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.

Samuelson pointed out that Mainers have a history of doing well in inaugural Olympic events. Seth Wescott won gold in the first snowboardcross, at the 2006 Winter Games. Willard will be competing in the first women's steeplechase in Olympic history.

The preliminary heats for the event are scheduled for Friday at 8:25 a.m. EDT, with the final Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Willard, a 24-year-old from Greenwood and a Telstar High product, is very aware of her possible place in history. And she doesn't mind one bit if you put the pressure on her. In fact, she loves it.

"I've always had pretty large dreams in my mind," she said. "I just didn't realize I could accomplish them until this last year.

"Four years ago, I was a waitress on Cape Cod. And I remember going home and watching the Olympics and getting excited, thinking that it was never going to happen for me. But, for the most part, I put my faith in my ability."

She has never lacked confidence.

"She knew she was going to be good at something," said Nancy Willard. "In elementary school, she said she was going to be a best-selling author and support us in old age. As time went on and she began to excel in running, that became most of her dream."

Now her dream is more defined. Although Willard set an American record at the U.S. Trials, she is not considered a medal threat at the Olympics. But she fully expects to make a run at the medal stand.

"I've always had high expectations of myself," Willard said. "I've always wanted to push myself to the limit. So I don't think looking for a medal is out of the question.

"If I'm in contact with the leaders with 600 to 400 meters to go, I can definitely medal." That's what she said before the U.S. Trials, where she was ranked third entering the race, and that's what she did, pulling away in the final 600 meters to finish in 9 minutes, 27.59 seconds, the fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase ever run on U.S. soil.

Willard was an all-state cross country runner at Telstar High in Bethel, where she also played basketball. Her coach there, John Applin, remembered the first time he saw her run. She was a freshman and signed up late to join the cross country team.

To gauge her ability, he had her take a practice run with him. "I didn't push too hard, but she stayed on my shoulder," he wrote in an e-mail. "After about two miles, I picked up the tempo a bit. She stayed right there until the finish."

He added, "She made her mind up early that she was going to see how far this running game could take her. And she was willing to spend the time to train, bear the pain and keep her eye on the prize."

Running came naturally to Willard, perhaps because it is a solitary sport and she had much practice doing things on her own on her parents' 450-acre farm. She helped her dad, Al, hay the fields, often driving the tractor.

right through her college days at Brown University.

"She'd take her time, make sure it was done right," said Al Willard. "She wasn't in a rush to get out of there."

All the time, said Anna Willard, she was envisioning her future.

"I think (the farm work) showed me a lot of patience mentally," she said. "You're doing circles around the fields all day and it gives you time to think about life and your goals. "There is no cheating, just like in running. Chucking around 75-pound hay bales makes you strong. And I became comfortable being alone in my head."

In her junior year at Brown, Willard offered to run the steeplechase after the team's No. 1 runner was injured. She set a school record in her first meet and never stopped running the steeplechase.

Because Willard missed a season of a track at Brown due to an injury, she had a year of athletic eligibility remaining when she went to the University of Michigan for grad school.

There, she was exposed to world-class runners and training. Her times took off and she became America's top steeplechaser. A year ago, in the world championships, she didn't get out of her heat, but had the best American time of 9:48.62.

Her American record time is 21.03 seconds faster, a remarkable improvement in one year.

"Every year I've upped the ante a bit," said Willard. "Every year I try to do a little better."