NATIONAL CAREERS WEEK 2026- Shanaya Soni

Building who you are – not just what you do

National Careers Week is a chance to highlight the diverse ways athletes are developing themselves alongside sport.

During the week we will have several stories that show how our athletes build identity, confidence, and direction through studies they have completed, careers they are working in, communities they are involved in, small steps they are taking and the new interests they are exploring.

Shanaya Soni is a below knee amputee para powerlifter. She decided to participate in the 2026 Run for the Kids.

Why this activity?

There are three motivations that led me to attempt the activity:

1.      To do something for the kids. I was born with a disability, and I wanted to help others born with a medical condition to have a normal life.

2.      My brother is always inspiring me to do something different and challenge myself. I wanted to do something with him because one of the things I thought post amputation was that I would miss out participating in activities with my family and friends.

3.      I wanted to give back to the community. This country has given me so much post my amputation. I was born in India where unless you were financially secure, this kind of support is not available. In Australia, I have been able to access the help and support from organisations like the NDIS, AIS/VIS, Para Powerlifting Australia and the para powerlifting community. It was one way of saying thank you and show that thanks to them, I can do this activity as well.

What did you learn about yourself?

The first thing that came to mind was, oh gosh, it’s running, so I couldn’t do it. But when I looked on the website, I could see it wasn’t just running but you can walk or jog and there was a 5km option as well as the 14km. So I decided that running was not for now, but I can try walking. I had never attempted more than one kilometer walk continuously since my amputation. So I said to myself, let’s try walking and hopefully I can finish.

I think children have the best resilience towards any kind of problem in their life. They show happiness; resilience towards their illness. Although it was heartbreaking to see some of these children, I was able to meet and talk with them, hold their hands and just walk a little with them. I met a group “Run for Monica Cure” who walked with me much of the way. They were saying “you can do it”and “don’t worry, we got you, we’re going to walk with you all the way”. It was great to see a community who were there to help each other.

Looking ahead

I completed the 5k in one hour and 2 minutes. I am going to walk with the “Run for Monica Cure” group again next year because what they do is incredible.

I am looking at doing 8-10,000 steps per day. Not in one go but spread throughout the day. That way I can keep active and it can become part of my day-to-day life. I would like to participate in STEPtember to help raise funds for research into early detection and therapy for babies with cerebral palsy.

I am looking at participating in Hyrox and some adaptive gym.My surgeon told me that my amputation doesn’t mean I can’t do anything, I just have to do things slightly differently.