Hall, world leader in the heptathlon, rolls to back-to-back U.S. crowns in pursuit of World Championships gold, with Williams giving Americans another decathlon contender in Hungary

By David Woods for DyeStat

EUGENE, Ore. – Gold medals. Podium sweeps. A 9,000-point decathlon and 7,000-point heptathlon.

Americans are coming out of the Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships with ambitious goals in the combined events. But when Jackie Joyner-Kersee is hanging around, there are inspiration and legacy.

The hep has been awaiting Anna Hall’s assault on 7,000 points. No one in deca-land has ever used "Harrison Williams" and "9,000 " in the same sentence.

Yet here we are.

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“If I can put it all together, I think I have a real shot at 9,000,” Williams said Friday after his first national title in the decathlon.

Williams scored a PB of 8,630 points, equaling Kyle Garland for third in the world this year.

World bronze medalist Zach Ziemek was second with 8,508. Iowa’s Austin West was third with 8,331 but lacks the necessary standard of 8,460 for the World Championships.

Kyle Garland of Georgia was fourth with 8,198.

Williams, a 27-year-old Stanford graduate, has been in the decathlon a long time – he set a national high school record in 2014 – and suggested Team USA has “a real shot” at gold, silver and bronze in Budapest.

It was a redemptive occasion for Williams, a Memphis, Tenn., native.

He was fourth at the 2021 Olympic Trials, missing out on Tokyo, and then sidelined in 2022 by hip and foot injuries. He prefaced this victory with 8,492 points at the mid-April 63rd Mt. SAC Relays, and he said he came out of this decathlon feeling better than usual.

Moreover, he maintained he can do better in the 100 meters, long jump and pole vault.

“I left a lot of points on the board,” he said.

Biggest breakthrough was his javelin throw of 193-9 (59.07m). He improved his pre-2023 PB by nearly three meters, a distance dating to the 2014 junior worlds at Eugene.

“Javelin has always kind of been my Achilles heel,” Williams said. “It’s still probably my worst event, but I’m better at it, at least.”

He capped day 1 by earning 991 points with a time of 46.35 seconds in the 400 meters.

This is Williams’ second world team – he was 14th at Doha in 2019 – but said he was weary then from a long college season. In 2023, it is altogether different.

“I’m definitely going to use that experience in Budapest,” he said.

In the 1,500, West collapsed at the finish after winning in 4:20.98, worth 805 points, to overtake Garland. West climbed to 15th on the all-time, all-dates collegiate list. Ziemek, of Wisconsin, retains the Big Ten record of 8,413 from 2016.

This year’s decathlon world leader, at 8,836, is Germany’s Leo Neugebauer, who set a collegiate record for Texas in the NCAA Championships at Austin.

Heptathlon world leader is Hall, a world bronze medalist who scored 6,988 at Gotzis, Austria, in May. The 22-year-old from Denver produced the biggest score in six years, became No. 5 on the all-time list and climbed into JJK territory.

She won this title with 6,677 points.

“We honestly didn’t have any expectations,” Hall said. “So I didn’t even look at what I scored. I don’t want to think about the numbers.”

Taliyah Brooks was second with 6,319 and Chari Hawkins third with 6,053. Both lack the world standard and can only make it to worlds via their rankings.

In Eugene, Hall spent time with the Joyner-Kersee at an adidas hospitality center and walked to Hayward Field with the world record-holder.

“It’s awesome to keep getting wisdom from her,” Hall said. “She’s really poured into me, kind of the off-the-track advice, which has been super valuable.”

At worlds, Hall will try to knock off Belgium’s Nafi Thiam, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and reigning world champion. Thiam, 28, set a world record in the indoor pentathlon in March.

Hall conceded it will be a “really intense battle” among athletes featuring different strengths. It will come down to the closing 800 meters, she said.

“I think it’s going to be a really excting finish to decide the world’s top female athlete,” Hall said.

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.