Melissa Perrine

One of just five Australian women ever to compete at a Paralympic Winter Games, Melissa Perrine showed promise on the slopes early in her career, achieving a podium finish with her former sighted guide Andy Bor at the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing NorAm Cup in Winter Park, USA.

Making their Paralympic debut together the following year in Vancouver, Canada, Melissa and Andy did well to place fifth in the women’s Downhill, seventh in the Super-G and eighth in the Slalom, and after winning a slew of medals in the four years between Vancouver and Sochi, they were among Australia’s top medal hopes for the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games.

Unfortunately, Melissa and Andy struck an unbelievable run of bad luck in Sochi. Following a narrow fourth place finish in the Downhill on day one, Melissa was in a medal-winning position in the Super-G before losing control and recording a Did Not Finish (DNF).

Melissa was disqualified in the Super Combined for attaching a visor to her race helmet, and a ski came loose in the Giant Slalom and Slalom to bring her Games campaign to a disappointing close.

At the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada, Melissa found her winning edge, taking home three gold, one silver and one bronze medal, and at the 2017 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup in Hakuba, Japan, she won gold in the Giant Slalom.

Competing at the PyeongChang 2018 Test Event in South Korea later that week, she returned to the IPC World Cup podium, winning bronze in the Downhill and the Super-G despite having taken an extended break from competition during the 2016/17 season to focus on her studies.

Australia’s first female athlete to win an IPC World Championship medal in alpine skiing, Melissa credits her parents’ unwavering support for her success on the slopes. She also admires UFC star Ronda Rousey for creating a space for women in mixed martial arts, and enjoys doing it in her spare time.

When she’s not working with long-time coach and newly appointed sighted guide Christian Geiger to achieve selection for PyeongChang 2018, Melissa is completing a Master of Physiotherapy at Western Sydney University, having already obtained a Bachelor of Exercise Science in 2011 and a Master of Exercise and Sports Science in 2012.

The Welby local’s ultimate sporting goal is to win an IPC World Cup Crystal Globe and Paralympic gold medal.