We sat down with Paraolympian Joany Badenhorst to hear her incredibly inspirational story, having lost her leg as a young girl yet making her way to the top of the Paraolympics just years later.
“When I was 11 years old I was involved in a freak accident and my left leg was ripped off. Living in a rural area as a young female amputee, I struggled fitting in, faced bullying and struggled with finding my place and my role in society. I was constantly looked at and stared at and I hated being the centre of attention for something I thought was so negative”
“I then decided that if people were going to stare, it would be because of something I was proud of. So I worked hard at being the best sports person I knew, so that when people spoke about me it wasn’t because I was legless, but because of my achievements and through that I learnt to love everything that caught attention and made me different.”
Joany has gone on to be a successful Australian athlete, winning herself a gold medal at the Snowboard Cross and carried the Australian flag at the Paralympics in PyeongChang.
Her advice for the young women of Australia is to “Learn to love what makes you different, own it babes! Know that you aren’t alone in your insecurities so be fierce and know that what makes you different – makes you different!”
For the #BETHATGIRL campaign, each person was asked to choose a word that encapsulates them. Joany’s words were “determined” & “sports”.
Raw, real & free of re-touching, we’re here to celebrate Joany’s story.
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