Video Shout-Out from Alexandra Viney

Alexandra Viney is a sport scientist & strength & conditioning coach turned Paralympian, who hung up the clipboard, coffee and whistle after discovering her second chance at becoming an elite athlete.... (okay, the coffee was never put down).

Hi there, please call me Al and thank you for spending some time on my profile. I'm going to speak in third person so please bare with me.

Sporting Biography

One of Al's favourite photos from her childhood is of her in the small Tasmanian country town of Deloraine at age 8, holding the Sydney 2000 Olympic Relay torch. A small town girl with big sporting dreams, Al always felt best when she could express herself through sport. 

Basketball, swimming, soccer, tennis and then finally falling in love with rowing, Al had her sights set on taking her sport as far as she possibly could.

At the age of 18, Al survived a high speed car accident at the hands of a drunk driver. The traumatic event changed the course of Al's life, leaving the talented and successful school aged athlete with crushed dreams, a loss of identity and closing doors on opportunities based on her acquired disability.

You may ask, how does Al find herself back home in Melbourne, having just returned home after representing Australia, and placing 4th as the bow seat of the Australian PR3 Mixed Coxed Four (rowing) at the Tokyo Paralympic Games?

A great question, and one Al is happy to explore with you in more detail.

Personal Biography

As a member of the LGBTQI+ community and an elite athlete with a disability, Al has is incredibly happy with where she is in life and has finally found the feeling from her childhood where she can be her most authentic self again. Expressing her identity through sport and being incredibly proud of who she as a person.

Al is a confident, resilient and driven young person, who accepts and manages her ongoing PTSD and high functioning anxiety. As an elite athlete, investing time into looking after her mental health and wellbeing is a part of Al's personal and sporting routine. It is also an area she doesn't shy away from speaking about. 

Al, has worked alongside Lifeline Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) as part of the Community Custodian program which aims to raise awareness for suicide prevention and the importance of ones mental health and wellbeing.

Al believes in pursuing the 1-percenters, appreciating the little things and never taking anything for granted. 

Al hopes that by sharing her story and engaging in conversations she can continue to raise awareness for mental health, women in sport, and opportunities in sport and life for people with impairments and disabilities.

Outside of rowing Al is studying a Master of Business (sport management) at Deakin University and is in the midst of starting up a small business here in Melbourne. 

Al enjoys dabbling in film photography, coffee, cuddles with her golden retriever Charlie and pedalling along Beach Road on her newly customised Liv Cycling road bike.

Rowing Highlights

- Started Para-Rowing in November 2018

- Selected on The Australian National Rowing Team in February 2019

- Silver Medal in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four at the Gavirate Para International Para Regatta. May 2019

- 4th Place in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four at the Rowing World Championships, Austria. August 2019

- National Champion and holder of the Australian National Record in the:

Women's PR3 Pair in 2019, 2020, 2021 

PR3 Mixed Coxed Four 2019 & 2021

- Bow seat of the first Australian PR3 Mixed Coxed Four to ever go under 7-minute mark. March 2021

- Selected in the PR3 Mixed Coxed Four to represent Australia at the Tokyo 2020(one) Paralympic Games. March 2021

- Placing 4th at the Paralympic Games after only 9 days of training together since selection in March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic border restrictions in Australia. September 2021

Please do not hesitate to contact Al directly or through Pickstar for further information and speaking opportunities.

Instagram: @al.viney

Email: al.viney@hotmail.com