by Larry Eder
RunBlogRun wrote this piece on Anna Hall, giving up the rest of her NCAA eligibility to compete as a professional athlete for team adidas.
Anna Hall is the only American athlete to medal in a global heptathlon since 2001. Her talents, seen far and wide, were showcased with wins in NCAA Indoors and NCAA Outdoors in 2022.
Anna Hall competed in four heptathlons in 2022. Anna won the Texas Relays heptathlon on March 24, 2022, with a score of 6,412 points.
Her next heptathlon was the US Championships, held May 6-7 at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Anna won the US Champs, scoring 6,458 points, her best score of the year so far. At the NCAA Championships, held June 10-11 in Eugene, Oregon. Anna Hall won the heptathlon in 6,385 points, also competing in the individual event, the 400m hurdles, and finishing second there.
In her final heptathlon of 2022, Anna Hall competed in the World Athletics Heptathlon on July 17-18, 2022, scoring a PB of 6,755 points, and taking the bronze medal. As we noted above, Anna Hall’s bronze medal is the first medal by an American heptathlete on the world stage since 2001!
Anna Hall has joined team Adidas!
Anna Hall announced yesterday, August 23, 2022, via Twitter, that she would be competing for adidas.
Her exact tweet was, “ Impossible is nothing /// could not be more excited to join team @adidas”.
impossible is nothing ///
couldn’t be more excited to join team @adidas 🤍 pic.twitter.com/NBNAh9UsWl— Anna Hall (@annaahalll) August 24, 2022
This ends speculation where, on Twitter she had announced, on August 19, 2022 that she would be leaving the University of Florida to pursue a professional career.
goodbye ncaa t&f, love you mean it 🤍👋🏽 pic.twitter.com/9bUE3Uq2hW
— Anna Hall (@annaahalll) August 19, 2022
Anna Hall had already won the NCAA Indoor pentathlon and the NCAA heptathlon. She had endured a comeback from tough injuries to win 2022 NCAA Indoor and 2022 NCAA Outdoors.
Anna Hall won the US Champs heptathlon at the USATF Multi-Events Champs held May 6-7, 2022. Anna Hall then won the NCAA heptathlon this past June and finally took bronze in the heptathlon in the World Athletics Outdoor Championships in July (July 14-25, 2022).
Anna Hall is an extremely talented athlete. When this writer asked Jackie Joyner-Kersee, in the adidas Hospitality at the World Champs, what she thought about Anna Hall, JJK said, “ Anna Hall is a talent. She has what it takes to compete on the global level. And it was so great to see a US athlete on the podium!”
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July15-26, 2022
heptathlon, women, Hall, 800 meters, USA, Florida, photo by Kevin Morris
In another quote from Jackie Joyner Kersee, JJK recognized that Anna Hall is the first American woman to step up on a global podium for the heptathlon since 2001! JJK told World Athletics: “She is it..and the star power is upon her, and she is performing.”
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July 15-24, 2022, photo by Kevin Morris
I found a quote from Anna Hall on her first day of the World Championships heptathlon. Anna has a realistic view of her talents and stress management needed in handling seven challenges over two days. Anna told the media the following:
“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect. A lot of people haven’t competed yet, so there were a lot of question marks. So hurdles are my weakest so far, and the high jump was a season-best, and I call it a post-surgery star. That was really exciting. Shot put and 200 were PBs. (Coming back from surgery) It gives me a lot of confidence in moving forward for the rest of my career. I know I will be able to pull myself out of it if there’s ever a time when I’m not doing as well. Day 2 has been stronger this year. I do a lot of things well.”
Anna Hall will continue to train in Gainesville, Florida, as she pursues her professional career.
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July 15-24, 2022
heptathlon, women, Hall, USA, Florida, photo by Kevin Morris
Anna Hall is considered the finest heptathlete that is currently competing for the United States and is expected to compete in the US, World, and Olympic multi-events over the evolution of her career.
We wish her the very, very best.
adidas, like other brands, is building its portfolios of athletes as they build toward Budapest 2023, Paris 2024, Tokyo 2025, and LA 2028.
adidas is one of the finest and most enduring brands in the global sports equipment firmament. adidas invented sports marketing under the late Horst Dassler, who sent his team far and wide to find athletes and federations to wear, run, jump and throw in the three stripes brand.
At this time, adidas has, among its portfolio, Noah Lyles, two-time 200m World Champion and American record holder, Shaunae Miller-Uibo, two-time Olympic Champion, 200m/ 400 meters and current World Champion at 400 meters, Erriyon Knighton, World Championship bronze medalist, 200 meters, Alison Dos Santos, gold medalist WC 400 meter hurdles and Olympic bronze medalist, 400-meter hurdles, Ajee’ Wilson, World Indoor Champion, 800 meters, Gina Luckenkemper, European champion, 100 meters, Miltiadis Tentoglou, Olympic and European champion, long jump, Grant Holloway, two times World Champion, 110m hurdlers, and Trey Cunningham, World Championship silver medalist 110m hurdles.
adidas has a reputation for developing long-term relationships with its athletes and coaches.
To read more about Anna Hall, please click on the links below:
Anna Hall Day 4 World Athletics Championships Mixed Zone Interview, by Larry Eder
Run by Women, #16: The Young and Unyielding Anna Hall, by Sam Fariss
