Floridas track and field star Anna Hall wins heptathlon at Olympic Trials

The latest Florida Gator to punch her ticket to the Paris Olympics is track and field star Anna Hall, who won the heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Team Track and Field Trials on Monday.

Hall won the high jump (1.82 meters) and the 800-meter race (2:04.39), which was the competition’s final event. She placed third in the shot put (145.35 meters) and javelin throw (45.77 meters). A foul disqualified her best long jump, forcing a fifth-place finish (6.19 meters). She also finished fifth in the 200-meter race (23.90 seconds).

Her worst performance came in the opening event, the 100-meter hurdle. A 13.34-second finish set a new season best for Hall, but it was only good for seventh place. Fortunately, Hall ended the first day of events in the lead and closed things out on her terms, embracing her teammates as she soaked in the victory.

Overcoming injury

Hall’s last Olympic Trials (2021) ended with a broken foot, and then knee surgery came in January of this year. She also transferred to Florida from the University of Georgia after that to take her game further.

Mission accomplished, but it wasn’t easy by any means. Hall struggled mentally leading up to this race, but a strong support system helped keep her grounded.

“When I had surgery in January, it was so hard,” Hall said to NBC Sports after the win. “There were so many days that I left practice defeated. I thought about quitting and everyone around me was always just like, ‘No, we’re doing this. We can do it.’ And they did that until I started to believe too.”

That support system includes one of the greatest Olympians in this country’s history — two-time Olympic gold medal winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee. If Hall’s going to become the next American to finish on top of the podium, she has Joyner-Kersee’s behind her. In fact, she called Hall every two days leading up to the trials to check in on her.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire

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