One year after winning her historic gold medal at the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Kelly Gallagher has returned to where she had her first ever ski lesson – in Andorra.
The visit coincided with her appointment as ‘Visit Andorra Ambassador’, to promote the country as a year-round activity and sporting destination in the UK market. Andorra has lined up some big events over the next 18 months including hosting the Mountain Bike World Championships this summer, the finals of the Women’s Skiing World Cup next February and three days of the Tour de France in summer 2016.
At the age of 17, Kelly, who is visually impaired, tried skiing during a stop off while driving through Andorra en route to Barcelona with her family. They booked a spontaneous ski lesson in the resort of Soldeu in the Andorran ski area of Grandvalira.
Just over ten years later, Kelly was crowned Great Britain’s first ever Winter Paralympics gold medal winner, coming first in the visually impaired Super-G competition. She was then shortlisted for Sports Personality of the Year in 2014 and awarded an MBE in October 2014, along with her sighted guide, Charlotte Evans.
During her return to ‘the Country of the Pyrenees’, Kelly joined instructors from Grandvalira ski school for a tour of the Pyrenees’ largest ski area, as well as those from the ski region of Vallnord, which has one of Europe’s most advanced adaptive snowsports schools.
“Having started my skiing career in Andorra, it’s been great to come back to where it all began and ski on the same pistes where I tried the sport for the first time 12 years ago. It’s a real privilege to now work with the tourist board to promote the country to the UK market as both a winter and summer activity destination. I’m really looking forward to spending more time in the mountains, skiing, as well as trying lots of other outdoor sports,” said Kelly.
With the 2014/2015 competition season now complete, Kelly is looking ahead to next season, when preparations for the Winter Paralympic Games 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea will be the focus.
