Aussie snowboarding champ Joany Badenhorst was just 11 years old when her life changed forever.
She was playing with friends near a tractor on her family’s farm in South Africa when her pants caught in the vehicle’s power take-off shaft.
Her left leg was severed below the knee. What followed was a painful recovery which thankfully was aided by Joany’s talent for sport. Following the 2005 accident, Joany started training for track and field events, but switched to snowboarding after her family moved to Australia in 2009.
Currently working as a high school snow sports coach, Joany, 22, is also a sporting ambassador for orthopedics business Össur and recently advised other amputees on how to get the most out of their movement at their Melbourne clinic.
The Carousel asked Joany a few more questions below about how she manages to stay so positive, and how her preparation for the next Winter Olympics is going.
Tell us about the aftermath of the accident – how did you pick yourself up?
It was incredibly traumatic for me and my family at the time. However now none of us would take it back. I’ve met the best doctors, the most inspirational people, and have had the most incredible experiences as a result. I think it’s been a blessing in disguise and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Have you had tough times though?
Oh yeah. It was such a hard thing to adapt to. I had phantom pains, and I’ve still got severe nerve damage and a hypersensitive leg. I was basically in a wheelchair for two years because I had a lot of medical issues. I suddenly couldn’t go to school anymore because often schools in South Africa aren’t equipped to handle wheelchairs. So it was very isolating, especially as I was hitting puberty which is hard enough. As the years went on I felt more frustrated than sad about losing my leg because I couldn’t figure out how to live my best life with only one leg. Sport really helped to give me a focus.
What does walking with a prosthetic leg feel like?
Initially it’s very difficult and sore, but you get over it. I was very persistent and my family were very patient. When you have an amputation the skin they stretch over is very soft. It isn’t used to being walked on. It’s like trying to walk on your knees all day. You have to learn to use other muscles to move.
What’s it like shoe shopping?
Different! There are certain styles I just can’t wear. The shoe thing was actually one of the most traumatic things for me. Before the accident I had the biggest shoe collection. However I’ve worked around it and can still wear a lot of things. I can even run in high heels!
What’s your favourite pair of shoes?
It sounds really daggy, but I really love my silver flip flops! I tape the shoe to my prosthetic foot – I use sticky tape and sometimes Velcro so it doesn’t fall off. I wear them every day – I adore them!
You only learnt to snowboard when you were 18 years old – did it come naturally to you?
No! Initially I spent more time on my bum than on the board. It took a lot of hard work and pain to get the knack, but my balance is really good so that definitely helped.
You were a medal favourite for the 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympics, but five minutes before competing you injured yourself in training and had to pull out – how did you handle that?
I was really angry at myself for crashing. They gave me painkillers and as soon as I calmed down I immediately made up my mind that from that moment on I’d work as hard as possible to make it to Korea in 2018.
So you must be really excited about Korea – what events will you be competing in?
I am so excited! I’ll be competing in the snowboard cross which I’m ranked number one in the world for, and the banked slalom where I’m ranked fourth. It’s been a really great year for me, and I just can’t wait until 2018.
