Anna Steven
{{Short description|New Zealand athlete}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Anna Steven
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2000|08|31|df=y}}
| birth_place = Auckland, New Zealand
| country = New Zealand
| sport = Para athletics
| disability =
| disability_class =
}}
Anna Steven (born 31 August 2000) is a para-athlete from New Zealand.{{Cite web |title=Anna Steven |url=https://www.paralympic.org/anna-steven |access-date=2021-08-27 |website=International Paralympic Committee |language=en}}
Biography
Steven was born in Auckland in 2000.{{Cite web |title=Anna Steven |url=https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/athletics/athlete-profile-n1616428-steven-anna.htm |work=Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games |url-status=dead |access-date=2021-08-30 |language=en-us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830085838/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/athletics/athlete-profile-n1616428-steven-anna.htm |archive-date=2021-08-30}} She was educated at Westlake Girls High School on the city's North Shore.{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Felicity |date=2017-06-09 |title=Kiwi sprinter qualifies for first World Junior Para Athletics Championships |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/93503338/kiwi-sprinter-qualifies-for-first-world-junior-para-athletics-championships |url-status=live |access-date=2021-08-30 |website=Stuff |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805232411/https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/north-shore-times/93503338/kiwi-sprinter-qualifies-for-first-world-junior-para-athletics-championships |archive-date=2021-08-05}} As of 2020, she is a student at the University of Auckland, studying biomedical science.{{Cite web |title=2020 Blues Awards Winners - The University of Auckland |url=https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/awards-and-prizes/blues-awards/2020-blues-awards-winners.html |access-date=2021-08-27 |website=www.auckland.ac.nz}}
When she was 13 years old, Steven had chemotherapy and surgery to treat osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. As a result her lower right leg was amputated. In 2016 she watched Liam Malone compete for New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and also met him at a "welcome home" event. She decided to take up athletics and quickly excelled in short sprint distances.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-03 |title=Para athlete Anna Steven selected to the New Zealand Paralympic Team for Tokyo 2020 |url=https://athletics.org.nz/para-athlete-anna-steven-selected-to-the-new-zealand-paralympic-team-for-tokyo-2020/ |access-date=2021-08-27 |website=Athletics New Zealand |language=en-NZ}}
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 in her lower left leg. In August 2018 she underwent a fasciotomy 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, 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.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-02 |title=Tokyo Paralympics: Blade runner Anna Steven disqualified after false start |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/paralympics/300398382/tokyo-paralympics-blade-runner-anna-steven-disqualified-after-false-start |access-date=2021-09-03 |website=Stuff |language=en}}
Awards and recognition
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.anzrankings.org.nz/site/profiles_con/athlete/580484 Anna Steven] at Athletics New Zealand
- {{PNZ|anna-steven-224}}
- {{IPC|anna-steven}}
{{2020 New Zealand Paralympic team}}
{{2024 New Zealand Paralympic team}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steven, Anna}}
Category:New Zealand female sprinters
Category:Paralympic athletes for New Zealand
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Category:21st-century New Zealand sportswomen
Category:Athletes from Auckland
Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics