AJ Jennings

AJ Jennings lived with chronic pain, depression and an addiction to prescription medication for two decades before bravely deciding to amputate her right leg through the knee. She hoped that this would improve her quality of life, and after discovering Para canoe in 2012, she realised just how incredible her new trajectory could be.

AJ made her international debut at the 2014 International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint World Championships in Moscow, Russia, where she won a bronze medal in the women’s kayak LTA. She won her first world title in 2015, and in doing so, all but secured a place on the Australian Paralympic Team for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

In Rio, AJ pushed two-time world champion Anne Dickins (GBR) all the way to a photo finish, to wrap up her first Paralympic campaign with a silver medal.

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, AJ competed in the women’s KL3 event, finishing 8th in the semi-final with a time of 0:53.373.

Following Tokyo, AJ suffered an injury resulting in multiple surgeries and two full hip replacement.  During rehabilitation she still had that fire to compete and went to a come and try day run by Archery Australia and fell in love with the sport.

In my short career since then, AJ has competed at a national and international level for Australia and has her sights set on the Paralympics once more.