Anna Cockrell

Anna Cockrell
Cockrell in 2026
Personal information
Born (1997-08-28) August 28, 1997 (age 29)
San Ramon, California, U.S.
Home townCharlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportTrack and field
Events
College teamUSC Trojans (2017–2021)
TeamNike
Achievements and titles
Personal bests
  • 100 m hurdles: 12.54 (Eugene, 2021)
  • 400 m hurdles: 51.87 (Paris, 2024)
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place2024 Paris400 m hurdles
Diamond League
First place2026400 m hurdles
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place2019 Lima4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place2019 Lima400 m hurdles
World U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Bydgoszcz400 m hurdles
Gold medal – first place2016 Bydgoszcz4 × 400 m relay
Pan American U20 Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 Edmonton400 m hurdles

Anna Cockrell (born August 28, 1997) is an American track and field athlete competing in sprinting and hurdling. She is a two-time medalist at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in 400 m hurdles event.

Early life

Cockrell was born on August 28, 1997, in San Ramon, California to Serena and Kieth Cockrell as the youngest of three children. The family later moved to Charlotte from Detroit, where all three Cockrell children attended Charlotte Latin School. She comes from a family of athletes: her father played football at Columbia University, her older brother, Ross, is a cornerback who won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and her older sister, Ciera, played volleyball at Davidson College.

High school

Cockrell attended Charlotte Latin School in elementary school, and later transferred to Providence Day School in Charlotte, North Carolina, graduating in 2016. She competed within the school's high school track and field program led by coach Carol Lawrence. In 2016, she won the gold medal in the women's 400 metres hurdles event, with a personal best of 55.20s, at the 2016 IAAF World U20 Championships held in Bydgoszcz, Poland. She also won the gold medal in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay event.

Bydgoszcz 2016

Career

2017–2021: USC Trojans

In June 2019, Cockrell became the NCAA champion at the year's NCAA championships for the women's 400-meter hurdle event with a time of 55.23 after being a runner-up in each of the two years prior. In August 2019, she won the silver medal in the women's 400 metres hurdles event and the gold medal in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2019 Pan American Games held in Lima, Peru.

In May 2021, Cockrell was named the 2021 Pac-12 Women's Track & Field Scholar Athlete of the Year before helping to lead her school to a third consecutive conference team title at the 2021 Pac-12 championships by winning the women's 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles events. The following month, after the cancellation of the prior year's competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cockrell became the 2021 NCAA champion for the women's 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles events to help drive her school to win the team title at the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She ran the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 12.58 and the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.68 and became the second woman in history to win both events in the same season at the NCAA championships. Her achievements led her to receive the 2021 Honda Sports Award for track and field and the Pac-12's Tom Hansen Conference Medal for the year.

Cockrell graduated from the University of Southern California in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in communications from the Annenberg School and a minor in political science. She went on to earn her master's in public policy with a certificate in public policy advocacy in 2021.

2020 Summer Olympics: Olympic debut

At the 2020 United States Olympic Trials for track and field on June 27, 2021, Cockrell placed third in the women's 400-meter hurdles event to qualify for the team alongside Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad. She broke her personal and school record in the 400-metre hurdles event with a time of 53.70, ahead of the previous record she set at the 2021 NCAA championships.

At the Olympics, Cockrell qualified for the semifinals after coming in third in her heat race with a time of 55.37. She later finished in second place with a time of 54.17 in the semifinals, landing her a spot in the final. In the final, Cockrell appeared to finish seventh, but was later disqualified after officials discovered she had made a lane violation.

2022-2023: 2023 World Championships

In 2022, Cockrell ran 53.98 to finish fourth in the 400 m hurdles at the US Championships, not qualifying for the 2022 World Athletics Championships.

The following year, she finished third at the 2023 US Championships in 54.24. At the World Championships in Budapest, Cockrell finished fifth in the 400 m hurdles, running a new personal best of 53.34.

2024: Olympic silver medal and fourth all-time

At the US Olympic Trials, Cockrell finished second in the 400 m hurdles behind Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. She ran a major personal best of 52.64 s, marking her first time under the 53-second barrier. She competed at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where she won a silver medal in the women’s 400-metre hurdles. She came second to McLaughlin-Levrone, with a personal best time of 51.87 s, which put her fourth on the all-time top list. On 30 August, she picked up her first career Diamond League at the Golden Gala in Rome, running 52.59 s to beat Shiann Salmon into second.

2025-2026: U.S. Champion

Cockrell on her way to winning at the 2026 Weltklasse Zürich.

On 22 August 2025, Cockrell won at the Memorial van Damme in Brussels, running 53.66 s to beat Gianna Woodruff. At the 2025 World Championships, she finished fourth in the 400 m hurdles, losing out on a medal to Emma Zapletalová by 0.13 s.

The following year, she won over 300 m hurdles at the Arkansas Twilight meet in Fayetteville on 8 May, running an area best of 37.40, to go second all-time behind Femke Broeders-Bol's 36.86 s. On 4 June, she placed second at the Rome Diamond League behind Zapletalova, running a season's best of 52.77 s. At the US Championships, Cockrell won over 400 m hurdles in a time of 52.94 s, winning her first national title. On 27 August, she won at the Zurich Diamond League, running a world lead and meeting record of 52.13 s, finishing over a second faster than second-placed Dalilah Muhammad (53.16) and setting her fastest time since her Olympic silver two years prior.

