Janae De Gannes is a delightful young lady from Petit Valley who loves to laugh at everything. But don’t be fooled by her pleasant demeanour. Janae is a fierce competitor that pours her passion into her sport.

Besides her demanding track and field training schedule, she is very involved in sports at Bishop Anstey High School – St Hilary’s, where she is known by her classmates as one of the best goal scorers in football.

Janae’s journey in track and field started at the tender age of six in Tobago, where she grew up. Her aunt noticed her consistent restless energy and encouraged her to participate in track and field competitions. Janae also grew up seeing her older sister competing in sports events regularly.

Janae De Gannes has made the national team five times. At the recent National Association of Athletics Administrations of Trinidad and Tobago (NAAATT) Track and Field Series #5 meet, Janae clocked a personal best 12.13 seconds for ninth spot on the 2021 world performance list for under-16 athletes. In the long jump, De Gannes produced a 6.06 metres leap. It was a new T&T under-16 record, bettering her own 5.69m standard. The big 6.06 jump propelled her into second on the 2021 world under-16 list, behind Australian Delta Amidzovski, the global leader at 6.25m.

Janae admires the grit and determination of Jamaican sprint great Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and her future goal is to make the Olympic team. Janae says she is very grateful for the support of her parents, family and coaches and cannot wait to one day make Trinidad and Tobago proud and bring home the Gold Medals.