Kelly Gallagher’s dream of Paralympic gold in Sochi is in sight. But even though she cannot see it, she’s not giving in.
Kelly Gallagher is a visually impaired ski racer and is pushing all boundaries as she heads for Sochi in March. Nothing can stop her now – not even the fact that she’ll be speeding down a mountain at 65mph without being able to see a single thing.
“It’s basically like a bright light is shone in my eye all the time”, she told BBC Sport. Nothing scares this 27-year-old.
Gallagher, from Northern Ireland, is set to be GB’s biggest hope in winning our first Paralympic Gold.
But this is not a one-man show. Visually impaired racers are always guided by a fully sighted skier. This makes this Paralympic sport a test of companionship, loyalty, trust and strength – Especially as Kelly is competing in every discipline: Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super- G, Downhill and Combined.
Kelly and her new guide, Charlotte Evans, started training together in 2010, and it was a match made in alpine heaven. They won six World Championship medals (the best any British skier has ever done) and gained a gold medal at Europa Cup Finals 2011 in La Molina, Spain, to match. Winning two further medals at the IPC World Skiing Championships 2013 has put her in good stead to pick up gold for Britain in a few months.
Kelly shows that fear only exists if you let it and learns from her mistakes. It’s a test for both skiers because they have to work as a team and avoid any crashes. The guide has to be able to turn around when at high speed and work with the skier.
But it’s not all about the medals for Kelly. She wants to be seen as a role model for partially-sighted skiers of all ages, and she certainly is.
What can we learn from Kelly? To first of all forget our boundaries because they don’t physically exist. They only manifest in the mind and delude you into thinking they are of importance. Go beyond what’s expected and show courage, strength and willpower in any sport that you do. Although Kelly is far less fortunate than a lot of people, she uses her ‘biological weakness’ and changes it into her strength. Is your weakness that you don’t have the perfect body for your sport or are put down by competition around you? Let your weaknesses motivate you and show the ultimate strength.
Edited by Caroline Chan