VINEY Alexandra

Classification
PR3 (worldrowing.com, 03 Jun 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (rowingaustralia.com.au, Feb 2019)

Impairment Details
She was involved in a car accident at age 18, which resulted in an impairment to her left elbow, forearm and hand. (rowingaustralia.com.au, Feb 2019)

General
MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES
She struggled with her mental health and experienced post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] as a result of the car accident she was involved in at age 18 that caused her impairment. She says returning to sports helped her to deal with her impairment and mental health struggles. "What the surgeons couldn't save was my mental health from the trauma. I was 18. The next six years of my life were consumed by PTSD, anxiety and depression and on two separate occasions I attempted to take my own life. I was desperately struggling at a time when talking about your mental health was considered a weakness and even labelled attention-seeking. I had lost my identity. I was self-destructive, I lost friendships and withdrew from social situations. By 2018 I had learnt to manage my PTSD and anxiety and I was enjoying life but something was missing. I fell in love with AFLW [women's Australian rules football league] and immersed myself as a coach, manager, strength and conditioning coach and trainer. I wanted these girls to have every opportunity to succeed in their sport that I had always wanted. Then, one cold game day in May [2018], there was a passing comment that changed everything, 'Surely you could be a Para athlete'. In November 2018 I sat in a rowing boat for the first time in eight years." (ais.gov.au, 01 Jan 2020)

BUSINESS OWNER
She serves as the chief executive officer [CEO] of Charlesworth Consulting PTY LTD, a sports consultancy company based in Geelong, VIC, Australia. "I am focused on being the best athlete I can possibly be. To be a successful business women in sport science and also to pave the way for women in sport and those with impairments." (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2020; vis.org.au, Feb 2019)

OCCUPATION
She works as a retail specialist at 2XU, a sports equipment company based in Cremorne, VIC, Australia. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has also studied for a master's degree in sport management, business, sport science and nutrition at Deakin University in Geelong, VIC, Australia. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Mar 2020)