Alexandra Viney had reason to believe her sporting dreams were over, until someone saw an opportunity in her disability, rather than a problem.
At age 18, Al survived a high-speed car accident caused by a drunk driver. The lasting impairments to her left elbow, forearm, and hand led the promising young rower to take a step back from the sport she loved.
She couldn’t stay away entirely. Al channelled her passion for sport into a career; graduating with a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science from Deakin University and working as a sport scientist and strength and conditioning coach.
In May 2018, through a chance conversation on a football field, everything changed. Al was asked whether she had considered becoming a Para-athlete.
“It was in that moment that it kind of occurred that there is a place for me in sport, and I can be the athlete that I’ve always wanted to be,” Al said.
In November that year she sat in a boat for the first time since her accident and rekindled her chance at her sporting dream.
Al was selected for the Australian Para-Rowing Team in the PR3 mixed coxed four in February 2019. That May, she made her international debut at the Gavirate International Para Regatta, placing second in the PR3 four. She then placed fourth in at the 2019 Rowing World Championships in Austria, qualifying a place for Australia for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
At Tokyo, Al competed with crew-mates Nikki Ayers, Tom Birtwistle, James Talbot and coxswain Renae Domaschenz in the PR3 mixed coxed four. They finished in fourth place with a time of 7:34.73.
Al broke the podium ceiling at the 2022 World Championships, where she secured a silver medal in the PR3 women’s pair alongside teammate Alex Vuillermin, along with fourth place once again in the mixed coxed four.
At the Paris Paralympics, the Aussie boat qualified for the final with a time of 6:55.46 in the repechage – their best international time to date. They went on to place fifth in the final with a time of 7:14.78.
Outside of her training, Al is studying for a Master of Business (sports management) and operates her own small business. She is a vocal advocate for mental health, women in sport and members of the LGBTQ+ community with disabilities. Whether as an athlete, advocate, mentor or otherwise, Al sees herself involved in sport for many years to come.
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