Anna Steven (born 31 August 2000) is a para-athlete from New Zealand.

Biography

Steven was born in Auckland in 2000. She was educated at

Westlake Girls High School Westlake Girls High School () is a state girls secondary school, located to the west of Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand. The school was established in 1957 as a coeducational school, changing to girls only in 1962 when Westlake B ...

on the city's North Shore. As of 2020, she is a student at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, studying biomedical science. When she was 13 years old, Steven had chemotherapy and surgery to treat

osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchyme, mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) and that exhi ...

, a type of bone cancer. As a result her lower right leg was amputated. In 2016 she watched

Liam Malone Liam Bevan Malone (born 23 December 1993) is a former New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in sprint events. He represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he won gold medals in the men's 200 metres ...

compete for New Zealand at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

and also met him at a "welcome home" event. She decided to take up athletics and quickly excelled in short sprint distances. Six months after her first domestic athletics competition, Steven was selected to represent New Zealand at the 2017 World Junior Para Athletics Championships. She competed in the 100 metre and 200 metre events. From 2016 to 2018 Stevens suffered from

compartment syndrome Compartment syndrome is a serious medical condition in which increased pressure within a Fascial compartment, body compartment compromises blood flow and tissue function, potentially leading to permanent damage if not promptly treated. There are ...

in her lower left leg. In August 2018 she underwent a

fasciotomy Fasciotomy or fasciectomy is a surgical procedure where the fascia is cut to relieve tension or pressure in order to treat the resulting loss of circulatory system, circulation to an area of biological tissue, tissue or muscle. Fasciotomy is a li ...

to correct the problem. In Dubai at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships, Steven set a new Oceania area record in the Women’s 100m T64, placing 5th in her heat, and placed 7th in the Women’s 200m T64 final. At the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

, Steven competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres T64. In the 200 metres, she qualified for the final and finished in eighth place. In the 100 metres, she was disqualified in the heats after making a

false start In sports, a false start is a disallowed start, usually due to a movement by a participant before (or in some cases after) being signaled or otherwise permitted by the rules to start. Depending on the sport and the event, a false start can resu ...

Awards and recognition

In 2020 Steven received a Blues Award in Sports from the University of Auckland.

References

External links

Anna Steven
at

Athletics New Zealand Athletics New Zealand (ANZ) is the national governing body for athletics (sport), athletics in New Zealand. This includes responsibility for Track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking. History The organisation was fou ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Anna 2000 births Living people New Zealand female sprinters Paralympic athletes for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen Athletes from Auckland Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics