Sometimes you can give your best and yet end up finishing well below your expectations. That is exactly what happened with the US heptathlete, Anna Hall. Touted as one of the biggest medal contenders, Hall came up significantly short in her bid to finish 5th in Paris. While she accumulated a total score of 6615 points, Belgian heptathlete Nafissatou Thiam scored 6880 to clinch the gold. Katrina Johnson-Thompson and Noor Vidts notched up the silver and bronze medals with 6844 and 6707 points respectively. 

Quite expectedly, Hall was distraught after her performance as she had gone through a lot to come to Paris this time. However, amidst her shattered Olympic dreams, the 23-year-old has found solace in her coach, Mike Holloway’s words. Hall shared a screenshot of her iMessage on her Instagram story that read, “I have been trying to write you a text all night, but every time I tried I was overcome with emotion. I am so proud of you and you will forever be my hero. The fight you gave everyday, watching you fight through the pain, watching you show up everyday and give it your absolute ALL, is something I will never forget Mary J.” 

Holloway has been mentoring Hall since her Florida Gators days back in 2010. Cherishing the entire journey with the athlete till now, coach Holloway further said, “Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your journey and I promise that I am all in and ready to stand beside you and fight to crush them all in 28. Love you and respect you more than you know. Coach.”

Indeed, the journey of Anna Hall to Paris was nothing short of a miracle. At 23, Hall is already having a career plagued by injuries. Back in Tokyo, her chances of making it into the Olympics were thwarted by an unfortunate injury in the navicular bone on her left foot. And just when things seemed to be getting better this time, the dreaded injury struck again. Ahead of the 2023 Worlds, Hall suffered a brutal injury while training. Ending up with a badly bruised PCL and bone, Hall reflected on her broken mental status. 

In a June post shared by Citius Mag, Anna Hall stated that such unfortunate circumstances made her question whether she liked track and field anymore. Thankfully, Coach Holloway was always there to uplift her mood and channel her energies in the right direction. As a result, Hall scored 6614 points, overshadowing Chari Hawkins(6456), and Taliyah Brooks(6408) to cement her maiden Olympic berth in Paris. And after her underwhelming performance in Paris, Anna Hall opened up about her mental state. 

Anna Hall ‘hurt’ after Paris heartbreak

Aiming for gold, it was a massive heartbreak for the former Gators to miss a podium finish. Moments after her 5th place finish, Hall took to her social media and virtually penned down a message for her fans. She wrote, “5th hurts, bad.trying hard to be proud of the fight we gave these last 2 days and last 7 months. I gave it my very best ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🔥I hope I made you all proud.”

Coming into Paris, Hall received a lot of guidance from the legendary athlete, Jackie Joyner Kersee as well. Acknowledging her influence on her training, Hall recalled having repeatedly received calls from Kersee. The iconic athlete asked Hall to keep faith in herself and strive towards glory. And keeping the same positive energy alive, Anna Hall, in yet another statement, has pledged to come back even stronger in 2028, Los Angeles. 

Hall took to her Instagram story and posted, “The last six months I’ve fought really hard. I’ve been in pain, I did everything I could do. I’m trying really hard to be proud of myself in the moment, but it definitely hurts really bad… I know we couldn’t have done anything more, so I’m just excited now to fully heal and get ready. I know this is going to light a fire under my butt for 2028.” Surely, after what Hall has gone through, it is evident that she does not give up easily. Thus, despite her failure in Paris, Anna Hall will definitely be a prospect to watch out for in the next edition four years from now.