Anna Hall dominated from start to finish to win her first heptathlon world title with a 6,888-point performance at the World Track and Field Championships in Tokyo on Saturday.
The 24-year-old became the second American to earn the title, joining mentor Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who won the event for a second time in 1993. Joyner-Kersee, who also two Olympic gold medals, was on hand in Tokyo to support Hall.
“It means so much,” Hall told NBC Sports’ Lewis Johnson. “Ever since I came on the circuit and won my first medal, that’s been something I’ve been trying to do. Jackie and I have talked about it, and we were like, ‘The USA does make great heptathletes.’ It means the world to be able to bring the title back home where it belongs.”
Hall led after four events on Day 1 and capped the grueling, two-day, seven-event competition with a run of 2 minutes, 6.68 seconds in the final 800-meter race on Saturday.
Her win comes after injuries hampered her efforts over the past several years, including foot and ankle surgery after a fall at the 2021 Olympic Trials and knee problems in 2023 and 2024 that also required surgery.
“The last two years, I really struggled with injuries, as I think everybody saw in Paris (at the Olympics),” she said. “That entire time, I just put my head down and I worked. And we were working on my upper body, we were working on technical things. My body wasn’t ready to have that show yet, but I’m so glad that I feel like that work is all paying off now.”
Hall finished ahead of runner-up Kate O’Connor of Ireland by 174 points. The bronze was shared by Britain’s Olympic silver medalist Katarina Johnson-Thompson and American Taliyah Brooks.
–Field Level Media
