When Anna Yau was just 3 years old, her family heard the word no parent wants to hear — never. Born with tethered cord syndrome and facing spine surgery the day before her third birthday, her parents were told she wouldn't play sports.

But Yau's story was never meant to be defined by a diagnosis. Today, the college sophomore from Beaverton, Oregon, has built a whirlwind competitive skating history, gliding through singles, pairs and synchronized skating, earning a Pacific Coast pewter medal and attending a National Development Camp along the way.

On the ice, where strength meets grace, Yau has done more than compete — she has rewritten the narrative that once tried to limit her.

"When I was just over a year old, my legs were weak, and I often fell whenever I tried to walk," Yau said. "My parents took me to doctors when I was 2 and a half, and that's when I was diagnosed with tethered cord syndrome. I ended up having surgery. After the surgery, when my family asked the neurosurgeon if I was going to be OK, he mentioned that I had low muscle tone in my legs and I would never be an athlete."

A trip to the ice rink with family friends proved life-changing for Yau, however.

"My mom was hesitant about letting me skate, but she eventually agreed. Even though I didn't move much that first time, I loved being on the ice,"  Yau said. "I asked my mom to sign me up for Learn to Skate USA classes at the rink, and she agreed because she thought it could strengthen my legs."

Initially, Yau's goal was to learn the basics of moving across the ice and getting up on her own so she could skate during public sessions.

"But once I learned there were higher levels, I wanted to keep progressing," Yau said.

Private lessons were added, and Yau's coach even suggested some local competitions.

"We decided to try it, and I ended up enjoying it, " Yau said. "For me, competition was a good way to motivate myself to continue improving."

After skating and competing recreationally for a few years, Yau's skating career reached a turning point.

"My primary coach made the decision to move her coaching base from Winterhawks Ice Center in Sherwood to Winterhawks Ice Center in Beaverton," Yau said. "I was one of the skaters who followed her to the Beaverton location. When we switched rinks, I had access to a higher level of training structure, which influenced me to become more serious with competing."

In Beaverton, in addition to her primary coach, Yau met two more coaches who joined her team: a choreographer and a skating skills coach. She was also exposed to a broader range of supplementary training, including strength and conditioning classes, stretching sessions, hip-hop, ballet, gyrotonics and structured on- and off-ice classes.

"Before I knew it, I had begun training in a way that reflected more serious competition intent," Yau said. "Before I arrived at the Beaverton rink, I had already started working on landing my single Axel, and I kept working on it. Within a year, I already landed all the way up to my double Lutz. From then on, I kept working on my jump consistency and landing my doubles clean."

She also joined a newly formed synchronized skating team at her rink, a positive experience that introduced a different dynamic than her singles training. But equally fun. It also got her through the COVID shutdown.

"Off-ice classes continued in modified formats. For synchro, we used the time to study the rules, required elements and technical structures of the disciplines," Yau said.

When skating resumed, another coach suggested that Yau try out for pairs. Although others were trying out, Yau was chosen, and she and her partner successfully competed in a few competitions and eventually learned they qualified for the National Development Camp that year in Nashville, Tennessee. Ultimately, however, her partner had to cancel attending the camp due to academic conflicts, and their partnership ended.

In the meantime, another male skater was visiting the area. Yau's coach reached out to the National Development Committee to see if he could attend as Yau's camp partner, and they agreed.

"Our preparation period was approximately two weeks, and we had a short amount of time to work on a lot of things," Yau said. "We were complete strangers to each other and had to work on everything, lifts, side-by-side elements, death spirals, throws. We even trained through the holidays, and we used as much ice time as possible to prepare," Yau said.

Prepare they did. The camp was a huge success and a lot of fun.

"One of my favorite classes was the acrobatics class, and my partner and I won two $15 Starbucks gift cards on the last day because we had a jump consistency drill, and the team that was the most consistent won the cards," Yau said.

When Yau returned home, she also returned to singles. She competed in Excel, joined a newly formed adult synchronized skating team, and, in her senior year of high school, competed in all three NQS competitions to qualify for sectionals.

"At sectionals, my short program went well, but during the warm-up for the free skate, I fell twice attempting the double Lutz combination," Yau said. "Before competing, I reminded myself of a lesson I learned from skating: to trust so I can trust my skating. I learned this lesson by building confidence by trying to land as many of my jumps in practice, so I wouldn't have to worry about my abilities in competition. I ended up skating a clean free skate and achieved my season-best combined score."

Yau decided to leave singles competition on a high note. She skated a bit more with her synchronized skating team, competed in synchro sectionals, and is now in her second year at the University of Oregon, where she is a journalism major. She also began coaching.

"I'd decided to coach because I wanted to share my passion for skating with others as well as the lessons that I learned from my skating career," Yau said.

Yau coaches at the Winterhawks Ice Center in Beaverton during holiday trips back home, helping with ice shows, camps and her coaches' skaters.

"During my journey in skating, I've learned the meaning of hard work and determination, and I also learned to never give up even when things are hard," Yau said.

And remembering why she started skating helps Yau push through the hardest days.

"Because now when I look back at my journey, I'm glad I never gave up when things got hard, because if I gave up, I would not have met the people I know today or experienced the things I have, and I'm grateful for the support of those who surround me."

And the one word to describe her skating experience? Grateful.

"I know my journey wasn't easy, and I know I've had a lot of people help me be the person I am today," Yau said.