Richard
Nicholson

With a career spanning four Paralympic Games across two sports, Richard Nicholson is a jack of all trades. First beginning his sporting career in archery, at the request of a high school PE teacher he later trained and competed in mainstream gymnastics, in which he excelled.

After several years, Richard took up powerlifting, where he succeeded both nationally and internationally. He won international medals at European Championships, Commonwealth Games and a silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, where he became the only Australian to bench press over three times his bodyweight.

In 2002, after eight years of powerlifting, Richard took his sporting ability to the track. At the Athens 2004 Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the 4x100m relay and broke the current Australian record. After recovering from a serious crash in the 2004 Canberra Marathon, he competed in New Zealand, Korea, Switzerland and the famous New York marathon in 2007.

With such extensive experience in sport, Richard made personal bests in Beijing and was on track for a medal until the Australian 4x100m relay team was disqualified. He has since continued to compete, winning silver at the 2011 Sydney Marathon, bettering his bronze medal winning effort in the same event in 2010.

An active man with talent in a wide range of sports, away from the track Richard enjoys hand cycling and also spends considerable time with friends, playing his Xbox and watching movies. Richard’s favourite flick is Martin Scorsese crime movie, The Departed.

Richard will continue wheelchair racing until he no longer enjoys it and is set to compete in London at what will be his fifth Paralympic Games.