Anna Willard Grenier (born March 31, 1984) is an American middle distance runner.

Personal

Willard grew up on a farm in

Greenwood, Maine Greenwood is a New England town, town in Oxford County, Maine, Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 774 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town was named for surveyor Alexander Greenwood. The village of Locke Mi ...

. She took up running as a high school student at Telstar High School in

Bethel, Maine Bethel is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,504 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Bethel and West Bethel. The town is home to Gould Academy, a private preparatory school, and is near the Sund ...

. She competed as an undergraduate for

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and as a graduate student for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Because Willard missed a track season at Brown due to injury, she had not exhausted her athletic eligibility prior to graduation. Therefore, she was able to compete for Michigan in 2007 as a graduate student. Anna became engaged to fellow American steeplechaser

Jonathan Pierce Jonathan Pierce Hildreth, known professionally as Jonathan Pierce (November 15, 1967 – May 9, 2020), was an American CCM, gospel singer from Odessa, Texas and an interior designer in Nashville. Pierce used his first and middle name while omi ...

at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials and went by the name Anna Pierce during her marriage. She divorced Jonathan in 2014 and moved from London to Boston. She is especially known for dyeing her hair unusual colors. Her hair was blonde with pink streaks at the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials, and she dyed it purple before the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Career

Willard set the U.S. women's record for the

3000 meter steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the ho ...

of 9:27.56 at the 2008 United States Olympic track and field trials on July 3, 2008, in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, en route to qualifying for the United States Olympic team. Willard's U.S. steeplechase record was eclipsed by teammate

Jennifer Barringer Jennifer Simpson (née Barringer; born August 23, 1986) is a retired American middle- and long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 2011 World Championships, silvers at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, and ...

at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. Willard qualified for the Olympic final by finishing sixth in her heat, and placed tenth in the final with a time of 9:25.63. In 2009, Anna focused more on her

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

and

800 m The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

racing. She was victorious at the USA Indoor 1500 m, and the 800 m at the Reebok Grand Prix and a Golden League meet in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Anna chose to run only in the 1500 m at the World Championships in Berlin, finishing 6th with a time of 4:06.19.

2015

Event Result Venue Date
1000m ind. 2:45.28 Boston (USA) 13.02.2015
1500m 4:26.61 Palo Alto (USA) 03.04.2015
Mile ind. 4:45.33 Boston (USA) 30.01.2015

2016

Event Result Venue Date
800m 2:04.18 Waltham (USA) 04.06.2016

References

External links

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Anna Willard at NBC Olympics

Anna Willard
at GlobalAthletics.com
Anna Willard Returns to Racing
at RunnersWorld.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Willard, Anna 1984 births Living people American female middle-distance runners American female steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Brown Bears women's track and field athletes Michigan Wolverines women's track and field athletes People from Greenwood, Maine Sportspeople from Portland, Maine Track and field athletes from Maine USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners IAAF World Athletics Final winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportswomen