‘Grandma Luge’! Know about luge athlete Anne Abernathy’s career, her positive outlook, and her relaxation techniques!
- Anne Abernathy is an American luge athlete.
- She is a native of the US Virgin Islands and at 53 she is the oldest female athlete to have competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics.
- She has a strong career but has also suffered several setbacks in her life.
So what is it that keeps her positive and up always? We shall go through her unique ways to keep herself in ready form for her game!
Anne Abernathy’s career
Anne Abernathy is one of the top-ranking athletes. She has consistently remained in the top 20 world rankings in her game. She came third in 2004 at the Nations Cup in Austria.
And she also stood third at the Nations Cup in Germany 1 month later. At the competition in Japan, she was 25th in the 37th World Championships held in Japan in 2004.
At the World Cup race in 2001, she suffered a severe brain injury and resorted to alternative medicine to recover. She managed to compete at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
She holds the record of being the oldest female to have competed in the Winter Olympics. Anne has competed with women half her age. She also is the only female to have qualified for the 6 Winter Olympics.
She was the only female over the age of 50 to compete in the Winter Olympic Games. Anne also is the first woman to compete with a camera on board. She is named ‘Grandma Luge’ though she never is a grandma.
Anne Abernathy’s life setbacks
Anne has gone through a lot in her life. But she has managed to overcome all of these with her positive outlook on life.
She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1988 and though she was treated for it, it did keep coming back.
Though it was concealed in the early part of her career, it was made public due to an article in one of the leading newspapers on it.
She has suffered countless injuries during her career. Anne has undergone 12 knee surgeries for it. She also has innumerable broken bones; wrist, scapula, and the like.
She also had a bad brain injury but overcame it all with her determination and hard will. Her home also was destroyed by a hurricane.
She received innumerable messages of support from her fans and that has kept her motivated and humbled, she says.
She once said:
“Cancer changes everything. You put your life on hold. It’s hard to keep a positive outlook. But if you set goals, you’re no longer a victim. You’re seen not as someone with cancer, but someone trying to get well to continue on their quest. Just do it.”
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Her ways of relaxation
Anne does know that her game, health, and life could stress her but she has invented her ways of relaxing and returning to ‘form’.
She says:
“In sport it’s important to not only stay relaxed, but also keep your energy at a high level. It can be done by repeating self-affirming messages such as: “I’ve trained hard, I deserve to be here.” At the same time, shrug your shoulders, then take a deep belly breath and let it out slowly focusing on relaxing your neck and shoulder muscles as you slowly exhale. The rest of the body will automatically follow suit and relax. Complete this routine before an intense activity, or when you’re visualizing kicking butt in the task ahead.”
She continues:
“This last step is the most important part, yet everyone always seems to forget it. You have to let go. I try and follow the same three steps: 1. Do self-affirming message, 2. Shrug, take a deep breath, relax shoulders, and 3. Let go.”
