TOKYO – Anna Hall became the second-place heptathlon champion in the U.S. – joining Jackie Joyner-Kersee – celebrates her biggest win by ending a line-to-line endurance test and entering the finish line on Saturday.
It was Hall's first major champion, one of the world's most stable performances of the seven parts, after years of close calls and disappointment. She scored 6,888 points.
Three years ago in the world, she won a bronze medal. Two years ago, she lost the 20-point championship, and in less than 2 seconds in the last game, that is, 800 meters. Then, last year, she was forced to retreat from Achilles' injury to prepare for fifth place for the Olympics.
Anna Hall joined Jackie Joyner-Kersee by ending a wire-to-wire endurance test and celebrating her biggest victory on Saturday Tour to become the second-place world heptathlon champion. Image by Emilee Chinn/Getty
On a calm night on the 8th day of the Tokyo World Championships, Hall finally reached the top.
“It’s something I’ve been trying to do since I came to the track and won my first medal,” Hall said. “Jackie and I have talked about it and we’re like, ‘America is really doing a great job.’”
Among her biggest fans, Joyner-Kersee herself said she said she thought the 24-year-old from Colorado rewrites some of the history she still has.
Joyner-Kersee is the only American athlete to win the event at the Olympics (1988, '92), and she has held a world record since 1988 and also a World Championship record, winning in Rome in 1987.
Hall broke his prideful 7,000-point record at a party in June, with JJK's record playing a game in two days in Tokyo. Even after being injured and approaching the call, all products that do not give up are the same.
“At that moment, I just put my head down and I was working.”
Any hope there was a short distance jump, but the overall result was never doubted. Hall competed in the final race, the 800m, reaching 122 points over the final silver medalist Kate O'Connor's Ireland, and as one of the fastest runners in the women's race, no one would catch her.
Defending champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson ended with a rare tie in third place in the US Taliyah Brooks. They were 3.61 seconds apart in 800 and ended up with 6,581 points.