Anna Taylor's Olympic Dream
By Anna Taylor 

life-altering back injury. Her back injury ultimately ended her dream of Olympic rowing. But it also put her on a path toward a new sport and the medal she always dreamed of.

 

This is her story, in her own words:

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“I left OSU with the goal and dream to make it onto the New Zealand rowing national team and then onto the Olympics. I was recovering from surgery on a torn labrum but I always believed that if I was smart and conservative with the recovery I would have enough time to continue my rowing dream. But in September 2016, about 15 months following the hip surgery, I sustained a spinal injury called acute cauda equina syndrome – a sudden and severe prolapse of a disc into the spinal cord. I had emergency surgery to decompress the spinal cord but the injury caused permanent weakness in my legs.

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I was devastated. My ability to participate in sports was significantly limited. But I desperately missed having a place to compete. That’s when Jess Stewart, an OSU rowing alum (class of 2016), suggested I explore the Paralympics. I couldn’t row anymore because of my injury, so I tried a different sport – cycling. Track cycling is total thrill, and the physiology of a 3 km pursuit (my main event) is pretty similar to a 2 km rowing. So that has worked in my favor.

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After just a year of track cycling, I went to my first international competition – the 2019 Track World Championships in The Netherlands. But navigating my new body and living with a disability has been very challenging. It’s not just about trying harder. Unlike before, my mind cannot override my body, which is very frustrating. I didn't do that well at the championships but the racing was fun, and it gave me an avenue to chase sporting excellence again.

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My first Paralympic experience came in Tokyo. I came in fifth and, for a brief moment, held a Paralympic record. But for me, the Tokyo Games were mostly about building experience and testing out how to race in a major event. Paris was the Games where I knew I could do something special. In Paris, I was the fittest, strongest and healthiest I had ever been. I was prepared and had full trust and confidence in my abilities to make the final and end up on the podium. The base work had been done, now it was about keeping the body ticking a long and fine tuning.

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Waiting to warm up for the heat in Paris was the most anxiety I have ever felt. Sensory overload. But once it was time to warm up, the process took over. In my heat, I felt the true feeling of the FLOW STATE, and it was incredible. I felt like a super woman. At that point, the joy and passion of competition and sport just took over and I had the best race of my life. Once the final heat finished, I saw that I qualified for the gold/silver ride and I broke down. I achieved my goal, I made the final! I would either be a gold or silver medalist. And my family was in the stands to see it! That was really special because they had been with me through all of the hardships, and now they were witnessing me as this super woman. I am so grateful that they could see that and celebrate that with me.

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Now, I am looking forward to training and racing in preparation for the LA games. I hope to see all my US-based friends there!

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My journey into cycling was something that I never anticipated, but it has been a total blessing. I vividly remember Vita Scaglione (former OSU Women’s Rowing Associate Head Coach) saying to me "you must be willing to give up the life you have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for you". I think about this often, and it has been a guide throughout all of the hardships. While rowing was not part of my path after graduating from OSU, the skills and lessons I learned through my time rowing at OSU have absolutely been foundational to how I live my life now. This past year has been one of the best years of my life. I hope that the sun continues to shine in my direction after so much rain. But even if it doesn’t, I will continue to live my life happily (as a Paralympic silver medalist)!”