Background
Gallagher was born on 14 December 1978 in Scotland.
Gallagher was born on 14 December 1978 in Scotland.
He lives in Melbourne and is a builder by trade. He has Erb"s palsy in his right shoulder, due to an accident at birth. He runs a construction business.
Gallagher is a C5 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 Club, is affiliated with the Victorian Institute of Sport and is coached by Hilton Clarke Sennior.
He first represented Australia in 2005 at the IPC European Championships. His cycling is sponsored by Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), Bianchi, 2XU and Central Saint Martins Cycles.
He was part of the Australian team at the 2005 IPC European Championships, the 2006 and 2007 Para-cycling World Championships, and the 2009, 2011 and 2012 Para-cycling Track World Championships.
I He has also participated in road-racing competitions, including the 2009 Para-cycling Road World Championships and the 2011 Para-cycling Road World Cup in Australia. At the 2012 London Paralympics, he participated in the Men"s Road Race C4–5, Men"s Time Trial C5, Men"s Individual Pursuit C5 and the Mixed Team Sprint C1–5 events – winning a gold medal in the Individual Pursuit C5 and a bronze medal in the Time Trial C5. He broke the world record with a time of 4minutes and 24.057 seconds in the qualifying.
Competing at the 2015 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland, he finished tenth in the Men"s Time Trial C5 and fifth in the Men"s Road Race C5.
Gallagher was named the Victorian Athlete of the Year with a Disability in 2006 and 2007. He was one of the top three finalists for the Australian Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award in 2006 and the Victorian Institute of Sport Award of Excellence in 2007.
In 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010, he was named the Australia Male Para-cyclist of the Year. In 2008, he was one of eighty Australians to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay.
In November 2013, he was named Australia"s Elite Male Para-Cyclist of the Year.
At the 2016 UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships in Montichiari, Italy, he defended his Men"s 4 km Individual Pursuit C5 title by defeating fellow Australian Alistair Donohoe.