Willard is drawing on her roots

Anna Willard clears a water jump on her way to qualifying for the first women's steeplechase in Olympic history. (VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

BEIJING - Anna Willard follows the first rule of hair coloring for elite athletes: If you go wild with dye, you had better be good. Her spunky, platinum blond bob was brightened by a wide pink streak at the US Olympic track and field trials. For the Beijing Olympics, a bold purple swath replaced the pink. It was a sign of Willard's confidence heading into the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.

"My hair has gotten more crazy as I've gotten a lot better," said Willard.

For an athlete who took an unconventional path to the Olympics in a nontraditional event for women, the hair makes perfect sense. Willard's rise from rural Maine farm girl to Ivy Leaguer to world-class athlete was as unexpected as her hair color schemes. She saw Olympic potential long before any coaches did, and she was confident enough to pursue her athletic dreams. The payoff has been a berth in this morning's final at the National Stadium.

Willard and 14 others will make history tonight as it is the first time women have raced in the steeplechase at the Games. While Willard is not among the medal favorites, who hail from Russia and Kenya, she hopes the final allows female steeplechasers to prove they deserve inclusion among the world's best athletes. It is a fight familiar to Willard, who has spent a career convincing others she belonged among the best American track athletes.

"It's exciting to be the first at something," said Willard. "It's been my expectation that I'd be on the Olympic team, and if it wasn't in the steeple, it would be in the 1,500. It's exciting to be first in the steeple, but where I'm at right now is being the caliber of an Olympic athlete in the US.

"I feel a lot of times people don't take me seriously because it's an off distance and it's a new event. People say, 'Oh, she's just doing it because it's an easy in. She's second grade in the 1,500 and 5K.' I definitely want to show people that is not true."

Anxious moments
Qualifying for the steeplechase final on time (9 minutes 28.52 seconds) was a big step in the right direction, though it was a little too close for comfort.

After running the third and final qualifying heat, Willard waited trackside to see if she made the historic final. After 10 minutes passed, she prepared for the worst and walked beneath the "Bird's Nest" to the mixed zone. Glancing at one of several results-displaying television screens in the mixed zone, Willard saw her name flash among the finalists. She lit up.

"I really did not mean to do that," said Willard, who would have missed the final if she ran a second slower. "What a relief. [Coming across the line], I was thinking, "I hope that's enough.' I was really rallying myself with two laps to go. In the final I want to be a little bit more conservative and try to pick people off. If I feel comfortable, I can kick pretty hard. It's just getting to that comfort zone."

As a track athlete, Willard did not feel truly comfortable until she tried the steeplechase at Brown. No longer progressing in the 800 and 1,500 as a junior, Willard wondered if she had maxed out her talent. But when Brown's top female steeplechaser went down with an injury, she decided to try the event.

With little practice hurdling the barriers, Willard set a school record in her first race. The event clearly suited her athleticism and fearless personality. She finished third at Heptagonals later in her junior year, in what became a breakthrough season. As a senior, Willard finished sixth at the NCAA championships. Along the way, she received valuable advice from Brown men's coach John Gregorek, a 1984 Olympian in the steeplechase.

Don't start too fast. Run even splits. Accelerate into each barrier.

"A lot of athletes are scared going over the water jump," said Willard. "I charged right at it and said, 'Bring it on.' I just had faith in my ability that I could jump over the water jump and not hurt myself or anything like that.

Willard wanted to turn professional after college, but she needed to prove herself more as a steeplechaser before she received any contract offers. With her degree in hand and one season of track eligibility remaining, Willard headed to Michigan, where she studied for a masters in sports management and teamed with coach Mike McGuire, polishing her academic and running résumés. She won the NCAA steeplechase title and quickly realized her dream of becoming a professional, signing with Nike. Her progress has been steady ever since.

Willard set an American record 9:27.59 at the Olympic trials, then spent time on the European circuit in preparation for Beijing. An early-season injury slowed her training schedule, making the steeplechaser a little panicked for the trials, but fresher and in top form for the Games. Willard believes she can dip below 9:20, though she doesn't know if the hot and humid conditions for the final will hurt her chances.

"She's worked so hard," said her father, Al. "Everybody thinks she's just burst on the scene, but she has easily spent a lifetime working on this. This is many years of setting down goals. She's a very determined young woman. When she sets her mind to something, she's going to do it. She's really motivated herself and kept herself going. We're behind her 100 percent, but she's done it all by herself."

Confidence builder
Willard's parents watched the qualifying heat through an Internet video connection on their farm in rural Greenwood, Maine. Like Willard, they were not sure who qualified for the final. Al walked outside to feed the horses, believing his daughter missed the cut. His wife, Nancy, chased after him when she heard the good news. While Willard's personal-best time is 20 seconds slower than the medal favorites are expected to run, her parents know she is a determined competitor.

"You never know what can happen," said Al Willard. "That's her attitude. She's going to hang in there on somebody's shoulder and see what happens."

Her parents believe days spent doing chores on the farm and baling hay gave Willard the strength, discipline, and desire to succeed at the Olympics. As a kid, she left notes around the house, reminding herself of her long-term goals. Growing up in Maine also gave her confidence she could compete with anyone, though she wasn't testing herself against the toughest competition at a young age.

"I always had a lot of confidence in myself, even though I'm from Maine," said Willard. "I just didn't know what was going on in the rest of the country in terms of track and field. I just thought I was the best. I'd win state championships and I'd be like, 'Yeah, I'm the best in the world.' I really had no idea that there are 49 other states out there, and Maine is probably one of the worst of them. But it helped me develop later. If I'd grown up in California, the coaches out there know so much more than coaches in Maine, but they really work their kids pretty hard at a young age. I liked being a big fish in a small sea for a little while."

Willard no longer has that luxury. But she is too competitive and colorful to shy away from a challenge.

Shira Springer can be reached at springer@globe.com.