IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EASY for a random observer to assume that when Anna Hall began her triumphant, historic heptathlon at Götzis — starting with a 13.19 flight of hurdles that was nearly a half second off her 12.75 PR, followed by a breathtaking high jump competition that concluded with her lifetime best and American Hept Record of 6-4¾ (1.95) — that it was kind of a tale of reversal of fortune and dramatic redemption, setting the stage for her long-sought first 7000-point score.
But that would be the wrong narrative.
The fact is, not only was Hall pleased with the hurdle mark — after all, it was her best of the season and fastest since before her January ’24 knee surgery — but she had not come into Austria for the 50th anniversary of the hallowed Hypomeeting with a goal any more lofty than getting a solid start to a long season that she hopes to end on the podium in Tokyo: “We were just looking for 6750 points or so.”
Improving her PR of 6988, set at Götzis in ’23, was not the big goal there. And smashing the 7000-point barrier was not in her plans. So yes, there was massive joy and celebration beyond what there might have otherwise been.
But it has also been cause for pause and reflection for Hall, now given this strange and wondrous gift of now being =No. 2 all-time behind her mentor, Jackie Joyner-Kersee.
“It was a little bit surprising, so [there’s] definitely a little bit of processing to do with that,” she says, “so it’s like ‘OK, wow, maybe I really needed to focus on being healthy instead of always trying to squeeze that extra inch out.’ We weren’t planning to go over 7K this weekend, and it just happened.
“I’m really, really happy about the score and where we’re at.”
It ended that second day in the best possible way, too, with Hall not only beating the 2:03.3 she had to run to achieve the 7K mountaintop, but also blasting through it to 7032 with a 2:01.23 she hardly imagined and earning a celebration she’d never dreamed of.
Those who have watched Hall in her hepts over the years recall the many occasions after the [almost always] winning 800s, followed by a soft collapse to the track in exhaustion… and either exaltation or exasperation, depending on whether the desired score or podium position was achieved.
“I definitely have been on both sides of it before, post-800,” she muses, “but the times that I’ve missed [medals or scores] stick with me the most. So it’s almost like I only remember those, so that’s literally what I was thinking about the last 100m, I was like ‘We are not doing this again’… you know, like stand up and finish!
“And so when I crossed the line and I saw 2:01… in my brain the only thing that clicked was that :01 is less than :03, so I was like ‘DONE!’ We did it! And I was so happy to be on the right side of it this time.”
Then suddenly there was her coach, Mellanee Welty, parents David and Ronette Hall down on the Mösle-Stadion track to help her up, hug and celebrate with her. “I don’t know how my family and my coach just got out there, because that like never really happens,” Hall remembers warmly, “so when they came over to me when I was still just lying down, trying to recover, it was amazing to open my eyes and get to share that moment with them. It was very special.”
But the cold truth is, there were days and nights last fall and winter and even early spring where it was hard. Fifth in Paris had been a bitter pill, her knee still ached and there was a while where Hall “just didn’t want to do this.”
“Last fall after the Olympics, I took it really, really hard. And then also, it took a while to get healthy. Not only was I dealing with the letdown of the Olympics, but I was also like, ‘Is my knee going to hurt forever?’ and dealing with all that. It took us a while to get pain-free.”
But even as the knee began to feel better, there were still some mental hurdles to overcome. “I went to practice every day, did everything that was asked of me like always, went above and beyond, physically, but mentally I wasn’t happy to be there,” she says. “I think my coaches could all see that.
“They were like, ‘You used to bring so much life to practice,’ like ‘where is she? Where’s my girl?’ I’d show up and do what I was asked to do and then leave.
“Now I’m super thankful that I just stuck it out. Obviously I was laying the physical foundation for the score I put up, even though mentally I was not ready to do that.”
Hall low-key did multiple events at both the Florida Relays and Tom Jones meets on her home track in April, but she started to really turn the corner the first weekend in May.
“I started getting out of my own head right around Grand Slam [Miami]; I think that meet actually helped a lot, just stepping out of the heptathlon. I was like, ‘OK, I get to do some events where I don’t have to compare myself to my old 6988 score. I can just run and there’s no pressure.”
Competing in the long hurdles category, she ran 54.43 in the 400H on the first day — just 0.01 off her PR — and 51.68 on the flat the next day. “I ran a lot better than I had been running, and then it really clicked for me, where I was like, ‘This is a head thing know, it is no longer my knee, your brain is holding it back, you’re just afraid.’
“That’s when I was like, ‘OK, if I just work on my brain slowly every single meet, it’s going to get better.’”
Hall then long jumped a little better at the Atlanta City Games two weeks later, 20-11¾ (6.38) and was doing “a lot of mental work.” She realized, “The only difference between old me and new me is literally my brain. So I was like, I’m done letting myself fear my way out of big scores, because I feel like honestly that’s part of what I did last year.
“I mean, it was valid, because my knee actually did hurt [in ’24] but I was no longer going to be too afraid to go get what I want. I think that really unlocked Götzis being able to happen.”
It’s no exaggeration to say that Götzis and its über-intelligent and enthusiastic multis crowd and tradition has been a mecca for Hall now, with her two best scores achieved there.
Breaking 7K in the 50th edition of the meet made it even more special, to be able to share it with former champions here and others who Hall had admired over the years, like ’08 Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay and former pentathlon WR holder Nataliya Dobrynska of Ukraine.
JJK wasn’t in attendance, but was always a text away for Hall. “She’s very protective of me, even with my team, [and also] very encouraging, trying to keep the pressure off of me. She always wishes me luck, will send me a prayer here or there. She called right after the 800 and was like ‘I’m so proud of you!’ which was super awesome to hear. I was like, ‘Of course! I had to make Americans 1-2, this is our event!’”
Hall is also grateful for her “huge team” that is led by Welty. “All things Anna flow through her, so she’s been incredible.” She credited Coach Mike Holloway and the rest of the Florida staff, including event coaches Nic Petersen and Eric Werskey, strength coach Matt DeLancey (“he’s been incredible in building my body back”) and physiotherapist Carlos Sessler (he’s really felt this journey!”)
Other than recovering from typical heptathlon soreness (“like getting hit by a bus”), Hall has felt healthy over the past week-plus since Götzis, having been training in Switzerland with plans for some DL competition and with a measured excitement about the rest of the year.
She’s obviously the world leader and gold is the only medal she has not yet won in an outdoor World Champs. The Olympics will have to wait until ’28, but the journey will hold its own rewards until then.
“I’m just hoping to keep building on this progress,” she says. “[Götzis] is just a sign to me. There’s some scores that I really wanted to hit that are more within my reach than I thought. I had thought I needed to do something outside of myself, but really, I just needed to show up on the day and be healthy and just let my body do what it knows how to do. It’s a good lesson that I’ll be taking forward the rest of this season.”
