PARIS, France — After breaking her foot at the 2021 Olympic Trials, Anna Hall is now officially at her first Olympics.
The Greenwood Village, Colorado, native got a shoutout from fellow Coloradan Peyton Manning during NBC's live coverage of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics on Friday.
"Big fan of her," Manning said.
He said when he asked Hall what she'd be thinking on the boat during the opening ceremony, "She said it would be very emotional for her considering all she's had to overcome. An injury knocked her out of the trial three years ago. This past January, she had knee surgery. She has an incredible team around her that includes her mentor, Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Anna told me Jackie's support has meant the world to her on her path to making her first Olympic team."
Hall, who attended Valor Christian High School, will compete in Paris on Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9. She qualified for her first Olympics in the heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugene in June, six months after undergoing a complex knee surgery.
She broke her foot at the 2021 Olympic Trials after crashing into a barrier and will compete at the Olympics for the first time.
“I’m almost in shock,” Hall said after running the 800m. “This year has been so hard. Falling in 2021, the journey to get here was so much harder than I imagined. I’m just so thankful."
The Paris Olympics officially began Friday. About 10,500 athletes from more than 200 nations will compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
