Aussie Perrine wins Paralympic bronze medal

Alpine skier Melissa Perrine has won bronze at the Winter Paralympics in the vision-impaired super-combine, Australia's second medal of the PyeongChang Games.

The 30-year-old sat 5.66 seconds (factored) behind in sixth after the super-G stage of the race but produced a clinical slalom run to shave off the required time to reach the podium.

She finished 3.1 seconds behind gold medal winner Henrieta Farkasova from Slovakia, with silver going to Menna FitzPatrick from Great Britain.

Perrine produced the fastest slalom time (55.32 secs) in the eight-woman field, with three DNFs from the super-G.

She sat in gold medal position for most of the second stage before Farkasova and FitzPatrick overtook her with the last and second-last runs respectively.

Perrine, who has congenital vision-impairments and manages epilepsy, registered fifth placings in the downhill and super-G on the first two days of competition, the latter achieved while battling illness.

She broke through for her first medal at her third Games, following promising results at Vancouver 2010 with a series of DNFs and disqualifications in Sochi four years ago.

"The start of the day I felt about a million times better than I did at the start of the super-G," Perrine said.

"I knew I was in a good place physically and I knew, seeing the course this morning, it was a course suited me a little bit more.

"I was able to put together a good run. I've just been content all day and it's just turned into a bit of elation basically.

"Throughout my career I think I've experienced every high and every low that you can get up until now. And this is a massive high."

She was guided down the Jeongseon Alpine Centre course by sighted guide and coach Christian Geiger, who led alpine skier Jess Gallagher to bronze in the giant slalom in Sochi.

"I'm just incredibly proud of her," Geiger said.

"The other day in super-G, when she was in a really bad place and I was thinking about pulling her.

"Beyond proud of everything she's been through in life and everything she's done and the last four years, how hard she's work.

"Could not be happier."

Perrine's result comes a day after Simon Patmore won gold in the snowboard cross to already ensure the Australian team eclipsed their performance in Sochi where they claimed two bronze medals.

She may not be Australia's only medallist on day four, with standing skier Mitch Gourley in bronze position after his super-G run.

with AAP