By Becca McMahon, Emerson College

Meet Paralympic bronze medalist and Adaptive Sports New England Coach Anna Johannes.  Anna is headed to Dallas December 6-8 for the 2019 U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championship with our Paralympic Sport Club Boston swim team. She is supporting six Boston-area athletes who will be up against Para swimmers from across the country and up against the clock  – each striving to set qualifying seed times for the 2020 U.S. Paralympic Team Trials that will be held this June in Minneapolis.

We had the privilege of meeting Anna at this fall’s Para Sports Day as she shared heart-warming moments from coaching for ASNE and gave us a sneak peak of her impressive swimming career. Anna brought her contagious positive attitude and Paralympic medal with her, which had many children in awe. From the pool to community events, Anna has been with Adaptive Sports New England since its inception as a swim coach for the youth team. She has also taken her 5-year long involvement with ASNE a step further by becoming a board member last year.

Anna has been swimming her entire life and her love for the sport has only grown stronger over the years.

“I moved out to the Olympic training center when I was 17 to train for the games,” she said. Anna competed in the London 2012 games and won a bronze medal in the 4×100 Medley relay.

After her success in London, Anna continued to train and planned on competing again in 2016 in Rio. However, soon before the games, she suffered a last minute injury and had to get surgery. This setback stopped Anna from competing in Rio and she decided to retire.

“Now that I’m retired, I am trying to give back and do as much as I can for kids who have disabilities. I want these upcoming athletes to have more advantages than I had growing up.”