Anna Hall Comes Full Circle. And It's a BIG Circle At That!
Updated: May 23, 2022
In the third heat of the first event, Hall would hit a hurdle causing her to fall and break her foot while also tearing a muscle in her shoulder. The broken foot would require surgery, while Hall’s hopes of representing her country in Tokyo were gone.
By LOREN MEADOWS
Anna Hall is a future star in Women’s Track and Field. A BIG star. In an event that turned Jackie Joyner-Kersee into a legend over a 12-year period, Anna Hall is poised to take Kersee’s place in the first half of the 21st century.
The Heptathlon is Women’s Track and Field’s answer to the worlds’s greatest athlete. A grueling two-day competition of seven disciplines. The 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, 200m Dash, Long Jump, Javelin Throw, and 800m Run put the athletes to the test both mentally and physically. Whew! It makes you tired just saying it!
It is the balance of these tests where Hall seems to have found her Zen, but not without some falls along the way.
The place was Heyward Field at the U.S Olympic Trials in June of 2021. Hall was set to make a strong push to make the U.S Olympic Team shortly after finishing her freshman year at the University of Georgia. In the third heat of the first event, Hall would hit a hurdle causing her to fall and break her foot while also tearing a muscle in her shoulder. The broken foot would require surgery, while Hall’s hopes of representing her country in Tokyo were gone.
Hall would find a new outlook in transferring to the University of Florida. Arriving in July, Hall would begin her rehab in Gainesville both mentally and physically.
“It was pretty hard, honestly,” Hall stated. Hall described being mandated to non-weight bearing activities for three months. “There was a lot of swimming and rehab exercises. I had never had an injury before so it was all new.”
Athletes crave comfort, stability, and support. Florida has been able to give that and more to Hall.
“I wasn’t that happy outside of track," she said, "So I decided to come here and it has worked out really well.”
Hall credited the Florida coaches and trainers at Florida for their unwavering support and creativity during her recovery. “That’s what made me realize Florida is so special. I don’t think I would have come back as fast as I did anywhere else.”
Special to Hall is also the relationships she is building with her fellow students and athletes. Hall is friends with other student-athletes and students alike and has enjoyed exploring the diversity of Gainesville with them as well. “I just like being in the state of Florida!,” she stated with excitement.
Hall brings that same excitement to the track when she competes. Reserved in person, the soft-spoken athlete hits a switch and brings palpable intensity to all of her events. “Growing up my parents thought I would be a troubled kid.”
However, what may have been viewed as a mean streak was actually a self-described “competitive edge” that makes her one of the nation’s elite multievent athletes.
As with many multi-event athletes Hall has dabbled in many sports and hails from a family of athletes. Her father David was a multi-sport athlete at the University of Michigan while sisters Kathryn and Julia played tennis and ran track at Michigan.
“I started track at seven because my older sisters were doing it, so I always was trying to catch up with them and do what they did. I [also] played soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and field hockey,” all sports that transfer very well to the diverse physical requirements of the Heptathlon.
Fast forward to May of 2022. Hall has rehabbed herself to the tune of one of the greatest seasons in Florida history.
Less than a year from the fall in Eugene, Ore. she has already redeemed herself by winning the national title and earning a place on the U.S. World Championship Team in the Heptathlon. In pure movie-like fashion the World Championships will be held at the very same track where Hall experienced her first injury.
Also held in Eugene, Oregon will be the 2022 NCAA Outdoor National Championships where she will compete in the Heptathlon and the 400m Hurdles. This should give Hall plenty of opportunity to reflect on how far she has come and how much she enjoys representing the Florida Gators. It will also give her a chance to “flip the switch” and come full circle. A big circle.
Thanks, Loren! I don’t think anyone else but you and Gatorbait have gone beyond the numbers with this amazing UF athlete. I’ll follow her competitive efforts in particular now because of this article from you.