At her second Olympics, Charlotte’s Anna Cockrell lands on medal podium in 400 hurdles
Charlotte native Anna Cockrell won silver in the women’s 400-meter hurdles on Thursday night in front of a sold out stadium at Stade de France.
While her U.S. teammate Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won gold with a world-record time of 50.37, Cockrell clocked in with a 51.87, her personal best, to win her first Olympic medal.
“It’s hard to put it into words right now,” Cockrell said. “Y’all know I’m a yapper. I’m very much speechless right now. I’m a little bit in shock, I don’t know if it’s from the joy or the exhaustion. It took a lot to get here and I’m excited to have put it all together.”
Cockrell, who ran at Charlotte’s Providence Day School before her college career at Southern California, improved her time after running 52.90 seconds in her semifinal run on Tuesday, her third sub-53 seconds race in her career.
Cockrell has significantly dropped time since her Olympics debut in Tokyo, where she finished eighth overall in 2021. Now as the sixth ranked hurdler in the world, she has continued to expect more out of herself on the Olympic stage.
“I was just in flow,” Cockrell said of Thursday’s race. “I felt really good and I was just going. Just thinking about getting over those hurdles, lifting my knees, being as clean as possible. It was just instinctual. Tapping into those workouts when I thought I couldn’t do another rep, when I couldn’t get it off the ground. Grit, desire, just wanting it. I wanted this so bad.”
The North Carolinian raced alongside two U.S. teammates, reigning Olympic champion McLaughlin-Levrone and Jasmine Jones in the final. Femke Bol of the Netherlands took the bronze medal on Thursday.
“This is a real renaissance moment for 400 hurdles,” Cockrell said. “We have so many people running so fast – from Sydney, to myself, to Femke. It’s a great time for this event. I’m excited that people are paying attention to it, I’m proud to be in this moment.”
During the semifinal race on Tuesday, Cockrell was granted a green card following a false start, adding to the pressure of the event. However after bouncing back and finishing second in her heat to Bol, Cockrell was able to keep her podium dreams alive.
Now that she is bringing home a silver medal, Cockrell is looking forward to what’s to next in her professional career.
“You know how hard I’ve been fighting for this moment right here,” Cockrell said. “I’m an emotional person, I’m not afraid to be emotional, I just went for it today. It was just instinct and believing in my training. I got to hurdle nine, and just thought, just freaking get it done. I saw the time, I don’t know, I saw my name up there, and it was like period. I’m happy.”
Maya Waid and Anna Laible are students with UNC Media Hub, a program with the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, reporting from the Summer Olympics in Paris. Laible hosts the Speak Up Sports Podcast. Follow her journey covering her first Olympics on her Instagram (@anna_laible).
This story was originally published August 8, 2024 at 3:49 PM.