Anna Hemmings, Britain’s leading female marathon canoeist and former triple world champion was told by medical experts she might never race again. Recently however, she signaled a miraculous return to fitness by regaining her status as World Marathon Canoeing Champion (15th October, Perth) and Europe’s leading marathon canoeist at the European Championships in the Czech Republic.

Anna also won the Champions Category in the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Award on 16th November, 2005.

Anna, 28, from Surrey, thought she would have to retire from the sport when diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) two years ago. Following a series of failed treatments Anna began to think that her hopes of competing again were ebbing further and further away. The illness left her exhausted and aching on a daily basis as well as physically fatigued after basic light exercise. However, in September 2004, Anna learned about ‘reverse therapy’, an innovative treatment aimed at addressing the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome instead of just learning to cope with symptoms. The treatment was successful and by February 2005 Anna was finally able to start training again.

Anna first broke into the top flight of the sport in 1997 when, at the age of just 20, she won the European Championship. In 1999 she successfully defended her European crown, before adding to her European successes by winning the Marathon World Championships – becoming the youngest ever competitor to do so. She also became the first ever British female canoeist to win both European and World titles.

She participated in the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 where she competed in the 500m singles discipline - it was at this time that she was spotted by Pindar, the print and electronic media company, who have sponsored her ever since. The following year Anna really made her mark at the Marathon Canoeing World Championship when she became only the second person in the history of the sport to win both the singles and the doubles Marathon world titles.

Anna has won a total of 8 World and European Championship medals, 6 of them being gold!

In 2001, the same year that Anna became double world champion, she graduated from Royal Holloway College, University of London with a BSC Honours degree in Economics and Management (2:1).