Dr Janet Gray MBE

Dr Janet Gray MBE is a world class athlete and four-time winner of the World Disabled Water Ski Championships, and Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year. She was introduced to water-skiing after losing her sight, aged 21 from a rare form of glaucoma. In 1997 she was selected by the Irish Water Ski Federation to compete for the European Disabled Water Ski Championships, and she later competed in the World Disabled Ski Championships, where she set the record for water skiing across three disciplines. In 2004, while training in Florida, Janet was severely injured during a water-ski accident that left her unable to walk. Through grit and resilience, she got back in the water – not only did she win a gold medal with the British Water Ski team, but she also regained all her previous titles at the World Disabled Water Ski Championships in Australia, 2007. Dr Janet Gray founded and is currently President of Disability Sports NI, and an Ambassador for Concern Worldwide. She received an MBE in 2002 and was made Freeman of the City of Lisburn in 2009.

This archive contains two t-shirts belonging to Janet Gray: one from her time in the British Water Ski team, and one presented on her conferment to Freeman of Lisburn City. In addition to this donation, Dr Gray donated a copy of her biography, Blind Ambition, which is available to view in the Autographed Collection at the Linen Hall Library.