“Finally, I can breathe” - Anna Hall reacts to qualifying for the Paris Olympics upon returning from injury 

Six months after undergoing knee surgery, Anna Hall has punched her ticket to the Paris Olympics and scripted a comeback for the ages. The 23-year-old stormed to the heptathlon gold at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Monday, June 24, to ensure she'll be making her debut at the Games later this summer.

For Hall, this wasn't her first run-in with injury and surgery. Back in 2021, the Florida Gator was dealt heartbreak when she crashed into the eighth barrier of the 100m hurdles race while competing at the US Olympic Trials.

The fall resulted in a broken navicular bone, which required surgery and for the American to have a screw inserted into her foot. Back then, Hall had managed to stage the perfect comeback, returning to the field eight months later and winning the pentathlon and heptathlon titles at the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Championships respectively.

Now, Anna Hall has managed to prove her penchant once again to return to her sport stronger than ever after an injury. After undergoing knee surgery in January, the American will be making her Olympic debut in a handful of weeks. Reacting to her achievement, she wrote on X (formerly Twitter),

“Finally, I can breathe, WE ARE GOING TO PARIS."

“Getting to this moment was really really hard. So happy to have earned a place in the big fight ❤️‍🔥.”

Anna Hall on the support system that got her to the Paris Olympics

For Anna Hall, the journey to this gold at the U.S. Olympic Trials saw her battle thoughts of giving up her sport. Speaking to NBC after her victorious outing at the Hayward Field in Eugene, the 23-year-old revealed that she wanted to quit after her surgery in January, and the people around her kept her going.

"When I had surgery in January, it was so hard. There were so many days that I left practice defeated. I thought about quitting and everyone around me was always just like, 'No, we're doing this. We can do it.' And they did that until I started to believe too.”

One particularly important person in Hall's corner, as she made this comeback, was track and field legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. A heptathlon and long jump great, Joyner-Kersee is a two-time Olympic Champion in the former event and one-time Olympic gold medalist in the latter.

Speaking on having the American legend’s support as she navigated her injury, Hall said,

"It's meant the world. She’s been here for everything. She called me last week and she was like, ‘I’m going to call you every two days until trials (to) make sure your head’s right, you can do this. I’m behind you. You just have to believe.'"

"She’s just been so supportive. It's just been unreal. I need to be strong for her. How is she believing in me and I don’t believe in myself?”

For Anna Hall, the next step will now be a podium finish at the Paris Olympics. The American won a silver at the 2023 World Championships but will have to work her way through a slightly more dense field at the Games.