In her decade-long career as a ski racer Kelly Gallagher has suffered more than her fair share of injuries. A broken foot, a torn knee, spinal bruising and concussion are on the list. Last year, during training for the World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Italy, a bad landing left her with a dislocated elbow and three fractured ribs. This week she is in Pyeongchang, part of the ParalympicsGB team once again, and ready to fling herself down yet more mountains at 75mph.
“I feel really lucky to be here,” says Gallagher, whose victory in the super-G at Sochi in 2014 is Britain’s only gold medal at the Winter Paralympics, the latest edition of which begins on Friday. “The injury was probably the most significant I’ve had to deal with. Physically I was ready in July, I had full range in my elbow. I was really enjoying the slower disciplines, in slalom and giant slalom. But I had this fear, I suppose. I was carrying around this anxiety and I wasn’t really pushing through it. I’d look at my GPS data and think: ‘Oh, gosh, that’s really slow.’”
Gallagher is visually impaired, the result of oculocutaneous albinism, a rare condition which strips melanin from the hair, skin and eyes. That she would ski at all is a mark of her fortitude. To get back on her feet time and time again, to do so and then win, helps make her exceptional. The 32-year-old from Northern Ireland is modest and winning, not shy of interjecting a celebratory “yay” when she hits upon a matter that excites. And when it comes to the mental blocks she had to push through to recover form, she is also strikingly honest.
“What I was feeling wasn’t actually fear, it was a worry about what would happen if I injured myself again,” she says. “It was about being a burden on people or disappointing them. It was quite a strange thing to realise. Obviously I’d been so poorly when I was hurt that you don’t want to put yourself in that position again. There’s half of you that wants to keep yourself safe. Then there’s the other half that wants to get back to enjoying the speed. Our process now all depends on how much fun we can have.”
The “we” in this instance is Gallagher and her guide Gary Smith, who replaced her long-standing partner Charlotte Evans in 2016, another big change to adapt to. “It’s a different turn-shape and a different size of person to follow,” she says. “He’s not so blond either. There’s less attention from the lads than usual ... No, it’s different but it’s exciting. I think it was hard to get going and you get frustrated because you want to be at the very top immediately. That’s probably been difficult for Gary because there was lots of expectation on us, but actually we’re doing quite well with the relationship we’ve got.”
Gallagher initially missed out on the ParalympicsGB squad and confirmed her place only last month. She joins Menna Fitzpatrick and the 19-year-old Millie Knight in the women’s Alpine skiing team, and Gallagher believes the future is bright. “It just shows how Paralympic sport is developing,” she says. “Instead of having blind people who are maybe taking up skiing in their 30s, we’ve got young kids who have been skiing since they were three. In me, Millie and Menna we’ve got three who are pushing for the podium. Hopefully we can inspire and be role models for younger girls out there thathave a visual impairment. It means that they can get out there and whether it’s painting or music or sport, they just know that they can do it.”
Quick guide ParalympicsGB: five to watch
Millie Knight (Para-skiing) Begins Sat 10 March
Looking to improve on fifth-place finishes in the slalom and giant slalom in Sochi, the partially sighted 19-year-old from Canterbury is the reigning world downhill champion. With her guide Brett Wild, she will compete in five different events at Pyeongchang, a Games she describes as her “ultimate goal”.
James Barnes-Miller (Para-snowboard) Mon 12 March
Born without a right hand and a keen skateboarder and surfer all his life, the 28-year-old from Tunbridge Wells took up snowboarding on holiday in Bulgaria eight years ago and took to the sport “like a duck to water”. Barnes-Miller finished fourth in snowboard cross at last year’s world championships.
Scott Meenagh (Para-Nordic skiing) Sun 11 March
A former paratrooper who lost his legs when he stepped on a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, Meenagh played rugby for Scotland Under-18s before his injury and has tried hockey, kayaking, rowing, water-skiing and climbing since. He took up Para-Nordic skiing in 2016 and is the UK’s first contender in the event for 20 years.
Hugh Nibloe (Wheelchair curling) Sat 10 March
The only debutant in the GB wheelchair curling team, Nibloe was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 12 years ago and turned to wheelchair curling as a way to focus while struggling to cope with his illness. A bronze medallist at last year’s world championships, the 36-year-old lives in Stranraer.
Menna Fitzpatrick (Para-skiing) Sat 10 March
Based in Macclesfield, the Welsh 18-year-old has only 5% vision and became the first British snow sports athlete to win a World Cup title when she triumphed in Aspen two years ago. She will reach speeds of over 100kph on the slopes with her guide, Jennifer Kehoe.
Since Channel 4 began broadcasting the Paralympics in 2012 the Games have widely been credited with changing perception of disability in the UK. Gallagher, who insists coverage is vital if such progress is to continue, says that Paralympians also have a lot to learn from each other. “This sounds really crazy but until a couple of years ago, I could never plait my hair,” she says. “Then I saw a girl plaiting her hair with one arm. I was like, if she can do her hair with one arm, I can. That’s just a simple example of how you can watch somebody and think: ‘They’re doing something incredible with a lot less than I have.’
“On the chairlift today there was another fella with cerebral palsy and he was saying: ‘I really respect you blind skiers.’ So we all inspire each other. Every athlete at the Paralympics has overcome certain challenges and different challenges. You can respect and understand where they’ve come from, there’s a mutual understanding and that’s across the board. I do think it’s a really special atmosphere to be part of.”