Legendary Australian Paralympian making history
With an inspirational story about becoming Australia’s greatest Paralympian, Dr Jessica Gallagher’s story is one of ambition and perseverance that is sure to motivate any audience.
As a result of a rare degenerative eye disease, Jessica faced the harsh realisation that she could no longer pursue her dreams of being a professional netballer at 17.
Determined to not let this control her life, Jessica discovered the Paralympics by pure chance at 21 as an opportunity to continue her sporting ambitions. Excelling in both athletics and skiing, Jessica is a force to be reckoned with in both summer and winter.
Her career began with a rocky start after being banned at the Beijing Paralympics for having better eyesight than her competitors, but Jessica’s resilience shone through as she continued to train regardless.
It wouldn’t be until the Canadian Paralympics in 2010 where she became Australia’s first female winter Paralympic medallist, followed by a second bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Paralympics.
Jessica would go on to make sporting history in the 2016 Rio Paralympics as the first Australian athlete to medal at both summer and winter games, even scoring a bronze in the 1km Time Trial.
Since then, Jessica continues to inspire with an added two gold medals at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the Women’s Tandem Sprint and Women’s Time Trial for track cycling. Jess also competed in the 2022 World Rowing Championships in the Czech Republic, showing her incredible sporting prowess no matter the discipline.
Off the field, Jessica works closely with professional athletes and sporting teams as a certified osteopath, and works with Vision 2020 Australia as a global ambassador and board director. Jessica is also an ambassador for Disabled WinterSport Australia and Vision Australia.
An inspiring athlete that has overcome plenty of hardship, Jessica shares her story to educate Australian business on the importance of building trust, seizing opportunities, and improving performance by anticipating better results.