After watching footage of New Zealand Paralympian Phillipa Gray win a trifecta of medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games Amanda was inspired to take up Para sport. It was in 2013 that Amanda first decided to try Para cycling and the rest is history. To pursue her dream of becoming a high performance Para athlete Amanda moved to Cambridge.
Amanda has gained her first international experience including a 5th placing at the 2016 UCI Para Cycling Track World Championships in March. This was a key event for Amanda as she rode a new tandem pairing with sighted pilot Hannah van Kampen and produced a personal best.
2016 continued to be a year of success as Amanda and her sighted pilot Hannah were selected to the New Zealand Paralympic Team making her debut at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. In the heat and intensity of the velodrome the pairing produced personal best and two top 6 placings. Amanda was part of the New Zealand Paralympic Team that won a stunning 21 medals across 12 individual medallists in 2016 (9 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze). The Team finished first in the world per capita and 13th in the world overall (previous best: 16th).
Amanda works as an Architectural Technician and has a huge passion for universal design.
Amanda officially received her ‘numbered’ Paralympic pin as part of The Celebration Project in Hamilton in June 2019.
