Gary Wiggins

Background

Wiggins was born in Yallourn, Victoria, Australia in 1952, the younger child, and only son of Roy Wiggins and his wife.

Career

Wiggins represented Australia several times at world track championships. Wiggins married as a teenager and had a daughter, but left his family and Australia for the United Kingdom in 1974. He raced as an amateur for Archer Road Club in west London.

Bradley was born there in 1980.

He raced on the Continent for nine years. During this period he partied hard and had a reputation as a supplier of amphetamines to other riders.

With Tony Doyle, he rode the Six Day circuit in Europe, in 1985 winning the Bremen Six Day in 1985. He was also successful on the European Kermesse circuit including in 1981 beating Lucien van Impe at Eeklo in Belgium.

Wiggins retired from professional cycling and returned permanently to Australia after a crash in Copenhagen in January 1987.

Wiggins worked as a housepainter in Muswellbrook in later years. He remarried and had a second daughter, but this marriage also failed. He struggled with alcohol and drug issues.

In his autobiography, Bradley Wiggins described a visit as a teenager with his father prior to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, recalling that that "Most of his days would consist of buying a couple of crates of VBs.. and steadily drinking himself into a stupor."

On 25 January 2008, Wiggins was found unconscious at 7 a.m., in Segenhoe Street, Aberdeen, New South Wales.

He was taken to Muswellbrook Hospital nearby before being airlifted to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales, where he died. The coroner"s inquest found that the evening before Wiggins had attended a party at a house in Aberdeen, but soon had fought with the man who lived at the house.

He had been thrown to the ground several times and ejected from the party. After some time, he got to his feet and walked away unsteadily, before collapsing less than a mile away.

The inquest determined that the cause of death had been a heavy blow to the back of the head

An open verdict on the cause of death was returned, due to lack of evidence: it was not possible to determine whether the head trauma had been received during the fight at the party, or if Wiggins had hit his head in falling. However, the coroner did find that two witnesses, including the party"s host, had lied during the inquest. Another witness exercised his right not to give evidence.

Wiggins" sister has continued to publicly question the verdict and has requested that the police investigation be reopened.

Achievements

• His son is the British cyclist, four-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins. The young Wiggins showed ability in cycling, and participated in cycling competitions around Victoria and Australia, becoming the National Junior Track champion. He was national champion in the 1 km time trial, and the 4000m team pursuit as part of the Victoria state team He had a surge of speed at the end of races, which won sprint finishes. The same year he won the European Madison championship also with Doyle. In Australia in 1985, Wiggins won the Melbourne Cup on Wheels and a 1000-kilometre road race in Western Australia. In the wake of Bradley Wiggins" Tour de France win, she renewed her calls for witnesses to Wiggins" last hours to come forward with more information.