Paris was a dream come true in more ways than one for Anna Cockrell, the confident, bold track star, who doesn’t shy away from being vocal about the challenges in life. The hurdler wears her heart on her sleeve, which makes us like her even more.

Her own confession as a USC star – Paris was on her list of places to go, along with Greece and Morocco. In 2024, the Paris one got ticked off her list, thanks to her hurdles pursuit, which incidentally was ever her only athletic choice. And on August 8, 2024, she set the record straight with a silver medal in the 400mH, firmly announcing her arrival on the hurdles scene.

Since then, Anna Cockrell has been a name you regularly see on the podium, keeping alive the late-bloomer tradition of her family. So, let’s get to know her lineage and how her life story revolves around it.

Where is Anna Cockrell From and what is her nationality?

Born on July 27, 1997, in San Ramon, California, the Olympian spent the better years of her childhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, where her whole family moved, including her two siblings, Ross and Ciera. She is an American citizen, representing the USA in international tournaments. Her ethnic background gives us more insight into her journey and the challenges she has had to overcome.

What is Anna Cockrell’s ethnicity & religion?

The 400m hurdler is American, born to Kieth and Serena Cockrell. It was her parents’ outlook on life that made Anna Cockrell a well-rounded individual, a world-renowned champion hurdler, and a Master’s in Public Policy at USC. Not much is known about her parents’ lineage, although Anna Cockrell was quite close to her grandparents.

In fact, talking about her hurdles journey, Cockrell shared how the extra push in her steps on the track often comes from the bond she has with her close ones. “I think that I am always running for myself. But sometimes my strength comes from other people,” she said in March 2025 in an interview with Track & Field News.

That particular 400mH Final in the Paris Olympics, she felt a surreal support. “I’m not the most spiritual or religious, but I felt their presence that day. And I felt at peace with that,” Cockrell said. Her ethnic roots led her to found the United Black Student-Athlete Association at USC to help collegiate athletes from her community have a better future.

Which high school did Anna Cockrell attend?

The hurdler went to Charlotte Latin School before transferring to Providence Day High School, from where she graduated in 2016. Her track journey, however, started in sixth grade with her middle school team. “Once I started hurdling, it just made sense to me,” Anna Cockrell said in the Track & Field News interview in March 2025. “I never wanted to do field events. I never wanted to be a short sprinter. I always wanted to be a hurdler.”

But this turn came only after her father tried to get her interested in gymnastics and basketball, both of which she rejected. Fun fact, however, is that she used to run in relays, which continued till her collegiate days. In 2015, she became the Pan American junior champion in the 400mH.

In the final year of high school, she really started showing a glimpse of her talent, running personal bests of 13.17 and 55.20 in the 100mH and 400mH, respectively. Anna Cockrell would also become the U20 World Champion in 400mH and 4×400m relays, helping her to set the tone for her hurdles career, and at USC, it took full flight.

As the 2025 Tokyo Athletics Championships come with hopes of a medal, we eagerly wait for the American to add a first senior World Championship medal to her list of honors.