Gator Anna Hall prepares to compete at Track & Field World Championships

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - As the daughter of a track and field coach, Anna Hall was practically indoctrinated into the sport.

She grew up running around the facility in Colorado, where he father coached her older sister, and, whether by curiosity or family influence, became a decorated athlete in track and field. Hall says she also played multiple sports throughout her childhood, which helped mold her into a multi-event athlete on the track.

While most track and field athletes simply focus on performing their best in one or two events, Hall must maintain a level of excellence across a minimum of five different competitions. She competes in two different sprints, along with the long jump, javelin, high jump, shot put, and hurdles. The Florida sophomore knows first-hand how exhausting training for all those physically demanding events can be, but loves the challenge of being the best at each.

“It just means you have longer practices,” said NCAA Champion Anna Hall. “Part of being a multis is showing up to the track first and leaving last and maybe having more two-a-days than some other people because it takes more time on hand to learn all the events. If I just did long jump everyday I think I would drive myself insane just trying to fix the nitty-gritty of it. I get to move on to do a sprint workout or high jump. So even if one event is kinda on a plateau you’re always seeing improvement somewhere.”

To properly train for all the various events, Hall learns from five different coaches on the Florida Track and Field staff. It’s easy to understand how quickly she can suffer from information overload, but stresses her coaches know the secret to helping her learn and improve.

“Honestly, by keeping it simple, and I think the coaches here do a really good job because training with five coaches could be a nightmare but here it’s working amazing and it’s like the best and most fun thing ever.”

All her training as a Gator paid off handsomely this season, when Hall won the NCAA Indoor Pentathlon championship, then, backed up her crown by winning the NCAA Outdoor Heptathlon title. The grueling two days of competition she has to go through are extremely difficult on her body, but she just tries her best to power through it.

“The first day you just try to keep telling yourself like ‘Oh, I feel good.’ It’s like you’re lying to yourself ‘I’m not sore at all.’ but maybe you are. Then you come back day two after an ice bath and maybe a really big dinner and just grit it out because everyone did the same events as you yesterday so it’s just about who can handle it the best.”

The grit and guts Hall trains and competes with is what impresses her coach.

“She wants to be great,” said Florida Head Coach Mike Holloway. “She doesn’t shy away from greatness. She puts a little too much on her plate, so we have to control that. But the one thing we know is as long as Anna’s prepared she’s gonna go out there and give 110 percent everyday and we love that about her.”

Now, Hall is just two days away from going up against the best athletes on the planet, when she competes in the heptathlon at the World Championships. The global games are being held in Eugene, Oregon - it’s the first time the U.S. will host the World Championships and it’s at the same place Hall won her NCAA Heptathlon title in June. The gravity of the competition isn’t lost on her and it’s also not phasing her either.

“I think all the Americans wanna do really well and try to shoot for a medal on home soil. That would be a really great moment. Also, It’s my first major championship. I’m kinda looking to prove myself and I know I’m young still but I’m ready for the next level.”

One of the reasons Hall sounds so mature entering the biggest competition of her life is because of the coaching philosophy that’s propelled her to great heights this season.

“Nobody here is gonna be putting any pressure on her because of what the name of the meet is,” said Holloway. “It’s a track meet, it’s in a facility she’s comfortable with, been there a lot of times. We’re just gonna go out there, put the blocks down, and get in the ring and get on the runway and do what we do.”

Hall’s quest for a podium finish run Sunday through Monday.

Copyright 2022 WCJB. All rights reserved. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.