going to hand you an Olympic medal or a world championship title. You have to go figure out how to take it.'
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games