6/30/08

EUGENE, Ore. -- All eyes will be on Anna Willard tonight, and that's exactly the way she wants it.

Willard will be the hippest competitor in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, from her punky-cute white-blonde hair with the zippy pink streak down to her funky red, white and blue track shoes.

But Willard is not sacrificing substance for style.

Willard, a 2007 University of Michigan master's graduate and Ann Arbor resident, has come to the Olympic trials to accomplish a historic mission:

She wants to be part of the first group of women to compete in the steeplechase at the Beijing Olympics. Her quest begins tonight, with the semifinals at Hayward Field.