GRIFFITH’S Joany Badenhorst has suffered a shattering end to her Paralympics dream after she seriously injured herself just hours before her first event.
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The vivacious teenager crashed heavily during training on Friday and sustained a severe injury to her left knee, fracturing and dislocating her patella.
While she said she was “OK”, Joany admitted she was heartbroken about the outcome.
She was one of three Australians set to compete in the para-snowboard cross event on Friday.
The 19-year-old former Marian Catholic College student has thrown herself into snowboarding since she first started training last year and was thrilled to make it to the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympic Games.
Last month was a dream come true for Joany when she was named in Australia’s 11-person Sochi team.
While Joany had suffered some initial pain during training caused by her prosthetic leg, a recent change in her custom-made racing leg had the teen hopeful of nabbing a medal in the snowboard cross event.
But it was not to be.
Despite having her Paralympics dream snatched away from her just hours out from her chance to compete, Joany was her trademark positive self as she updated friends on Facebook while in recovery on Saturday.
The inspirational teen even managed a few words of support for her teammates.
“Devastated about today’s outcome for me but so blessed to come out of the crash with only a fractured and dislocated patella,” she wrote.
“I’m out of the hospital and going to the ceremony to cheer on those six amazing riders who took out medals. Congratulations guys! Today you made our sport proud.”
Joany lost her left leg six inches below the knee in a tractor accident on her family’s South African farm when she was just 10 years old.