Janel Manns
 2012 Australian Paralympic team portrait of Manns | |
| Full name | Janel Manns |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
| Residence | Port Macquarie, New South Wales |
| Born | 28 May 1966 |
| Turned pro | 2006 |
| Plays | Left Handed |
| Singles | |
| Other tournaments | |
| Doubles | |
| Other doubles tournaments | |
| Last updated on: 13 July 2012. | |
Janel Manns (born 28 May 1966) is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. She has been selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in tennis.
Personal
[edit]Manns was born on 28 May 1966[1] and is from Port Macquarie,[1][2] though she has lived in Sydney prior to moving back home.[3] She is left-handed.[1] Following a bathroom accident at the age of thirty-two as a result of not safely crossing a wet floor, she became an incomplete paraplegic.[1] She works for Port Macquarie TAFE as a teacher, temporarily leaving her position in late June 2012 in order to prepare for the London Paralympics.[1][3]
Tennis
[edit]Manns is a wheelchair tennis player.[1][4] She started playing the sport in 2005,[1][3] and debuted with the national team in 2006.[1] Prior to taking up tennis, she played wheelchair basketball.[3] She switched sports because it was easier to find local competitors in Port Macquarie.[3] She was invited to a Melbourne training camp after head tennis coach Greg Crump heard she was switching sports.[3] Crump continues to coach her when she represents Australia.[5] In training, she has competed against able bodied players from her local club.[3]
Manns is a member of Kendall Tennis.[2][4][5] The club attempted to assist in funding some of her travels but had some difficulty in finding potential sponsors.[4] Her regular coach from the club is John Manderson, who also serves on the clubs committee.[2][3]
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Manns won a bronze medal at the 2006 FESPIC Games in Kuala Lumpur, in her first appearance as a member of Australia's national team.[1] She won three golds at the 2007 Arafura Games, in the mixed team, doubles and in the singles events.[1] In 2010, she peaked in the rankings at seventeenth in the world in the singles event.[4] Because of financial problems that prevented her from traveling, she was unable to compete for a while and her ranking fell to sixty-third in the world.[4] In 2011, she played in several tournaments in South America, including competitions in Barranquilla, Santiago, Minas Gerais and Buenos Aires.[4] In Minas Gerais and Buenos Aires, she made the finals in the women's wheelchair singles.[4] In Barranquilla and Santiago, she made the semi-finals in the women's wheelchair singles.[1][4] She won the women's wheelchair doubles event with Argentine partner Andrea Medrano in Santiago and Barranquilla.[1][4] Following these events, she improved her world ranking to number thirty.[1][4] By April 2011, she had been selected as a member of Australia's Shadow Paralympic Squad ahead of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[4]
Manns was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in women's singles and women's doubles wheelchair tennis[3][5] at what will be her first Paralympics.[5][6] Her doubles partner will be Daniela Di Toro.[3][5] Her first match is scheduled to start on 1 September.[6]
References
[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Janel Manns". Australia: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2012. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "Port Macquarie tennis player heads to Paralympics". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "London bound: Janel ready for Paralympic tilt". Port Macquarie News. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Wheelchair tennis star improves her ranking". Camden Haven Courier. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ a b c d e "Manns set for glory". Port Macquarie News. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Best wishes for mid north coast's paralympians". Manning River Times. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
External links
[edit]
- 1966 births
- Living people
- Australian female tennis players
- Australian wheelchair tennis players
- Wheelchair category Paralympic competitors
- Paralympic wheelchair tennis players for Australia
- Wheelchair tennis players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- People with paraplegia
- Tennis players from New South Wales
- FESPIC Games competitors
- 21st-century Australian women
- Sportswomen from New South Wales