“On my way to the @Olympics pinch me!! 🤭❤️‍🔥😤💃🏽🪩🥰can’t wait to give it my best!” Anna Hall tweeted just a few days ago, after winning the US Olympic trials heptathlon. The 2023 World Championship silver medalist is set to make her debut with Team USA in Paris. Despite her impressive collegiate records and a tough battle with severe injuries, Hall is now ready to share her Olympic journey. In a surprising turn of events, her story of grit and determination has been appreciated by Taylor Swift herself. 

Anna Hall’s excitement was palpable when she shared on X, “This my PSA that Taylor Swift liked my Instagram… I screamed in the weightroom at the Olympic village when I saw the notification. If anyone was wondering 😂.” The post featured her journey to the 2024 Paris Olympics set to Swift’s “Out of the Woods (Taylor’s Version).” In a recent podcast with ABC7News Sports Director Scott Abraham, Hall reflected on her challenging path to becoming an Olympian.

Despite numerous injuries and setbacks, she described the moment as “super rewarding” and explained, “My Olympic journey story has just been really, really hard, with so many different hurdles. To finally say I’ve made the team and get a chance to fight for it… The weight of the world is off my shoulders now.” Her resilience and journey were even recognized by pop icon Taylor Swift, adding a special touch to her Olympic debut. 

The heptathlete later joined her support system and fans in the stands to celebrate. After the adrenaline wore off, she shared a few photos on Instagram. “Life update!!! I’M GOING TO THE OLYMPICS!” The post celebrated her journey and highlighted how overcoming her challenges helped her achieve a long-held goal. Notably, Anna Hall has been an avid Taylor Swift fan, often including Swift’s music in her warm-up playlists. This year, the song “22” has been particularly meaningful to her. She said, “22 has been a big one since I’m 22 this year. It’s been stuck in my head ever since my birthday, so a little bit of rap, but usually songs that I know really well, like my favorite thing is to be able to be bouncing around and like singing along, so usually music that I kinda like grew up on, hence the Taylor Swift.” 

In a video recently posted by Team USA on X, Anna Hall was asked to build her personal playlist on a budget of $15. She had to choose one artist from each of the five price divisions: $5, $4, $3, $2, and $1. Hall chose Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, DJ Khalid, and Charlie Puth. She said, “I think I see Taylor Swift on there, so I have to pick her.” Hall also listens to songs like Blank Space to amp up her energy. So it just makes sense why Anna Hall was so hyped to know Taylor Swift had acknowledged her hard work. As she takes the stage in Paris, all eyes are on whether her journey through challenges will culminate in the ultimate triumph.

Anna Hall’s struggle: Overcoming adversity to shine at the Paris Olympics 

The 23-year-old reflects on a time when she considered stepping away from the sport permanently. “It was definitely a difficult time,” she admits to the Denver Post. “Fighting those mental battles every single day just wore on me.” Despite her thoughts of making a triumphant comeback, she found that her confidence and physical condition hadn’t yet aligned with her aspirations. Anna Hall announced on January 29th that she had recently undergone a minor knee procedure. She revealed that she had injured her PCL but was uncertain about when the injury occurred. 

Anna Hall is a tough athlete, it’s commendable that she has not let adversities get to her. In 2020, while participating in the 100mH, her foot collided with the hurdle barrier and as a result, she suffered a broken navicular bone in her left foot. This rendered her unable to compete in the Tokyo Olympics 2021. The injury was severe enough to require surgery and the lengthy recovery period impacted her competitive meets that year. However, Anna Hall has been able to make it onto the team this year.

She described her thoughts, saying, “Honestly, just relief. I’ve wanted this for so long and my Olympic journey has been really, really hard. 2021 was absolutely devastating. It’s just been a lot of adversity and a lot of doubt. And so, just the relief… Like, we finally made it. I’m just really thankful.” She scored an impressive 6614 points during the heptathlon trials and became the winner in that event beating Chari Hawkins and Taliyah Brooks who scored 6456 and 6408 respectively. It was extraordinary because only 6 months prior she had undergone a complex knee surgery. Fans are waiting to see her perform with the same vigor in Paris as well. Now that she has made it to the Summer Games, the big question remains: will she return with an Olympic gold medal? Only time will tell!