Medal hope Gallagher spoiled for choice

Sep 28, 2017 - 5:33 PM Jess Gallagher admits it was gutting to turn her back on what would have been her third Winter Paralympics next year.

The first Australian to win medals at both summer and winter Paralympics, Gallagher has grown accustomed to doing both and doing them well.

But with just one month between South Korea's winter showpiece and Gold Coast's Commonwealth Games next April, Gallagher had to choose.

The lure of potential gold on home soil was the dealmaker, Gallagher entering as the tandem sprint cycling world champion and flying 200m world record holder.

"I was hoping the Commonwealth Games would be later, so it was a challenging decision but easy now I think about it," the 31-year-old told AAP.

"It boiled down to the opportunity to achieve something new, and to do it at home in a major championship."

Cycling is Gallagher's third sporting reinvention since being diagnosed with a rare eye disease in high school that lead to her being classified as legally blind.

A talented netball and basketball player as a kid, the Geelong product turned her efforts to downhill ski slalom, long jump and javelin on the advice of talent scouts.

Gallagher won bronze in two Winter Paralympics and more bronze at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships, before being pushed into cycling when her long jump event was cut from the Paralympic program.

It was another bronze, this time in the women's 1km cycling time trial at Rio's 2016 Games, that set her apart from any other Australian athlete.

Gallagher says her long list of achievements, and the setbacks that surrounded them, have taken a toll.

"It's tough; body shape, physique, diet and everything changes," she said of the transition between sports.

"And it's incredibly difficult, if you look at how few people in the world have done it - I think only three or so others - it shows that.

"I've just always tried to turn negatives into positives."

Source: AAP