Janette competed at the Seoul 1988 Paralympic Games.
She trained hard for four years to compete in the Pentathlon. It is a combination of several events: 100m and 400m track run, long jump, shot put, and 100m freestyle swimming.
Sadly, she was informed a week before heading to Seoul that her main event had been cancelled. Instead, she competed in events she was not specialised in. She finished in 4th place in the shot put, and she excelled winning the bronze medal in Para swimming, in the 100m breaststroke C4.
Janette still holds the Discus F56 New Zealand national record that she set in 1992 and the Para swimming 200m breaststroke SB6 since 1996.
Janette remembers the lack of medical supplies at the Paralympic Games back in those days and said that hygiene measures in a foreign country were key to performing at her best. She also acknowledges the important fundraising efforts that the team undertook to be able to travel to South Korea and compete.
Janette’s health has declined a lot since then and it has been complicated for her to keep being active. Janette lives in Whangarei and she is working as a carer for her dad, travelling 3 days a week to Kerikeri to support him.
PNZ met with Janette in July 2020 when she officially received her ‘numbered’ Paralympic pin as part of The Celebration Project.
