Janine Shepherd, is an Australian author, aerobatics pilot and former cross-country skier. Shepherd's career as an athlete ended when she sustained life-threatening injuries when hit by a truck during a training bike ride, while in contention to win Australia's first ever medal at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

. She survived and her story later became the focus of national attention, as well as a popular telemovie.

Biography

Shepherd had been an athletics champion as a child, and settled on cross-country skiing. After achieving success on the World circuit, she was given the offer of training with the Canadian team in the leadup to the

1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Calgary 1988 were a multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the m ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. In 1986, Shepherd was cycling through the Blue Mountains in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

as part of her training regime, when she was hit by a vehicle, suffering massive injuries. She suffered a broken neck and back, lost five litres of blood, had severe lacerations to her abdominal area. Her right leg was ripped open, her collarbone and five ribs were fractured, and she suffered serious internal injuries, but she survived. She was told that she would be reliant on a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and would never bear children. Over the next few years, Shepherd recovered. While still remaining a partial paraplegic, she was ultimately able to walk again, and has three children. She gained her pilots license within a year of the accident, and went on to gain a commercial pilot's licence, then an instructor's license, eventually becoming a trained aerobatics flying instructor. She also became the first female director of the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's civil aviation. CASA was formed on 6 July 1995 under the ''Civil Aviation Act 1988'' when the Civil ...

. Shepherd has written six books about her experiences. The first, Never Tell Me Never, was made into a successful telemovie, with Shepherd being played by Claudia Karvan. She holds a bachelor's degree in Human Movement and Education, as well as additional qualifications in teaching and counselling. Shepherd was a torchbearer at the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Shepherd took up

dressage Dressage ( or ; , most commonly translated as "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrianism, equestrian sport defined by th ...

in an attempt to represent Australia at the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

. Shepherd is an ambassador for Spinal Cure Australia. She was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in 2001 for her service to the community, her inspiration, and her work in raising awareness of spinal cord research. Shepherd is currently completing a PhD at

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

in Queensland, Australia. Her research focuses on resilience, disability, and positive psychology. In 2025, as part of this research, she introduced the concept of ''Conscious Liminality'', a framework for actively engaging with life transitions as opportunities for transformation.

Books

*''Defiant'' (2016) () *''The Gift of Acceptance'' (2012) () *''On My Own Two Feet'' (2007) () *''Reaching For Stars'' (1998) () *''Dare To Fly'' (1998) () *''Never Tell Me Never'' (1995) ()

References

External links

Janine Shepherd's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Janine 1962 births 20th-century Australian women writers 20th-century Australian writers 21st-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian writers Australian dressage riders Australian women aviators Australian female cross-country skiers Australian memoirists Australian motivational speakers Australian motivational writers Women motivational writers Living people Members of the Order of Australia University of Technology Sydney alumni Australian women memoirists Sportspeople from Sydney 20th-century Australian sportswomen