Anna Hemmings
A highly accomplished motivational speaker, Anna is entertaining, direct and on target. She has a passionate belief that every individual has a talent and an ability to achieve beyond their imagination. She’s on a mission to inspire and equip people to think differently, to feel empowered, to take immediate action and to maximise results in any area of life.
Anna’s story of success in the face of adversity gives people hope, strength and the understanding that anything really is possible. The audience walks away with the realisation that there are no limits and if you are just prepared to push the boundaries you can achieve beyond your wildest dreams.
Anna’s exciting journey is not only inspiring but it also highlights the success strategies that helped her rise to the top; and more importantly how these strategies can be applied to anyone in any situation. For example, master the art of thriving on pressure and develop an ability to perform at the highest level even when faced with stretching goals, tight deadlines and changing demands.
Anna has a great connectivity to business. Mary Kay Galvin, Assistant Director at Canon USA commented, “Excellent! Anna was able to take examples from the very competitive world of sport and use them as great tools that could be applied to both business and personal endeavours”
An air of believability surrounds Anna’s presentation because this is a speaker who has lived what she teaches. No other person can tell this passionate and compelling story of Anna’s true life experiences. Anna continues to compete at the highest level and so she is learning and experiencing more all the time – gathering new insights and fresh ideas to share with your people.
The same level of commitment that Anna puts into her sport is carried through into every presentation. She makes sure that she has a clear understanding of the audience, the company and their industry; ensuring that each speech is designed and made specific for the client.
Anna Hemmings, Britain’s leading female marathon canoeist, current World and European Champion was told by medical experts she might never race again. In 2005 however, she signalled a miraculous return to fitness by regaining her status as the World’s leading marathon canoeist at the Marathon Racing World Championships in Perth, Australia. In 2006 she successfully defended her world title. In 2007 she went onto make it a hat-trick of three World titles in a row. This latest medal is her sixth gold since 1999 and her eleventh World and European Championship medal, confirming her status as Britain’s most successful ever female canoeist. Anna’s achievements were recognised at the Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year Awards, where she won the 2005 Champions Award.
Anna, 30, from London, thought she would have to retire from the sport when diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in April 2003. Following a series of failed treatments Anna began to think that her hopes of competing again were ebbing further and further away. The illness left her exhausted and aching on a daily basis as well as physically fatigued after basic light exercise. However, Anna refused to give up and in September 2004, Anna learned about ‘reverse therapy’, an innovative and highly successful new treatment. By February 2005 Anna was finally able to resume training again. She then went on to win a clean sweep of National, European and World titles.
Anna first broke into the top flight of the sport in 1997 when, at the age of just 20, she won the European Championship. In 1999 she successfully defended her European crown, before going on to win the Marathon World Championships – becoming the youngest ever competitor to do so. She also became the first ever British female canoeist to win both European and World titles.
She participated in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 where she competed in the 500m singles discipline. The following year Anna really made her mark at the Marathon Canoeing World Championship when she became only the second person in the history of the sport to win both the singles and the doubles Marathon World titles.
In the same year, Anna graduated from Royal Holloway College, University of London with a BSC Honours degree in Economics and Management (2:1)
“Rarely have I heard a more compelling and inspiring delivery.”
Professor Andrew Pindar, Chairman of the Pindar Group
“Excellent – Anna linked her own experiences to the challenges we face in DWP very effectively.”
Barbara Baker, Department for Work and Pensions
‘Anna Hemmings is Britain’s Paula Radcliffe on water’ The Times
“Anna is a very positive, entertaining and intelligent speaker who can act as a real inspiration” John Inverdale, BBC Sports Correspondent
“Anna is one of the most extraordinary people I have ever met. Who could fail to learn and be inspired by someone with such drive and commitment.” Gary Lineker
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