Annabelle Williams
Annabelle has wowed audiences around the world with her extraordinary profile, after winning a gold medal for Australia at the 2012 Paralympic Games, she went on to work as a corporate lawyer, sports commentator, motivational speaker, board director and more.
This is the start of her journey with the COVVI Hand.
Annabelle Williams, OAM is well-known for representing Australia at the 2008 and 2012 Paralympic games, swimming her way to a bronze medal in Bejing and a gold medal in London. Born with a congenital limb deficiency in Sydney, New South Wales, Annabelle studied International Relations and Law at Bond University before travelling the world and eventually being selected to represent her nation at the Commonwealth Games in 2006. In 2014, she was presented with an Order of Australia Medal in 2014 “for service to sport as a Gold Medallist at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.”
Life after sports has been busy for Annabelle, saying “after years as an elite athlete and corporate professional, I now find myself with a new passion: motivational speaking and guiding audiences towards meaningful, personal change. I derive so much joy out of helping others —whether my experience relates on a professional or personal level—and I believe that we all have a greater power within, we just have to learn how to realise it.”
Annabelle has been able to wear many hats over the years: from being an international speaker to a Paralympic gold medalist, five-time world record holder, a corporate lawyer at Allens Linklaters, sports broadcaster, stunt-double for Charlize Theron, and mum to two girls. Her life has been full of excitement and she has loved and cherished every moment of the journey. Here is what she has to say about her experiences so far:
“I feel fortunate to have built a successful corporate career and to have fostered diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging. Building a sense of belonging is at the heart of everything I do. I’ve always found strength in my own determination, but at the same time, I feel my life has been so significantly shaped by the empathy and kindness of others. It’s hard to emphasise how important that is to me. It is such a simple thing, and yet, I would not have accomplished nearly as much without it. In a larger way, I think finding the courage to be kind to others can sometimes be as daunting as finding the courage for our own aspirations. It is something that I’ve always reflected on and threaded through my life as a part of my mission, my passion, and my inspiration to audiences around the world”
