After battling a number of health-related issues, Paralympian #225 Anna Taylor has earned selection for Paris 2024. We chat to the Cambridge-based Para cyclist about overcoming setbacks and her hopes for her second appearance at the Paralympic Games.
Anna Taylor stresses in no way does she want to be that person who is defined by health and injuries. For her it is simply not her personality to shine a light on such struggles and yet to properly understand the Cambridge-based Para cyclist we cannot ignore the injuries that have dogged her extraordinary life journey and helped forge a resilience and refusal to let her body limit her ambitions.
As the 33-year-old admits of her Paris 2024 ambitions, “I just want to come out of the darkness in pursuit of the light”.
Raised in Taupō and later boarding at St Peter’s School in Cambridge, Anna, as a non-disabled athlete, later took up a rowing scholarship at Oregon State University in the USA. Overcoming thyroid cancer during her time there, she went on to secure medals at the US National Club Championships as she carved out an impressive rowing CV.
While harbouring dreams of one day appearing as an Olympic rower, she overcame a hip labral tear in 2015 that required surgery and eight months rehab, followed closely by a severe disc prolapse which compressed the spinal cord in 2016. Anna underwent emergency decompression disc surgery for an acute presentation of Cauda Equina Syndrome – which has caused neurological weakness below the point of injury.
While working in youth mental health as a support worker, Anna was keen to find a sporting outlet. She initially focused on swimming to keep active before trying her hand at Para cycling after attending a talent ID camp in early 2018.
Making her international debut at the 2019 Para cycling Track World Championships in Apeldoorn, Anna made her Paralympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and despite dealing with a medical issue she claimed a meritorious fifth-place finish in the Women’s C4 3000m Individual Pursuit and eighth in the Women’s C4 500m Time Trial.
“I was dealing with a medical issue in Tokyo that left me very unwell,” she explains. “I was uncomfortable, and it was not a pleasant experience” she recalls. “But to compete at a Paralympic Games was special and I was motivated following the Games because at that point I hadn’t fulfilled the best of my athletic self. I felt I had a lot of untapped potential.”
Excited for the future and seeing “glimmers” of her capability, Anna unfortunately suffered another setback in late-2021 when crashing and sustaining a concussion during a group ride. Taking 12 weeks to fully recover, shortly after she caught a lingering virus which caused severe fatigue and a racing heart rate.
“I couldn’t exercise or train for three-and-a-half months,” she explains. “It was frustrating not really knowing what the issue was, and it was stressful and scary undergoing medical assessments and tests to figure out what was wrong. A familiar and terrifying experience having had cancer previously.”
Thankfully she slowly recovered and by early winter was back fully training once again in the countdown to the Para cycling Track World Championships in France later that year.
Grateful to be training without issues, Anna says pure “adrenaline” took her to a bronze medal in the Women’s C4 500m Time Trial before delivering the same colour medal in the Women’s C4 Omnium.
“After a shocking year it was a cool moment for me and another glimpse into what I know I am capable of delivering.” she explains.
Thankfully enjoying an uninterrupted period of training in the countdown to the 2023 ‘Super Worlds’ she delivered an outstanding performance in Glasgow to take gold in the Women’s C4 Omnium.
Elated with her performance in Scotland, the Cambridge-based athlete has since set her sights on Paris 2024 – but just after Christmas she was hospitalised after suffering ongoing health issues. Inevitably impacting her training and while frustrated she always remained optimistic.
“I have a mindset of wishing I was healthy to build momentum in training, but I’m never so single-minded that I would jeopardise my health for a bike race.
“It is important to live my life to the fullest. While there have been and will likely continue to be, medical complications and consequences to the injuries and illnesses I have faced; I refuse to let the circumstances of my ill health stop me in pursuit of what I want out of life”
Taking a sensible approach to recovery she gradually returned to full training – which typically involves five road rides, two track sessions and two gym sessions per week. Coached by Damian Wiseman, Anna has described her preparation for Paris 2024 as “nice and calm” and she is relishing the challenge of competing at a second Paralympic Games, where she will line up in the Women’s C4 3000m Individual Pursuit on the track and the Women’s C4 Individual Time Trial on the road.
“I am looking forward to leaving everything out there and seeing how deep I can go,” she explains. “Seeing what I can produce makes me excited and nervous. When reflecting on my journey, in the depths of illness and injury you experience the dark side of life. Now I just want to pursue the light.”
To find out more about Para cycling go here
