Australian Olympian fast tracks to Toshiba HQ
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Anna Meares sharing her incredible story at Toshiba Heaquarters in Sydney.
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After completing one of the greatest comebacks in Australian Olympic history, Toshiba invited Australian cyclist Anna Meares to attend the Corporate Toshiba Headquarters in Sydney. There she shared the inspiring and incredible journey of her winning an Olympic silver medal in the women's sprint just months after coming within millimeters of becoming a quadriplegic.
In January 2008, the Queenslander faced a horrific race fall in a World Cup event in Los Angeles that almost killed her in January 2008. Traveling at close to 70 kilometers an hour, she hit the velodrome floor and fractured her vertebrae near the base of her skull. The doctor told Meares's coach Martin Barras that if the fracture in her neck had been just two millimeters deeper, she would have been paralysed from the chin down and on a respirator for the rest of her life. (www.foxsports.com.au)
Upon returning to Australia in a wheelchair, many including Meares, doubted whether she would ever ride again. But she fought her way back and qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Meares won the gold in the women's 500m time trial in Athens but the event was dropped from the Olympic schedule for this year. She also won the bronze in the sprint in Athens. In a sense, she said this medal meant more because "this is the one I've really had to fight for". (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
In a heart felt presentation, there was not a dry eye in the room as she told of her amazing feat and described how emotional her parents were after their daughter won silver in Beijing. Everyone was extremely touched by her amazing story.
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