Janine Shepherd

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

Janine Shepherd
Born	(1962-01-07) January 7, 1962 (age 63) Dural, New South Wales, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Education	University of Technology, Sydney (BA (Human Movement Studies)) (DipEd (Physical Education)) Current PhD student at Griffith University, QLD Australia
Occupation(s)	Author, public speaker
Known for	Motivational speaker and author
Children	Annabel, Charlotte, Angus
Awards	Member of the Order of Australia (2001) Outstanding Young Persons of the World (1998)
Website	janineshepherd.com

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 in Calgary.^[1] In 1986, Shepherd was cycling through the Blue Mountains in New South Wales as part of her training regime, when she was hit by a vehicle, suffering massive injuries.^[2] 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.^[3]

Over the next few years, Shepherd recovered.^[4] 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.^[3]

Shepherd has written six books about her experiences.[5] 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 in Sydney. Shepherd took up dressage in an attempt to represent Australia at the 2004 Summer Paralympics.^{[citation needed]}

Shepherd is an ambassador for Spinal Cure Australia.^[5] She was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia 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 in Queensland, Australia. Her research focuses on resilience, disability, and positive psychology.^[6] 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.^[7]

Books

• Defiant (2016) (ISBN 978-1622037100)
• The Gift of Acceptance (2012) (ISBN 978-1-74269-560-0)
• On My Own Two Feet (2007) (ISBN 978-1-74166-046-3)
• Reaching For Stars (1998) (ISBN 0-09-183986-6)
• Dare To Fly (1998) (ISBN 0-09-183721-9)
• Never Tell Me Never (1995) (ISBN 0-7251-0747-2)