After suffering a series of heart-breaking fourth place finishes at three previous major championships, shot putter Anna Nicholson could finally shed tears of joy at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

The Cumbria-born but now north-east-based thrower won bronze on a rainy morning at the Stade de France last September at her second Paralympics, and is now hoping to add to her medal tally at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi, India.

Not only will Nicholson be going in her F35 event on Saturday, 4 October, the Gateshead Harrier was also voted as co-captain of the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland team alongside javelin thrower Dan Pembroke – a proud moment for the 30-year-old.

“When I got the phonecall to tell me, I was trying not to cry because it meant so much to be voted by my peers,” she said.

Leading by example ✊

Dan Pembroke and Anna Nicholson have been named as the @_Novuna GB & NI team co-captains for the World Para Athletics Championships 🙌#NovunaGBNI

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) September 24, 2025

“This is my sixth year on the team and my third world championship, so I am starting to feel like a bit of a veteran now.

“It shows how much I am part of the team, and it is an amazing team to be part of.

“My event is always late in the programme so I am used to that, although I’m excited to watch everyone else compete and support them, you can’t wait for it to be your turn.”

Nicholson, who has a Masters degree in chemical engineering, has a busy life combining her athletics with her work as an engineer with car manufacturer Nissan in Sunderland.

After working full-time for a few years, she dropped down to part-time hours ahead of the Paris Games, primarily to manage her rest and recovery time around her cerebral palsy, and the decision proved fruitful as she finished with a best effort of 9.44m, just three centimetres off her personal best set in June 2024.

“Paris was such a breakthrough for me. It had been a long time coming and I felt I had been close for quite a while,” she said.

“In 2019 at my first Worlds in Dubai, fourth was probably as good as a gold because I came in ranked sixth or seventh and threw a PB. Then in 2023 in Paris, I was fighting for bronze and threw a personal best, but was 17cm off a medal.

“After that, I didn’t want to be fourth again so we just wanted to do everything possible to take that step.

“Going from full-time to part-time working has made such an impact to my athletics over the past few seasons that I’m now looking at becoming a full-time athlete to try to see what I can achieve by just concentrating on that.

“As I make that transition, I’ve got lots of other things to fill my time with so I’m not just thinking about athletics and can enjoy my life.

“I think I am a better engineer because I am disabled and have had to problem-solve all my life, but having that break from athletics gives me a chance to have different things to focus on and think about.”

Away from the throwing circle, Nicholson is a keen arts and crafts fan – included in her luggage for India are some cross stitch projects, as well as a vinyl cutter and printer which she uses to design cards, among other things.

As well as coach Richard Kaufman, Nicholson has also worked with the British Athletics sports psychologists in the build-up to India to work on various techniques – from creating a persona when she is in the circle to playing an ‘I Spy-style game in between throws to take her mind off the competition and try to beat the nerves.

And she believes that extra support is continuing to help make the difference to her performances.

This season, she has picked up where she left off in Paris with some solid displays, including a win in the inaugural all-women’s World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Czechia in July.

“In terms of my performance I will be happy executing well and throwing over 9m consistently,” she admits.

“I’d love to come away with a medal, but I know I have some fierce competition.

“The girls who finished behind me in Paris in fourth, fifth and sixth have all stepped it up this year. I can’t change what they do on the day, but I will fight all the way.”

Watch all the action from New Delhi live on https://www.youtube.com/user/ParalympicSportTV