Anna Turney
|
Turney at the IPC Alpine World Championships in La Molina, Spain | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 5 July 1979 |
| Sport | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Sport | Alpine skiing |
| Event(s) |
Downhill Slalom Giant Slalom Super-G Super combined |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Paralympic finals |
2010 Vancouver 2014 Sochi |
Anna Turney (born 5 July 1979) is a British alpine skier. Turney uses a sit-ski in competitions and has represented Great Britain at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Paralympic Games.
Personal history
Turney was born in 1979 in Northampton.[1][2] Turney was a promising snowboarder, until an accident on the slopes of Yamagata in Japan left her paralysed from the waist down.[3] She spent five weeks in hospital in Japan before returning to Britain. She met her husband, Peter Walford, a physiotherapist, while she was attending a rehabilitation course.[4]
Skiing career
While recovering in hospital from her spinal injuries, Turney decided to get back into sport after being inspired by the 2006 Winter Paralympics in Torino (Turin).<ref name=dream "/> The following year she took up monoskiing and in 2007 she was accepted into the British Disabled Ski Team (BDST).[5] Within a year she made her debut for the British team when she made her GB debut at the NORAM races in Canada.[2] The next year Turney was competing at the highest level and was selected for Great Britain the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in South Korea, finishing fourth in the giant slalom.[1]
In 2010 Turney was part of the Great Britain team that travelled to Vancouver to participate in her first Winter Paralympics. Turney stated in a 2014 interview that she was sent to the Games mainly to build her experience, but managed a sixth place in the slalom when ranked 16th.[6] The next year she was back in the Great Britain team, this time at Sestriere in Italy at the 2011 World Championships. Although failing to finish in the sitting slalom, Turney finished fourth in the giant slalom.[1]
In the 2013 World Championship in La Molina, Spain, Turney was entered into four events, but failed to finish any.[1] In 2014 she was selected for ParalympicsGB for the Winter Paralympics in Sochi. She failed to finish in the opening downhill on 8 March, falling on a course which Turney described as "pretty tough".[7] She subsequently finished fourth in the super-G, sixth in the slalom, and eighth in the grand slalom.[8]
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Anna Turney". sochi2014.com. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- 1 2 "Anna Turney". paralympics.channel4.com. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Turney’s gold medal dream comes at a cost". kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ Paxman, Lauren (31 January 2012). "I lost use of my legs but found love: How Paralympic snowboarder's world was turned around by physio following horrific race accident". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Elite Squad: Anna Turney". disabilitysnowsport.org.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ "Turney confident she will rise to the occasion in Sochi". kenilworthweeklynews.co.uk. 7 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ↑ Hope, Nick (8 March 2014). "Sochi Paralympics: Jade Etherington wins downhill silver". BBC. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
- ↑ Walters, Ryan (17 March 2014). "Winter Paralympics: Anna Turney says Sochi 2014 was pinnacle of career despite not winning a medal". MKWeb. Retrieved 27 March 2014.