Olympic Cyclistโ Anna Taylor Shifts Focus toโค Female Athlete Health During Pregnancy
Cambridge, NZ – Paralympic cyclist Anna Taylor, a decorated rower and cyclist,โฃ is leveraging her athletic experience โand academic background to โcontribute โto aโฃ new project focused on female athlete health, even as โshe prepares for motherhood. Taylor is currently working with โACC โคand Sport NZ on aโข project aiming to improve health support for women in sport, from community levels to high performance.
Taylor’s involvement stems from a paid internship offered thru High Performance Sport NZ’s (HPSNZ) Prime Minister’s Scholarship program, wich provides 10 athletes annually with workplace โคexperience. HPSNZ performance โlife coach Hannah McLean facilitated Taylor’s placement, recognizing the prospect to utilize her degrees and maintain her connection to the sporting world.
“The internship was an ideal opportunityโค to โฃprovide Anna with the workplaceโค experience she was after, using her sporting experience, skills and expertise,” McLean said. “And ultimately haveโค input into how female athlete health support evolves for the better in new Zealand.”
The project addresses a critical โgap in sports medicine research, which has historically focused โฃprimarily on male athletes. โKirsten Malpas of ACC highlighted the need for tailored approaches to women’s training and participation. “So much researchโฆhas been done on men, and that’s just been adjusted – or just assumed – it applies to women,” she explained. โ”We’re finding out there are so many differences that need to be factored into how women trainโฆSo how do we set them up to sustain their participation and beingโค physicallyโ active, and not have them bow out โคthrough injury or a negative experience?”
Taylor’s unique perspective asโ a high-performance athlete, having competed in rowing and Paralympic cycling, and her personal experience navigating the ACC system, are invaluable โto the project.โฃ She currentlyโข works 10 hours a week from her home in โคcambridge andโฃ is expected to โคcontinue through October.
Malpas expressed hope that Taylor will remain involved even after the birth of her child, anticipating her insights as a new mother โคwill further informโ the โproject’s focus on supporting women’s activity during and after pregnancy – an area identified as needing increased attention.
Taylor also holds positions representing theโ athlete voice on the athletes’โ councils of Cycling NZโค and Paralympics NZ, and is โon โคthe board ofโค the โAthlete Leaders Network.
Originally published at Newsroom.co.nz.
