Think pink

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EUGENE, Ore.--Anna Willard has had quite a week.

Willard got a surprise wedding proposal last Saturday and on Thursday she got a berth on the Beijing Olympic team for the first women’s Olympic 3,000-meter steeplechase competition.

Willard, a Brown graduate with a master’s degree from Michigan, won the Olympic trials 3,000-meter steeplechase in an American-record time of 9 minutes, 27.59 seconds. Asked afterward if she were on Cloud 9, she laughed.

‘Cloud 11 maybe. I feel amazing,’ said Willard, who previously was most notable for the dyed-pink streak in her hair.

‘Everything I’ve ever wanted has just happened.’

As the race wore on, she knew she’d win but wanted to keep up a good pace. ‘The hurdles can start getting a little bigger as you get tired,’ she said.

But she wasn’t intimidated by a close call at a water jump with Jennifer Barringer, who finished third in 9:33.11. Lindsey Anderson was second, in 9:30.75

‘A physical race doesn’t rattle me at all,’ Willard said. ‘I felt fantastic. I just knew I had it.’

The only down note was that her fiance, Jonathan Pierce, was eliminated in the men’s steeplechase semifinals.

--Helene Elliott

Top photo: Anna Willard celebrates her record. Credit: Andy Lyons / Getty Images

Inset: Gold medalist Anna Willard smiles on the podium between silver medalist Lindsey Anderson, left, and bronze medalist Jennifer Barringer. Credit: Andy Lyons / Getty Images