Born with spina bifida, Richard Colman has always wanted to do the very best in everything he sets out to achieve. The Geelong athlete who specialises in track events, represented Australia at the 2002 World Championships in France, where he competed in no less than five events, an outstanding effort for his first international competition.

In 2004 at the Athens Games, Richard took home the gold medal for Australia in the T53 800m as well as breaking the Paralympic record and rising to the number one ranking in the world. In Beijing he won a silver medal in the 200m and a bronze medal in the 400m, just 0.6 seconds outside world record time. Although these medals don’t top the gold he won in Athens, competing in front of the huge Beijing crowds was one of the highlights of his sporting career.

Passionate about all sports including AFL, basketball and swimming, Richard is the first wheelchair AFL goal umpire in the Geelong League and is described by friends as strong-willed and positive in everything he undertakes.

Citing his coach Mandy Cole as the most influential person in his career, the OAM recipient has his sights set firmly on London. A mere two months after Beijing, Richard started his training for London and hopes that success at the World Championships in Christchurch will serve as the ultimate stepping stone to glory in 2012.