Paralympic cyclist Anna Taylor is a former competitive rower who won a rowing scholarship to a US college. Photo / Attitude Pictures Ltd
She has set a new New Zealand record. She has set a new personal best. And she was, if only for five or so minutes, the holder of the Paralympic record.
All in all, you could say Anna Taylor had a pretty good Tokyo Paralympic Games.
The former elite rower, who grew up in Taupō and still counts it as home, took up cycling as a para athlete after suffering a devastating spine injury, known as cauda equina, in 2016. Unable to row, she had to learn to become a competitive cyclist instead.
Her best outing at the Paralympic Games was in the women's C4 3000m pursuit, where she finished in a creditable fifth place. The competition was steep and the times for the pursuit were fast - so quick, that although Anna rode faster than the gold medal time at the Rio Paralympics and initially looked in with a chance, it was't enough to get her on the podium.
But during her heat she not only set herself a new personal best and a New Zealand Paralympic record, she also temporarily held the world Paralympics record.
"It got immediately broken again after me but I held it for five minutes and that will be my claim to fame," Anna jokes.
"I had an inkling because I knew that the Paralympic record was within reach so I was quite excited. I knew I was capable of doing it. I knew full well that [Australian cyclist] Emily Petricola would break it immediately after, but it was quite cool for five minutes to know I was the best in the world, it was just a really cool feeling."
Anna also competed in the 500m time trial where she came 8th and says that event was a joy, partly because the time trial is just pure speed.
"There's no tactics involved, you don't have to pace yourself or judge the start, it's just the buzzer goes and the gate opens and it's just all you've got to do is go for it and that was fun … it's just go as fast as you can."
After the track events concluded in the first week, Anna had two road races scheduled but was unfortunately unwell that week and pulled out of the second road race after a crash in the first.
She says while it was disappointing, the successes of the first week were some compensation - especially knowing she was the holder of a new New Zealand Paralympic cycling record of 3 minutes 54.167 seconds and a new personal best.
"It was really cool to be in that environment. Everyone always says that the Olympics and Paralympics is a step up and I understand what that means now."
Anna says, with some emotion, just getting to the Paralympics was hugely significant after a decade where she overcame thyroid cancer at 19, the back injury five years later and the pain of having to give up rowing.
"There were so many barriers in the way for me to overcome in order just to get to the event ... when you finally get to the point it was quite an overwhelming feeling.
"There's lots of things you can analyse about racing, about things in the leadup, how you executed the race and performance and things like that, but I guess taking my place as part of the Paralympic legacy meant quite a lot to me."
She thinks having to overcome those setbacks gave her a different outlook on life and sport.
"Sport has been a part of my life but it isn't my life. I have a job, I have friends outside sport, my family, my friends all love me regardless of my ability to win a medal or go to the games. They just support me because it's important to me, so in that regard I think I've been aware of making sure your identity isn't wrapped up in your sport.
"Even with everything that's been going on worldwide with Covid, to me it felt quite special to be in a position where it's like okay, sometimes, life happens and s*** happens, there's difficult things that come up in your past and you can choose to overcome them or not, and once I was in that arena knowing that the world or whoever tuned in to watch was witnessing that made me feel quite proud."
Anna has just completed two weeks in managed isolation and then had just one day off before returning to work this week as a youth mental health worker at Waikato District Health Board. But she says without hesitation that her thoughts are already turning to the Paris Paralympics in 2024.
First, though, she needs to let the dust from Tokyo settle and real life set back in before she will get together with her coaches to make a plan for the road to Paris.
