By Citius Mag Staff
May 28, 2023
World championship bronze medalist Anna Hall moved to No. 5 on the all-time heptathlon list with her 6988-point victory to win the 2023 Götzis Hypomeeting in Austria.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Hall led the competition after Day 1 with 4,172 points, which was the second-highest total for the first day of a heptathlon. She ran a personal best of 12.75 for the 100m hurdles, cleared a personal best of 1.92m for the high jump, threw a season’s best of 13.92m in the shot put and clocked a personal best of 22.88 for 200 meters.
– On Sunday, she jumped 6.54m in the long jump, threw 43.08m in the javelin and closed out her seven events with a 2:02.97 personal best in the 800m.
– At 22 years old, Hall is now No. 2 on the U.S. all-time list behind world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s 7291 point total. Only Joyner-Kersee, Carolina Klüft (7032 points), Nafissatou Thiam (7013 points) and Russia’s Larisa Turchinskaya (7007 points) sit above her on the all-time world list.
– Great Britain’s Katerina Johnson-Thompson finished second with 6,556 points.
What She Said:
“It was incredible,” she told World Athletics. “I would say the first day was pretty close to perfect. The shot put was a little messy but I kept it together. In Day 2, both the long jump and javelin could’ve been better. I had a few 6.50s from behind the board, which hurts a little bit knowing that was 7K (points) taking off behind the board. In the 800m, I gave it everything I had. It wasn’t quite enough but overall I’m super happy with the performance. Especially this time of year, I had no idea I would score this high. It was awesome.”
Our take:
We may be in store for one of the best heptathlon competitions ever at the World Championships in Budapest with Anna Hall vs. Nafi Thiam vs. KJT vs. Adrianna Sulek. Last year, Hall had a long season with the NCAA campaign and we’re starting to really see some of her true potential in the multis once she’s a bit more rested and tapered before each competition. 7000 points is coming very soon.
– Chris Chavez
After a few-year hiatus, the US is back in contention, baby! Hall won a bronze medal at last year’s World Championships, but the last time an American woman won a global championship was none other than the world record holder herself, Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1993. It will be a battle to do that as Belgium’s two-time Olympic and World Champion NafiThiam has been dominant of late. But Hall is starting to close the gap – just look at her performance in Götzis. On paper, her 12.75 hurdles time would be considered the best, and is currently the 17th fastest in the world this year. But for distance runners, the solo 2:02.97 at the end of the competition has to be the most impressive. That or the number of fans in attendance at a multi-only competition.
– Kyle Merber via The Lap Count newsletter | Subscribe for free. New edition every Wednesday morning.
What’s Next:
Most people would need some time off to recover from an intense two days of competition but Hall will hit the track on Friday, June 2nd for her Diamond League debut in the 400m hurdles at the Florence Diamond League. She ran her personal best of 54.48 at the Tom Jones Invitational in Gainesville in April.
Citius Mag Staff
