 Gallagher was the first Australian woman to win a medal at the Winter Paralympics , and Australia 's second female Winter Paralympian . She was given the opportunity to compete at the highest levels in skiing after being identified during a talent search and because of her snowboarding experience . As she is blind , she competes with a guide with Eric Bickerton being her first guide . She is coached by Steve Graham , who also coached Michael Milton and is the current head coach of the Australian Institute of Sport 's Winter Paralympic program . Her Australian training base is at the Victorian Institute of Sport 's training centre located at Lakeside Stadium in South Melbourne . While actively training six days a week , her individual training sessions will last between two and three hours each a total of ten to twelve sessions by the end of the week . 
