Melissa Perrine, Rae Anderson and Kate McLoughlin: Meet the women of Australia’s 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympics team

While Australia's Winter Paralympics campaign is in full swing, some of the athletes have had to wait a while to hit the slopes.

The only two women para-athletes on the team, Melissa Perrine and Rae Anderson, will compete in the slalom and giant slalom later this week.

And alongside chef de mission Kate McLoughlin, the female core of the Australian team is small but mighty.

Para-alpine skier Melissa Perrine is competing in her fourth Paralympics, in the vision-impaired category.

The 34-year-old is the co-captain of the team alongside para-snowboarder Ben Tudhope, and she carried the Australian flag at the opening ceremony.

«It's so satisfying to be here,» Perrine told ABC's Summer Grandstand program.

«I never expected my career to run this long to start off with, and then [after] all the challenges that the team has faced over this past quad with COVID, we're here and we finally get to perform at this event that we've been looking forward to and dreaming of for the past four years.»

Perrine started skiing as a young teen when she was invited to a recreational ski camp.

«It was the old cliche: First run down, you're hooked for life,» she said.

She has been competing internationally since 2009 and still has the same enthusiasm for the sport.

«It's the most indescribable joy and freedom that I have ever had,» Perrine said.

«It's just breathtaking. There's nothing quite like it on the face of the planet.

»I've jumped out of planes, I've done a lot of high-adrenaline stuff in my life, and this still beats it. A good ski run still beats anything else."

Perrine won two bronze medals in PyeongChang, but she has a new guide this time around, Bobbi Kelly, who is making her Paralympic debut.

«Basically, all the time that I spend on snow, I spend