Robert McIntyre skiing career began when his parents dropped him into the snow as a very cold and unhappy 4-year-old child. His parents were big skiing fans from their University days and the family built a house at Mt Buller, soon to become the centre of Rob’s life.

Just about ten years later, McIntyre had his breakthrough season when he won the National Junior and Senior Australian Alpine Championships at 15 years of age. That success fired up his training efforts, and much more public recognition came with winning the British Alpine Championships later in the same year.

Under the tutelage of Geoff Henke, who was Chef de Mission of the Australian team at the time, McIntyre made his Olympic debut in 1976, racing the Men’s Downhill. He still recognises Henke, now Chair of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia, as one of the people who were most influential for his career. 

Four years later McIntyre had the honour to bear the Australian flag during the Opening Ceremony of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, USA. He went on to compete in the Slalom and in the Giant Slalom, scoring a 38th place in the GS as best result. 

After his Olympic experience, the highlights of McIntyre career include two top-20 finishes in World Cup Downhill events, of which he is still very proud. He also competed five times in the Hahnenkamm, the Downhill event in Kitzbuehel, Austria, which he considered the hardest, fastest and toughest downhill race on the circuit. 

After his racing career, McIntyre won a NSW Championship in A-Class Catamarans, beating two World Champions in the process. In a different field, winning a National RAIA (Royal Australian Institute of Architects) Award for Architecture significantly contributed to shaping his later life.