| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michael Thomas Gallagher | |||||||||
| Nationality | Australia | |||||||||
| Born | 14 December 1978 Scotland, United Kingdom |
|||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||
Michael Thomas Gallagher, OAM [1](born 14 December 1978) is a Paralympic cycling competitor from Australia.
Contents |
Gallagher was born on 14 December 1978 in Scotland. He lives in Melbourne, Victoria and is a builder by trade.[2] One of his heroes is Hilton Clarke Senior.[3] His disability is Erb's palsy in the right shoulder, which is a result of an accident at birth.[3]
Gallagher is an LC1 classified track and road cyclist. He started cycling with a family friend when he was twenty-five years old, and then started taking the sport more seriously. He cycles for Carnegie Caulfield CC, is affiliated with the Victorian Institute of Sport and is coached by Hilton Clarke Snr. He first represented Australia in 2005 at the IPC European Championships. His cycling is sponsored by Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), Bianchi, 2XU and CSM Cycles.[2]
In 2005, he was part of the Australian team at the IPC European Championships in the Netherlands. In 2006, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling World Championships in Switzerland. In 2007, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling World Championships in France. In 2009, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Great Britain. In 2009, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling Road World Championships in Italy. In 2011, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling Track World Championships in Italy. In 2011, he was part of the Australian team at the Para-cycling Road World Cup in Australia.[2]
He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Games in the Men's Individual Road Race LC1-2/CP4 event.[4]
Gallagher was named the Victorian Athlete of the year with a disability in 2006. He was also award the Victorian Institute of Sport coaches award for cycling in 2006. That year, he was also on the top three finalists for the Australian Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. In 2006, 2009 and 2010, he was named the Cycling Australia Male Para-cyclist of the Year. In 2007, he was named the Male Para-cyclist of the Year by Cycling Australia. In 2007, he was also named the Victorian Institute of Sport Athlete of the year with a disability. That year, he was one of the top three finalists for the Victorian Institute of Sport Award of Excellence. In 2008, he was one of eighty Australians to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.[2] In 2009, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia "For service to sport as a gold medallist at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games".[1]