KELLY GALLAGHER
About Kelly
Sport : Paralympic Skiing
Social : @Kellygallagher
Kelly discovered her love for skiing on a trip to Andorra when she was 17 and in August 2009, she made her international debut at the Winter Games in New Zealand. The following year she was selected for the British team and made her Paralympic debut in Vancouver, making her one of Northern Ireland’s first athletes to compete in the Winter Paralympics.
Kelly has oculocutaneous albinism and is visually impaired meaning she competes with a sighted guide, Charlotte Evans, England.
Kelly said: “At the Paralympics you see so many people with interesting stories and you realise how everyone has their own unique story. So disability isn’t really separate, there aren’t able bodied and disabled people – it’s just that everyone’s experiencing life in a different way.”
SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS
- Silver and bronze medals in the 2011 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Sestriere, Italy, becoming the first British athlete to secure a medal at that level 2011
- Gold medal in the New Zealand Winter Games 2009
- Won Britain’s first ever Winter Paralympic gold medal during Sochi Winter Olympics 2014
- Kelly and her guide, Charlotte, have won medals in all disciplines in both Europa Cup and World Cup competitions, and they have won two bronze medals at last year’s World Championships in La Molina, Spain