Anna Hall is looking forward to scoring big in the women's heptathlon event at the Paris Olympics. She won two consecutive medals at the World Championships in this event in 2022 and 2023 and is aiming for an impressive podium finish at the French capital.
However, all of this wouldn't have been possible without the guidance of Anna Hall's mentor, Michael Dwayne Holloway. Holloway is also the head coach of the Men's and Women's Track and Field & Cross Country at the University of Florida, and previously served as the head coach for the U.S. track and field team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Hall has been training in Gainesville, Florida under Holloway's guidance.
Mike Holloway has been associated with the University of Florida since 2000, when he graduated from there with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He soon took up coaching and became the head of Florida Gators track and field and Gators' cross country programs at the University of Florida.
Since 2010, Mike Holloway has been coaching several budding athletes, who have excelled at international events, including Grant Holloway, Erriyon Knighton, Quincy Hall (Olympic gold medalist in 400m at the Paris Olympics), and of course Anna Hall.
Anna Hall on the influence of coach Mike Holloway over her career
Anna Hall was aiming for Olympic glory at the Tokyo Olympics. However, a wrong step during the hurdles at the Olympic trials almost ended her career. She was a part of the University of Georgia then.
It was then that Hall decided to transfer to the University of Florida, where she joined the Florida Gators managed by Mike Holloway. Holloway not only helped her recover from her earlier errors that led to a career-threatening injury but also improved her as a heptathlete.
During an interview with Olympics.com last year, Anna Hall mentioned the approach for the upcoming events, which, according to Hall, would be focused on achieving long-term goals. She said (via Olympics.com),
"My coaches talk to me everyday about, 'How does this help us finish higher on the podium in Budapest [2023 World Championships]? Everything we do is with that in mind."
Hall also credited Mike Holloway, especially for the 800m segment. In her interview in 2022, Anna Hall said (via trackandfieldnews.com),
"He [Mike Holloway] has historically done an amazing job coaching middle distance runners, specifically 400[m] runners and I'm getting into some of their workouts. I run with the 400 group on Tuesdays, so I'm getting to push myself next to Taylor [Manson], Vanessa [Watson], sometimes Talitha [Diggs, the NCAA indoor 400m champion]. I think that has really made that a strength for me," she said.
Anna Hall will be representing USA tonight in the women's heptathlon events along with Taliyah Brooks and Chari Hawkins. The events will take place on 8 and 9 August at Stade de France, the main venue for the Paris Olympics.