\u201cBut honestly, I lose my mind \u2013 when I hurt my back [a severe disc prolapse, causing her spinal cord injury] my mum said I was a nightmare to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortunately for her family \u2013 and her partner Frans van der Merwe \u2013 Taylor has something to keep her mind active while she rests her changing body. And it\u2019s work that ties her life as an athlete, her studies in public health and her own experiences within New Zealand\u2019s health system.<\/p>\n
Anna Taylor in action at the Tokyo Paralympics.<\/p>\n
Through a Prime Minister\u2019s scholarship, Taylor has an internship with ACC, working on the Balanced Female Health project.<\/p>\n
The project, with Sport New Zealand, aims to address the gap in information and education around young women\u2019s needs in sport and physical activity \u2013 and keeping them active. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have a lot of skills and expertise that I can bring to the table,\u201d says Taylor, who got a degree in public health while on a rowing scholarship at Oregon State University, followed by her master\u2019s in sports and fitness administration\/management at Massey University.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more I\u2019m learning in this job, the more I\u2019m like, \u2018This is right up my alley\u2019. It\u2019s all about public health \u2013 learning what injuries women have, how they\u2019re happening, where they\u2019re happening and how much it costs. If you\u2019re going to put in an intervention, how do you know it will work? It\u2019s fascinating.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Taylor rowing for Oregon State University in 2014. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s experience as an expectant mum adds another layer to her role, says ACC injury prevention leader Kirsten Malpas.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer pregnancy brings another element: how do we support females to be healthy through their life course \u2013 which for many also includes pregnancy \u2013 and how do we bring them back to sport and recreation in a safe way that\u2019s mindful of what\u2019s happened with their bodies?\u201d<\/p>\n
And Taylor has every intention of returning to elite sport after the birth of her son, who\u2019s due in October.<\/p>\n
\u2018A classic love story\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people are lucky enough to find their soulmate when they\u2019re 25 \u2026 I was 32,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n
The 2023 world champion met her fianc\u00e9, van der Merwe, through online dating \u2013 \u201ca classic love story\u201d, she says with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what\u2019s really funny is that we have so many mutual contacts. Frans is a senior lecturer at Wintec, teaching rehab, physio and strength conditioning. He\u2019s taken over my strength and conditioning through the pregnancy and afterwards,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a beautiful man. The baby loves him too \u2013 every time he talks to my belly, Baby Boy kicks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through a Prime Minister\u2019s scholarship, Anna Taylor has an internship with ACC, working on the Balanced Female Health project.<\/p>\n
The couple had always planned to start a family about now: \u201cIt was a blessing how quickly we were able to get pregnant,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cThe goal is to have a baby and then I can get back on the start-line for LA.\u201d That\u2019s the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028 \u2013 which would be her third Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s grateful to have another Paris silver medallist, Olympic track sprinter Rebecca Petch, on the same track \u2013 she\u2019s also expecting her first child in October.<\/p>\n
The pair have been able to compare notes on their pregnancies, while keeping an eye on returning to the highest level of sport.<\/p>\n
Taylor has also been speaking to Olympic rower Lucy Spoors, who won gold in Paris 20 months after her son, Rupert, was born. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great other female athletes have paved the way for us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Anna Taylor competing in the Netherlands. Photo \/ SWpix.com<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely want to come back. Last week, I had four days off [exercise] in a row and I was getting antsy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cycling NZ\u2019s lead Para cycling coach Brendon Cameron has been working with Taylor to draw up a \u201cpretty comprehensive\u201d training plan leading up to and after the baby\u2019s arrival.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnna just doesn\u2019t want to start and participate; she wants to return to the podium. So we\u2019ve had to model what this could look like and build in steeping stone events over the next two-and-a-half years,\u201d he says. \u201cThe biggest gains are likely to be made in the final 12 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe times and dates look a bit daunting, but at least we have them on the table and we\u2019ve broken down how these can be achieved in small bite sizes.<\/p>\n
Anna Taylor during training ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics. Photo \/ George Novak <\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the early goals were for Anna to be fit, strong and healthy, and then the training fell out from there. We\u2019ve made sure she\u2019s still been part of the team, programming her erg sessions during the team\u2019s track sessions to keep the social connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s sporting career has been plagued by serious illness and injury \u2013 thyroid cancer at 19, her cauda equina spinal injury at 25 (she woke one morning in severe pain after a disc suddenly prolapsed), then a major concussion and long Covid in more recent years as a Para cyclist.<\/p>\n
But she\u2019s enjoyed relatively good health through her pregnancy. \u201cThe first trimester I was able to power through. The only issue I had was as my belly started growing, I had to learn to let go of my abs and relax my core,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been continuing to go to the gym and riding her road bike in recent weeks. \u201cFor my own sanity and physical capabilities, I need to keep moving and I need to keep strong. Training is part of my life.\u201d <\/p>\n
Anna Taylor competes at the Tokyo Paralympics. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Taylor had been looking ahead to a future after competitive cycling when the internship came up. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been out of the traditional workforce for three years now, and it\u2019s really hard to get in the door without starting at the bottom again,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try to keep in touch through the governance spaces I work in and volunteer work, but it\u2019s not the same as paid employment. It\u2019s that actual experience employers want to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
She represents the athlete voice on the athletes\u2019 councils of Cycling NZ and Paralympics NZ, and she\u2019s on the board of the Athlete Leaders Network. <\/p>\n
The internship through the PM\u2019s scholarship gave her a way to get her foot in the door. Each year, High Performance Sport NZ offers 10 athletes paid internships through the programme.<\/p>\n
HPSNZ performance life coach Hannah McLean helped Taylor secure a role that made use of her degrees and kept her connected to sport. They approached ACC, which was developing a female athlete health project with Sport NZ.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe internship was an ideal opportunity to provide Anna with the workplace experience she was after, using her sporting experience, skills and expertise,\u201d McLean says. \u201cAnd ultimately have input into how female athlete health support evolves for the better in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirsten Malpas says the project aims to support all women, whether they\u2019re involved in community sport or high performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo much research particularly in sport medicine has been done on men,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s just been adjusted \u2013 or just assumed \u2013 it applies to women.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re finding out there are so many differences that need to be factored into how women train, from girls right through to women. So how do we set them up to sustain their participation and being physically active, and not have them bow out through injury or a negative experience?<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do we support the sport and recreation system to help females enjoy participating right through life?\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s passion for sport, public health and the female athlete health made her ideal for the internship, Malpas says. <\/p>\n
\u201cThen there\u2019s the added bonus of her being in the high performance system, having been a rower and now a Paralympic cyclist, so she\u2019s got quite a few strings to her bow. And she\u2019s experienced going through the ACC system,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Taylor works 10 hours a week from her home in Cambridge, and plans to continue until October.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she\u2019s had the baby, and comes up for air, we hope she will knock on our door,\u201d Malpas says. \u201cWe\u2019ve still got things she can be involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor hopes her experience as a new mum will help guide the Balanced Female Health project, helping other women stay active during and after pregnancy \u2013 an area that needs more support and understanding.<\/p>\n