Anna Hemmings (MBE) is Britain’s most successful female kayaker. She has an impressive record of 9 World and European Championship gold medals. Today, Anna is a leading inspirational speaker and an expert in resilience and high performance. She works with business leaders and teams around the globe. Her goal is to help them develop the skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed for exceptional performance.
By age 24, Anna had already won the World Championship three times and competed in the Olympic Games. In 2010, she received an MBE for her services to sport. Remarkably, she achieved this success against significant odds. The British head coach once told her she was not big or strong enough to excel in kayaking. She proved him wrong. At the peak of her career, Anna was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Medical experts told her she might never race again. Undeterred, she battled through to full recovery. She ultimately won three more world titles and competed in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Since retiring from competitive sports, Anna has become an inspirational speaker, an accredited performance coach, and the founder of Beyond the Barriers. This high-performance training consultancy delivers programs on resilience, leadership, and high-performing teams.
Anna combines her elite sports experience with 14 years of leading a successful business. This gives her a deep understanding of the challenges leaders and teams face. She knows how to overcome obstacles and achieve outstanding results.
In her speeches, Anna shares the thinking, methodology, and techniques that made her a six-time world champion. She shows how these strategies can be applied in the business world. Her insights come alive through entertaining anecdotes from her journey in sports and business.
Anna has delivered impactful speeches in over 25 countries across various industries. She has a proven track record as an inspiring and humble speaker. Leading global brands trust her to inspire their teams, including Amazon, Red Bull, Unilever, Vodafone, Rolls Royce, Roche Pharma, Deloitte, and British Airways. Anna helps them achieve more.
