Why Did Anna Cockrell Raise Her Hand? "I Was Within My Rights To Do That"

Olympian Anna Cockrell made headlines in Paris on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, when she raised her hand before starting her heat in the 400 meter hurdles semifinal.

Of course, we've all seen false starts on the track at the Summer Olympic Games but this was not that. Instead, Anna was signaling she needed a moment. Why?

Read on to find out why Anna Cockrell raised her hand to get the attention of officials a split second after the gun signaled the start of the heat.

So, why did Anna Cockrell raise her hand before the start of the semifinal?

Anna raised her hand just as the starter's gun fired signaling that the semifinal 400 meter hurdles semifinal heat was officially beginning.

But Anna's hand shot up, and at that moment, the gun was fired again to let the racers know there was an issue.

“My hands straight up weren’t on the ground,” the Tokyo Olympics alum explained . “I just raised my hand — I thought I was within my rights to do that."

She went on to say about the trackside conversation, "There was kind of a discussion about what was going on. I have a lot of respect for the officials out there."

Anna also said about the heated moment, "There’s a lot going on — I appreciate a big crowd. The crowd is really excited so I know that there was a lot of discussion that had to happen but as far as I was concerned, I wasn’t ready to come up to set. We ran the race and we’re going to the final so period.”

Anna Cockrell advanced to the 400 meter hurdles final after her semifinal debacle.

Thankfully Anna was issued a green card and not a red one after she spoke to officials.

A red-and-black-striped card means that a false start has disqualified an athlete from running in the heat. Imagine training for the Olympics and getting all the way to your event only to be disqualified. It's a heartbreak beyond imagination to be sure.

In this case, the track star went on to finish second in her heat, advancing to the final.

About the race, Anna said, “It was all right. I think I needed to make my moves bigger. I was like a 52.90, probably the second fastest time of my career, so I’m not going to cry about it, but I think I just need to be better at hurdles 5-7.”

The final for the highly-anticipated event will take place on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is one to watch in the final, having finished her semifinal at 52.13. The American boasts six of the top 10 times ever recorded in the 400 meter hurdles.

"There's so many different ways to run it," Sydney said about the event. "And I feel like every time I'm on the track I'm figuring out, 'OK, what's the best way?'"

It seems she has more than figured out the answer to that question!