Anna Hall is entering the postseason chasing her third straight World Championship medal. The 24-year-old improved her personal best score in the event to 7032 earlier this season, won the U.S. Championships, and is now ranked second in the world this season, behind Belgium’s Nafi Thiam. A Florida alumna who lives and trains in the state, Anna’s grueling training regiment has a new supporting member — her dog Cross. Anna spoke with FanSided about her season, her dog, and her sponsorship with pet nutrition company Nulo.
Anna’s fantastic season in the heptathlon
In track and field, the combined events are among the most compelling, particularly in championship years. What adds an element of unpredictability is that the multi-event (six events for women, ten for men) format means that athletes don’t consistently race the professional circuit. Pros will often pick several events to run at smaller meets, with only one or two full heptathlons before peaking at Worlds or the Olympics.
The sparseness of full competitions made Anna Hall’s 2025 heptathlon debut even more astounding. In a meet ending on June 1, Anna scored 7032 points. This was an improvement from her 2023 personal best of 6988 and tied her for the No. 2 performance of all time behind American legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Perhaps most impressive was her 2:01.23 800m at the end of the competition, the fastest half mile ever recorded during a heptathlon.
Nafi Thiam, who has won three straight Olympic gold medals, has only run four individual events this year, no full heptathlons. When asked if she thought her performance made her the favorite heading into Tokyo, Anna said, “It shows me where I’m at and that I’m capable of competing for the gold medal. There will be twenty-four heptathletes on the starting line. That score gave me a lot of confidence, and I think it’ll bring a lot of belief in myself as I step on the line alongside those other girls.”
Although her 800m sent shockwaves through the track world, Anna’s in-competition PRs of 1.95m in the high jump and 22.88s in the 200m rank higher on the World Athletics points table. When asked if there was one single event that she could go all-in on, Anna chose the high jump, acknowledging, “Even though I know a lot of people would probably want to see me go all-in on the 800m, I’ll leave that to the runners.” The high jump was the first event she ever competed in, and she called it her “first love.”
A new training partner
Anna also spoke about her love for her dog, Cross. He often joins her at practice. Anna recounted, “He’ll usually run around my warmup with me. By the end of my warmup he’s usually gassed because he’ll jog the warmup and then chase a bird and then come back.” What she enjoys the most about her furry training partner is that “He’s a joy to have at practice, he makes the vibe so much lighter. It’ll be funny if I’m super tired from a track workout and he’ll whimper because he’s worried about me. It’s a way to make the session lighter and just a lot more fun.”
Lightening up the sessions can be a big help to heptathletes. Their training, consisting of many different types of conditioning spread over multiple sessions per day, is hard on the body and takes a mental toll as well. Anna’s posts about her training routine on social media have generated discussions due to how diverse and exhausting it seems to be, compared to, say, the monotonous training of a distance runner.
To keep Cross, who is “unpredictable,” safe, Anna will keep him in the shade, a distance away from the track once she puts her spikes on.
Nutrition with Nulo
Anna talked about her partnership with Nulo in a way many people can relate to: she wants what’s best for her pet. Nulo’s nutritional jerky strip treats, as well as wet food bowls in chicken and salmon varieties, are filled with high-end ingredients that help pets thrive. Anna admitted that there aren’t many ways to communicate with pets aside from giving them attention and spending time with them, so she views spoiling Cross with Nulo to be an avenue to further express how much she cares.
Nutrition is of the utmost importance to one of the top competitors in one of the most difficult athletic events in the world. Anna spoke about “fueling intentionally” and how it made her “better in workouts” while boosting her energy and improving muscle composition. In the same way, she feels that feeding Nulo to her dog gives him a similar energy boost, while also giving him a noticeably better-looking coat. Nulo has made Cross a “healthier dog” and improved his quality of life.
Regarding the uncommon pet name “Cross,” Anna said that it’s partially a testament to her faith, as she showed her crucifix necklace. It was also something that she picked up on while watching a television show together with friends when they started talking about “crazy names that people name their kids.” Anna said that she really liked the name Cross, and when she got her own dog, it fit him perfectly.
“He means the world to me. He’s truly my best little friend. He reminds me that I should also have a playful approach to smaller moments in life.”
Anna’s next competition will be at the World Championships in Tokyo
When asked what she was a fan of, Anna said that she’s a fan of women’s sports, hard work, and dogs.
Anna’s first day of competition in Tokyo will be on September 19, the seventh day of the championship. Cross won’t be making the long haul flight to join her. Anna added that once she completes her season, “He’ll be traveling with me on all of my off-season excursions. I’m excited to show him the country outside of Florida!”