“Its possible to be heartbroken and thankful at the same time” - Anna Hall achieves silver medal in heptathlon at 2023 World Athletics Championships

22-year-old Anna Hall expressed her disappointment after achieving the silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The American athlete won the bronze medal at the previous year’s Worlds and was focused on claiming gold this year. However, it was Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson who triumphed in the overall event with her powerful comeback.

On Day 2, August 20, Anna Hall was announced as the silver medalist in the heptathlon with a total of 6720 points, just 20 points less than winner Johnson-Thompson’s 6740.

On Day 1 of the championship, Hall emerged as the leader with 3,998 points. She had come second in the 100m hurdles, second in the 200, and third in the shot put event. Her competitor, Johnson-Thompson, concluded the day at 3,905. However, Day 2 saw a shocking twist for the American favorite. In the 800m race, Hall was held behind by the British athlete by a few seconds who won the race, clocking a personal best of 2:05.63.

As a result, Anna Hall had to settle for the silver medal at the championship with Johnson-Thompson winning the world championship for the second time. Moreover, after the event, Hall expressed her disappointment, as she desired to win the gold medal.

In her Twitter post, she wrote,

“its possible to be heartbroken and thankful at the same time. i love this sport. thanks for all the love xx,” Hall wrote.

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Anna Hall belongs to the top 5 female heptathlon athletes of all time

Hall at Day 2 of World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

In May, Hall competed at the 2023 Götzis Hypomeeting in Austria. In that championship, the 22-year-old gave a brilliant performance as she concluded the heptathlon event with a stunning 6988-point victory. In that championship, she scored a personal best of 2:02.97 in the 800m event.

Moreover, not only did she win it but she also got her name placed in the fifth spot of the top 5 female heptathlon athletes of all time. Nevertheless in the U.S. all-time list of heptathlon athletes, she found herself at No. 2, behind world record holder Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s 7291 point total.

The legendary athlete also expressed her trust in Anna Hall to emerge as the greatest athlete of all time,

"What I see are all the tools to rewrite the record books," Jackie Joyner-Kersee said.

Furthermore, she added,

"You're seeing greatness in motion without even knowing the greatness is before you, because of her natural ability. When you see Anna compete, she competes with joy."