Whistler weather blow for Paralympians

Bad weather threatens to prevent Australia's top Winter Paralympic medal hopes from getting any practice on the course they'll compete on this weekend.

Fog and heavy snowfall at Whistler meant training for the alpine skiers including leading Australian medal chances Toby Kane and Cameron Rahles-Rabula was called off for a second day in a row on Thursday.

With similar weather forecast for Friday, Australian officials were pessimistic about getting any training in before competition is scheduled to start with the downhill on Saturday.

The Australian team, made up of 14 skiers, recently completed a training camp in Colorado, before competing at a World Cup event.

But with Whistler's notoriously unpredictable conditions, a lack of practice on the slopes could jeopardise their hopes.

Rahles-Rabula is perhaps Australia's strongest medal chance. The 26-year-old below knee amputee is in the prime of his career and won two gold medals at a recent World Cup meet in Austria.

Turin 2006 bronze medallist Toby Kane is not far behind, claiming a silver and two bronze medals in the 2009-10 World Cup season.

The Australian Paralympic Committee has made no secret of the fact that it expects a top ten finish on the medal tally, after finishing 13th at Turin.

The team's two female members, visually impaired skiers Jessica Gallagher and Melissa Perrine, are both considered smokeys to pick up medals.

They have both experienced some highs and lows in sport en route to Vancouver.

Perrine fractured her pelvis in a race fall in January, but staged a remarkable recovery to claim a bronze at Aspen, while Gallagher travelled all the way to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Paralympics only to find she was not deemed visually impaired enough to compete in the long jump and shot putt.

Sports Minister Kate Ellis sent her best wishes to the athletes on Friday, saying she was confident the Paralympians would carry on the good work of their Olympic counterparts, who recently completed their most successful Winter Games with two gold medals and a silver.

"Like all Australians, I watched with great pride as Torah Bright, Lydia Lassila and Dale Begg-Smith won medals at the Winter Olympics," Ellis said.

"I'm sure we'll feel that pride again as our Paralympians hit the snow."