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THE Australian medal campaign at the 10th Vancouver Winter Paralympics is up and running with ``birthday girl'' Jessica Gallagher enjoying the country's first podium finish of the 2010 campaign.

In fact, her bronze in the vision-impaired women's slalom, was a first on several fronts.

It is Gallagher's first Winter Paralympics. It is also the first female medal winner in Australian Paralympic history.

All previous 24 medals by Australians in nine Winter Games - since the first in 1976 in Sweden - were won by men.

And it couldn't have come on a better day - Gallagher's 24th birthday (Sunday March 14). She intends celebrating - briefly, before tomorrow's (Monday) giant slalom - with her guide Eric Bickerton (Qld).

The pair only came together last year after the Geelong athlete made the switch from athletics to alpine

.``It's very satisfying, we've sacrificed a lot and put in a lot of hard work," said Gallagher, of her thrill at medalling with Bickerton.

``We haven't been in this sport very long, and the girls we were racing against were very experienced. We've been dreaming about this for a long time, and to have it actually come true is very exciting.''

It will put Gallagher up there in Australian alpine folklore alongside Zali Stegall, who won Australia's first Olympic alpine event - also in slalom - at the 1998 Nagano Games.

Australia's alpine coach in Vancouver, Steve Graham, said Gallagher had only had the experience of seven World Cup events but held her own against gold medallist Sabine Gasteiger (Austria), the silver medallist from this event in Turin, and silver medallist Viviane Forest (Canada), who had years of experience.

``Without a doubt Jess can be a superstar of the technical events in our sport within another 12 months,'' said Graham, already looking forward to the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics.

``It is such a great result. One because Jess hasn't been skiing that long. Two because she and Eric haven't been together that long. Three, we were training her up to compete next Sunday and then they switched the program on us because of the weather.''

The Vancouver organisers have virtually reversed the order of the five alpine events so the slower, more technical events can be run despite snowfalls and mist.

The speed events like Downill, Super-G and Super Combined are now later this week. The Vancouver Paralympics end on Sunday, March 21 (Monday 22nd AEDT).

``So to get that result was excellent for Jess,'' Graham said. ``When we train, I'm a huge believer in that you need to train every day as if the next day you might have to compete in any discipline.

``And it came to the fore today without a doubt.''

Australia's other competitor in the vision-imparied slalom, Melissa Perrine, 22 of Mittagong in the NSW southern highlands, finished the first run in 9th position and impriove one spot to finish 8th overall.

``The course was good. I skied solidly but not the best I ever could. Slalom is definitely not my favourite - I much prefer the speed events,'' Perrine said.

``It gave me a race start which is what I've been wanting. I'm just looking forward to going a bit faster,'' she said, when asked how the slalom set her up for her other events.

Guide Andrew Bor said it had to be remembered that Perrine fractured a small bone in her left pelvis just seven weeks ago at a World Cup event in Italy.

``She did a great job. She dealt with quite a bit of pain down that course,'' he said. ``It's a lot of pressure in slalom all at once, so every turn she gets sharp pain.''

In the only other alpine event today, wheelchair athlete Shannon Dallas (NSW) finished 17th overall in the slalom for sit-skiers.

``The change of (alpine) schedule works in my favour. I'm getting the nerves, loving the racing, and experiencing this finish line with the huge crowd. All those sorts of things are in the back of the mind.

``The future is looking even better now for my next events.''

Source - AOC

tags: olympic, feature, features, jessica, gallagher, paralympics, bronze, medal, slalom

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