Circuit performances

Grand Slam Track results
SlamRace groupEventPl.TimePrize money
2025 Philadelphia SlamLong hurdles 400 m hurdles1st54.04US$50,000
400 m6th53.35

Personal life

Cockrell has been an outspoken advocate for the mental health of student-athletes after suffering a hamstring injury on the first day of the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in which she blamed herself for her school's loss in the team competition. After exhibiting severe symptoms of depression and suicidal tendencies, she eventually sought assistance from her friends, her head coach, and a sports psychologist, all of whom she thanked in her student-athlete graduation speech at USC that later went viral.

References

  1. ↑ "ANNA COCKRELL (SR-4) USC". Track & Field Results Reporting System. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  2. ↑ "ATHLETE PROFILE Anna COCKRELL". World Athletics. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Athletics Results Book" (PDF). 2019 Pan American Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Laine, Jenna (August 2, 2021). "Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ross Cockrell, inspired by sister's Olympic run, delivers strong practice". ESPN. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Anna Cockrell – Track & Field – USC Athletics". University of Southern California Athletics. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Grosbard, Adam (July 6, 2020). "USC's Anna Cockrell finds her voice outside the facade of perfection". Orange County Register. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  7. ↑ "American Norman Jr claims world junior 200m crown in Championship record time". InsideTheGames.biz. July 22, 2016. Archived from the original on June 23, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Women's 400 metres hurdles – Final results" (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Women's 4 × 400 metres relay – Final results" (PDF). IAAF. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  10. ↑ Creasy, Jason (June 8, 2019). "Anna Cockrell Wins NCAA 400m Hurdle National Title!". MileSplit North Carolina. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  11. ↑ "USC's Anna Cockrell Named 2021 Pac-12 Women's Track & Field Scholar Athlete Of The Year". Pac-12 Conference. May 16, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 "Anna Cockrell, John Thomas Named USC's 2021 Pac-12 Tom Hansen Medal Winners". University of Southern California Athletics. June 23, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Southern California wins women's track and field title, LSU wins men's title". National Collegiate Athletic Association. June 13, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  14. ↑ "USC's Anna Cockrell Named 2021 Honda Sports Award Winner For Track And Field". University of Southern California Athletics. June 18, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  15. ↑ "USC's Anna Cockrell, Dalilah Muhammad Make U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team In 400m Hurdles". University of Southern California Athletics. June 27, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  16. ↑ Stroehlein, Ashley (August 2, 2021). "'I couldn't have imagined I'd be living this way' – Anna Cockrell shares her difficult path to Tokyo Olympics". WCNC-TV. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Track and Field 400m Hurdles Round 1 Olympic Results and Live Scores". NBC Olympics. July 30, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  18. ↑ Korynta, Emma (August 4, 2021). "Here's why Anna Cockrell was disqualified from the women's 400m hurdles finals at Olympics". WCNC-TV. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  19. ↑ Palmer, Ewan (August 4, 2021). "Why Was Anna Cockrell Disqualified From 400m Hurdles Final at Tokyo Olympics?". Newsweek. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  20. ↑ "2022 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships - Women's 400mH - Results". World Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  21. ↑ "2023 USA Championships - Women's 400mH - Results". World Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  22. ↑ Rowbottom, Mike (August 24, 2023). "The fall and rise of Femke Bol – Dutch 400m hurdler earns first global gold in Budapest". World Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  23. ↑ "2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women's 400mH - Results". World Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  24. ↑ Bull, Andy. "McLaughlin-Levrone demolishes Bol to retain hurdles title with world record". The Guardian.
  25. ↑ Anna Cockrell claims first ever Diamond League win in Rome 400m hurdles - Wanda Diamond League 2024. Wanda Diamond League. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 29, 2026 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ "2025 Brussels Diamond League - Women's 400mH - Results" (PDF). Diamond League. August 22, 2025. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  27. ↑ Jeffery, Nicole (September 19, 2025). "Bol retains 400m hurdles title in Tokyo with world-leading run". World Athletics. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Weekly Run Through: Anna Cockrell conquers the 300m hurdles". Meta Endurance. May 12, 2026. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  29. ↑ Watta, Evelyn (May 9, 2026). "Davis‑Woodhall shines in hurdles comeback as Cockrell and Effiong impress at US meets". olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  30. ↑ "2026 Rome Diamond League - Women's 400mH - Results" (PDF). Diamond League. June 4, 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 6, 2026. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  31. ↑ Toomer, Jessica (July 27, 2026). "Anna Cockrell Wins 1st National Title in 400-Meter Hurdles". Just Women's Sports. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  32. ↑ Nassuna, Margaret (August 27, 2026). "Anna Cockrell Lights Up Zurich With 400m Hurdles World Lead And Meet Record!". FloTrack. Retrieved August 29, 2026.
  33. ↑ "Grand Slam Track Results". Grand Slam Track. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  34. ↑ Kragen, Aubrey (June 5, 2019). "Anna Cockrell: Brave, Not Perfect". University of Southern California Athletics. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  35. ↑ Adams, Emily (July 30, 2021). "'My body never gave up on me': Anna Cockrell opens up about mental health, Olympic journey". USA Today. Retrieved August 2, 2021.