At age 13, Anna Steven had six months of chemotherapy and major surgery that led to the amputation of her leg. When Anna first began to run, she saw an opportunity to become a national-level Para athlete and push her limits, but also inspire others living with disability to get involved in sport.
Anna began running competitively in 2016 when she was 16 years old. She had been inspired after seeing the performances of the New Zealand Paralympic Team at Rio in 2016, particularly Paralympian #197 Liam Malone, a fellow Kiwi blade runner. Then, after meeting Liam at a ‘welcome home’ event and attending an Open Day event for Para sport, one of the support staff suggested Anna try athletics, and she decided to give it a go.
Anna quickly excelled over the shorter sprint distances on the track and was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2017 World Junior Para Athletics Championships just six months after first stepping out onto the running track. Anna competed in the 100m and 200m, the events that would become her focus as she set her sights on the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
In Dubai, at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, Anna set a new Oceania Area Record in the Women’s 100m T64, placing 5th in her heat, and took 7th in the Women’s 200m T64 final. Anna was the final Para athlete selected to the New Zealand Paralympic Team heading to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Competing in the Women’s 200m T64, Anna stormed through the heats with a Personal Best and Oceania Area Record time of 28.60 seconds. She would place 8th in the final before unfortunately receiving a DQ in the Women’s 100m T64 Heats. Her experience at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games has made Anna even more determined to prove herself in future and is only “just getting started“.
