ANNA
HEMMINGS MBE

Anna Hemmings is Britain’s most successful female marathon kayaker with a staggering eleven World and European Championship medals, 9 of them gold.

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By the age of 24, Anna had been World Champion 3 times and competed at the Olympic Games. In 2010 she was awarded an MBE for her services to sport.

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She achieved this success against all the odds…

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She was told by the British head coach that she was not big enough or strong enough to be a great kayaker. She proved him wrong. At the peak of her career, Anna was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was told by medical experts she might never race again.  She battled her way to full recovery and went on to win a further 3 world titles and compete at her second Olympic Games in Beijing 2008. 

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High Performance Specialist

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Since retiring from sport Anna has become recognised as a specialist in the field of resilience and the psychology of high performance. She is now a leading inspirational speaker, an accredited High Performance and Leadership Coach and founded Beyond the Barriers high-performance training consultancy.

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Anna’s unique combination of experience in elite sport combined with 13 years leading a successful business and working alongside senior leaders, gives her a broad understanding of the challenges that leaders and teams face and how to overcome them to deliver outstanding results. Through her inspiring speeches, she helps leaders and teams to develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours to deliver exceptional performance. She reveals the thinking, methodology and techniques she used to become a 6 time world champion and how these strategies can be applied directly to the business world. 

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Whether it's developing the winning mindset, engaging teams or building resilient leaders, she is passionate about helping others succeed at the highest level.

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Anna’s sporting achievements were recognised at the Sunday Times Sports Woman of the Year Awards, where she won the 2005 Champions Award and then again in 2007 when she was voted BBC London Sports Personality of the Year.