SHE’S a Paralympian gold medallist and lawyer, but what interests a lot of people about Bathurst’s Australia Day ambassador Annabelle Williams is her part-time career as a movie stuntwoman.
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Ms Williams, 27, has combined a competitive swimming career with a career in law after graduating from Bond University on the Gold Coast with honours in a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of International Relations in 2013.
Her career took an unexpected turn in 2009, however, when she was approached to work as a stunt double for Hollywood star Charlize Theron.
Ms Williams was studying law at the time and the situation, she said, “was random”.
When she was approached by the film company, she said she assumed the stunt double work would be for some low budget film.
She almost fell over, therefore, when she found out it was for Mad Max: Fury Road.
As the stunt double she learnt Japanese martial arts with a former SAS trainer, and said it was a great experience.
“My swimming coach loved it. I was very fit,” she laughed.
Ms Williams, who has been an Australia Day ambassador for the past four years, said she is no stranger to the region, because her father was a pharmacist in Orange for a spell.
Ms Williams said Australia Day ambassadors are given the option of staying in Sydney or visiting regional or rural areas.
“I always choose rural. I just think it’s an amazing opportunity to see other parts of Australia and connect with the people who live there,” she said.
Ms Williams has represented Australia at the Paralympic Games in Beijing and London, and the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and New Delhi.
Born with no lower left arm due to a congenital limb deficiency, Ms Williams competes in S9 swimming events.
Along with winning a gold medal in the 4x100m medley at London, she has also held world records for her classification in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m butterfly.
When Ms Williams returned from the London Games in 2012 she took up a position as a lawyer in the mergers, acquisitions and intellectual property division of Allens Linklaters before joining the Australian Olympic Committee in August as legal counsel.