8/14/08

BEIJING -- In the days after her victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., Anna Willard became a very popular person.

"It was funny," said her mother, Nancy. "We'd be walking and her phone would be ringing, and she'd have to answer it for an interview. Or we'd be walking down the street É you couldn't believe how many people came up to her."

A couple of days later, Willard got an e-mail from Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the gold medal in the first Olympic women's marathon, back in 1984.