Anna Nicholson

Nicholson first tried Para athletics in 2010 at a county athlete assessment day and she began competing in May 2011.

There are few people who can say they have competed for Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the international stage, graduated with a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, and enjoy a career in the car production industry by the age of 25, but that’s exactly what Anna Nicholson has achieved.

In 2014 and 2015, her progress in the sport was rewarded as she was selected for the IWAS World Junior Games in the shot put and discus (the latter only in 2015, winning three silver medals). Nevertheless, she admits that she struggled with the balancing act of training and university, so competitions during these seasons did not go as she expected.

The big breakthrough for Anna came during 2018 and 2019, when she found more balance between work and her athletics, which subsequently contributed to more consistency in the sport. For Anna, the end of 2019 signalled a breakthrough moment in relation to her athletics career as she competed at the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, finishing fourth in the F35 shot put on her senior world debut. She also extended her personal best to 8.47 metres, a significant improvement.

Nicholson qualified for her first Paralympic Games in Tokyo, where she posted a sixth place finish before just missing out on her first senior medal in fourth at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris.