Snowboarding
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
GRIFFITH Paralympian Joany Badenhorst feels like her snowboarding IQ doubles every time she hits the slopes.
Badenhorst, 20, scored the biggest result of her career when she claimed silver at an International Paralympic Committee World Cup event in the Netherlands last month.
It was a major achievement for the former track athlete, who is still adjusting to life on the snow.
Badenhorst switched to para-snowboarding in the lead up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics after the Australian Paralympic Committee approached her to compete at the Games.
Her development has been rapid from the first time she strapped on a snowboard.
A bad fall only hours before her event prevented Badenhorst competing at Sochi, but the setback hasn't hindered her rise.
Badenhorst, who lost her left leg in a farming accident when she was 10, feels she has plenty of improvement in her.
"I'm on a massively steep learning curve," she said.
"Because this sport is so new, I feel like I'm constantly having to re-learn how to snowboard every day.
n Continued Page 18
"With my skills improving, I have to change my equipment constantly, which also takes time to get the hang of.
"But every single day on and off the snow I improve, so I'm excited to see where I'll be in a couple of months."
If her silver medal at the World Cup is any guide to her potential, it could involve standing on top of a podium.
Badenhorst said competitions were the best training grounds.
"Every minor and major competition teaches me something new about my riding, about the conditions I ride in and something new about my competitors," she said.
"It highlights my different strengths and weaknesses, which gives me an opportunity to work on them.
"With every single event I feel like I add another skill or improvement to my snowboarding in general."
The next major competition for Badenhorst is another IPC World Cup event in Aspen, Colorado in early January.
It's another chance to test herself against the best athletes in her sport - and it's a challenge she's looking forward to.
"It is the first snowboard cross event for the season, so all the different international teams will be there, which means your competing against the very best," Badenhorst said.
"I'm incredibly excited to see the course and see how I go.
"I'm training every day to build up enough strength to be at a competitive level."