In the latest edition of Express Youth Sports Spotlight (YSS), we feature 16-year-old Janae De Gannes, a promising young athlete from Tobago who is making waves in the world of track and field. Living in the picturesque town of Petit Valley and currently studying at Bishop Anstey High School in Port of Spain, Janae's journey in sports has been nothing short of inspiring.
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00:00 My name is Jandie Gans. I am 16 years old. I am originally from Tobago but I am residing in Pittie Valley.
00:07 I do track and field and I attend Bishop Anstey High School, Port of Spain.
00:27 Training is not as heavy as it is because I am recovering from my injury that I got in Carthage this year.
00:34 I have been off track and field due to exams, CXE exams. So I am now really getting back there and strengthening myself and my body for upcoming games.
00:45 Being an athlete, we get injured at times and thinking back, I got injured in 2017 while representing my country in Trinidad and Tobago at the combine event where I injured my knee.
01:01 They said it was growth spurt and that really took a toll on me because I wanted to make my country proud and I felt like I disappointed my country since I got injured.
01:13 That really got me thinking, why God? Why have me go through this? But everything happened for a reason and I recovered and now I am here.
01:24 Just keep on making teams and I have to give all the glory and honour to Almighty God.
01:29 I started at the age of six. Some of you might know my story where I was in pain and torture in class and my aunt saw me.
01:37 From there on, I never stopped because I see myself being the first ever Trinidad and Tobago female athlete to win three gold medals at the Olympics.
01:48 I came from a background of athletes. My mum was an athlete as well and my dad was an athlete. My sister was a national table tennis athlete as well, Jessica Degans.
01:59 I have a younger brother, Jesse Degans, who is doing football.
02:03 Being an athlete is really difficult to manage school work and track and field. But the support of my family, friends and just going to God, that really is my support.
02:18 Some of the athletes that I look up to are Shelly and Fraser Price. Locally, I look up to Alex Henry and Symphony Patrick.
02:25 They are upcoming athletes and they really push me to my best when we are competing and they are the ones I want to see make it as well to the Olympics.
02:34 Besides track and field, I paint and I watch a lot of YouTube videos and TikTok.
02:41 In the future, I want to continue with my aspirations of becoming a pilot and also I want to break national and international records at track and field.
02:52 I not only inspire young people but inspire people around Trinidad and Tobago at least to continue working hard and pushing themselves beyond their limits.
03:03 I love travelling. I had the opportunity to travel to Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador and I will be going to Costa Rica soon in the next 10 days to represent Trinidad and Tobago.
03:16 I want to thank everyone for viewing my Express YSS interview. I want to see you there to support our local athletes at the Commonwealth Youth Games from August 7th to the 10th.
03:28 Hope to see you there. Bye bye!
03:30 [Music]