The 24-year-old won the bronze medal in the women’s vision-impaired slalom in Vancouver after just 150 days of skiing experience in her life.

"It’s very satisfying, we put in so much hard work to achieve this goal," said Gallagher, of her thrill of medalling with her sighted guide Eric 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 it’s very exciting to actually have it come true."

She took up skiing only after her athletics career was placed on hold following the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Having earned selection in the Australian team in the 100 metres, discus and shot put, Gallagher was ruled out the day before the Opening Ceremony after Paralympic classifiers declared her right eye was 0.1 of a degree too sighted to compete at the Games.

Gallagher, who suffers from cone dystrophy, meaning her sight is continuing to deteriorate, switched to the slopes as a result of the Australian Paralympic Committee's (APC)  talent transfer initiative identified, which alpine skiing as the ideal sport for Gallagher to refocus her athletic ability.

She soon earned a place in the Australian Paralympic Winter Squad and after winning a gold medal at her first international event, the 2009 New Zealand Winter Games, she broke through for an IPC World Cup medal in January 2010. A

Gallagher now wants to qualify for London in the javelin.

At the recent Australian Championships in Perth, Gallagher finished third in the javelin with a throw of 29.79 metres.

"I’ve got a lot of options which is a great thing. I’ll see how I go in London," she said.

"There are some goals in the Summer Games that I want to achieve.

"A strong performance at the Athletics World Championships early next year [in Christchurch] is my first major goal.

"I’ve got plenty of time to train in the lead-up to London which is great.

"I’ll be solidly fit and strong which means I should be ready to perform to my best in London and ultimately win gold."

Gallagher then hopes to turn her attention back to skiing after London.

"I haven’t made any definite plans for the next Winter Games, but I love skiing and would love to be in Sochi in 2014," she said.