TOKYO (AP) — Anna Hall is the first to admit that the injuries, the excruciating losses and the hours of practice when she felt like she was going nowhere pushed her to lose her love for track and field.

With the 24-year-old American smiling, bounding and dancing across the track with the Stars and Stripes in tow Saturday night, it was plain to see she'd found it once again.

America's top multi-sport star stamped her name next to none other than Jackie Joyner-Kersee's, becoming the second American winner of the world championship in the heptathlon — a two-day endurance test she closed with JJK herself on hand to watch Hall wrap things up.

“It's a pinch-me moment," Hall said. "Any athlete, their biggest dream would be to have the GOAT of their sport giving them advice on how to do it.”

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