Emily Rahles-Rahbula (née Jansen) (born 19 December 1977) is a Para-alpine amputee skier from Australia. She competed at the

2006 Winter Paralympics The 2006 Winter Paralympic Games ( it, Giochi paralimpici invernali del 2006), the ninth Paralympic Winter Games, took place in Turin, Italy from 10 to 19 March 2006. These were the first Winter Paralympic Games to be held in Italy. They were ...

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and became Australia's first female Winter Paralympian.

Personal

Emily Jansen was born on 19 December 1977 in

Geelong, Victoria Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, a ...

. Jansen was diagnosed with

osteosarcoma An osteosarcoma (OS) or osteogenic sarcoma (OGS) (or simply bone cancer) is a cancerous tumor in a bone. Specifically, it is an aggressive malignant neoplasm that arises from primitive transformed cells of mesenchymal origin (and thus a sarcoma) a ...

, a rare form of bone cancer in her second year of university in 1997, which resulted in the loss of her right leg above the knee. She has a Chemical Engineering/Science degree from

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and has been employed as a chemical engineer. She married Australian para alpine skier Cameron Rahles-Rabula on 4 December 2010. They have two sons, named Archie and Finn.

Skiing

After her amputation, Jansen took up wheelchair basketball and skiing. Jansen was spotted skiing with her family in

Mount Buller, Victoria Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter d ...

and invited to attend a talent identification camp before joining the Australian Winter Paralympic squad in 2004. She competed as a single above the knee amputee ( LW2). in 2005, Jansen competed for Australia for the first time and won two bronze medals in the giant slalom and super giant slalom in the NorthAm and Europa Cup seasons. She became Australia's first female to compete at the

Winter Paralympics The Winter Paralympic Games is an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete in snow and ice sports. The event includes athletes with mobility impairments, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. Th ...

after being selected on the 2006 Australian Winter Paralympic Team at

Torino, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

. At Torino, she completed in two events - Women's Giant Slalom Standing (21st) and Women's Slalom Standing (did not finish).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahles-Rahbula, Emily 1977 births Alpine skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Australian female alpine skiers Living people Paralympic alpine skiers for Australia Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Amputee category Paralympic competitors