Hall Taking Aim At Potentially Busy Saturday Afternoon To Help Gators

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

University of Florida photo

EUGENE – It's already been a big week for Florida's Anna Hall. 

On Monday, she met one of her idols, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, at Hayward Field. 

Hall is seeking to pull off a legendary performance this week with her competition in the heptathlon, the 400-meter hurdles and the 4x400 relay. 

She had to talk Florida coach Mike Holloway into letting her try to do something unprecedented. 

On Saturday afternoon, the 400-meters hurdles final is at 3:57 p.m. (That would come if she qualifies for the finals; she has to advance through the semifinal round Thursday). 

The final event of the women's heptathlon, the 800 meters, is scheduled for 4:13 p.m. 

Those 16 minutes could determine whether Florida has what it takes to win the team title going into the 4x400 relay, scheduled for 4:51 p.m. 

"It's a double that I had to talk Coach Holloway into letting me do," Hall said on Tuesday. "When I saw the schedule, and knowing that USAs is already behind me, I wanted to challenge myself to see how many points I could score for my team."

Hall has prepared for the potential time crunch by rehearsing the two events 16 minutes apart in training. 

"I feel like the multi training that I do has given me the strength to give myself a shot to win both events," she said. 

Hall might build a big enough lead in the seven-event heptathlon that she doesn't need an all-out effort in the 800 meters to win the event. 

Holloway said he promised Hall he would allow her to run the 400-meter hurdles when he recruited her out of the transfer portal last year. Hall was previously at Georgia. 

"She definitely talked me into it," Holloway said.

Hall already cleared one round of nervous energy when she met Joyner-Kersee, who was inducted Monday into the Collegiate Track and Field Hall of Fame as part of the inaugural class. 

"I was really nervous but really excited, and she was super-super nice, but it was surreal to me," Hall said of meeting the 1988 and 1992 Olympic heptathlon gold medalist. "Obviously, she's a legend in the sport and the marks that she put up across the board are amazing. So I honestly just felt really honored to meet her. It was surreal."

Hall has already qualified to represent the U.S. at the World Championships at Hayward Field in July. 

Hall, 21, owns a heptathlon best of 6,458 points, No. 2 in collegiate history. Joyner-Kersee, named by many as the greatest female athlete of the 20th Century, owns the still-standing world record with 7,291 points from 1988.