Richard Biggins started skiing at the age of three, at Mt Hotham. By the age of 10 he was already travelling overseas and training in Austria with the Saalbach Ski Club, living with a local family during the European season.

Spending time in Europe and training alongside more developed and experienced skiing talent was crucial to Biggins’ development. Working with Willi Nicka, an Austrian coach from Saalbach who had successfully coached other young skiers onto the world stage, was also key to ensure Biggins’ technical foundation was in place from the very early stages. Biggins' consistency and focus did the rest during the six seasons he spent travelling back and forth between Austria and Mt Hotham, challenging the best skiers in his age group.

Biggins career suffered a major setback when he was involved in a serious motorbike accident at the age of 18. Biggins injuries included fractures in his back, hips and shoulder, and part of his stomach had to be removed as a result of the trauma. Doctors’ initial prognosis was quite pessimistic as Biggins was told he was unlikely to be able to walk properly again, let alone racing or even skiing.

Biggins found some hope working with a team of physiotherapists which included Barry Gavin and Ann Quinn during his rehabilitation. Quinn was also working with Pat Cash and other high-profile athletes at the time, and made Biggins believe that with much work and some luck he might be able to compete again.

Just 18 months after the accident Biggins signalled his return to top-level skiing by finishing as the best placed Australian in the Essington International Slalom held at Guthega, NSW. In a race dominated by young Norwegian talents (including later Olympic medallists Ole-Christian Furuseth and Finn-Christian Jagge) Biggins was once again recognised as one of the best technical skiers Australia had produced in years. Biggins looked up to the Norwegian team at the time, an amazing pool of talents who were of similar age and went on to become legends of the sport. As the Norwegian team welcomed Biggins and teammate Steven Lee to train with them, Biggins got to appreciate how those athletes and their coaches embraced and nurtured relationships with skiers from different countries in a special way.

Biggins’ recovery journey was completed when he achieved qualification for the 1987 Alpine Skiing World Championships in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, despite being the skinniest competitor due his 1985 accident. Biggins had not been able to put much weight on and his growth had stopped due to the trauma, but being able to race competitively again not even two years after the accident was a huge boost to Biggins morale and career ambitions.

After the World Championships, Biggins achieved selection for the Australian team competing at the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics. Representing his Country at the Olympic Games was one of the most special moments of Biggins’ career, who also managed to have his best performances skiing with a broken hand.

After ski racing, Biggins dedicated himself to his family, marrying and raising two beautiful children. He used much of the knowledge he had gained from sport and put it to use to build a career in the media industry. He also sat on the Board of Snow Australia for a few years, supporting the administration with his Sponsorship and Marketing expertise and even commentating at skiing events.