Bradley Wiggins Press Conference – 2012 Tour de France
SYDNEY, July 24, 2012 (AFP) – The aunt of Tour de France winner Bradley
Wiggins says she hopes the publicity surrounding his victory will spur fresh
information about the mystery death of his Australian father in 2008.
Wiggins’ father Gary was a professional track cyclist for Australia in the
1970s and 1980s, moving to Britain, where he met Bradley’s English mother.
But he abandoned them and moved back to Australia, where he earned a
reputation as a hard drinker.
He died four years ago aged 55 after being found unconscious in a street in
the Hunter Valley north of Sydney with head injuries after being thrown out of
a party.
Homicide detectives investigated, but a coroner delivered an open finding,
saying Gary died after being assaulted but it was unclear whether the head
injury that killed him happened during the assault.
Gary’s Australian sister, Glenda Hughes, who lives in Victoria state, told
reporters she had not given up finding a definitive answer to what happened.
“I’m hoping that all this publicity might just stir something up in
somebody,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
“I’m hoping that what Bradley is doing will stir something in someone to
come forward and tell us what happened.”
Detective Sergeant Nicky Hardy, of Hunter Valley police, said the
investigation into the death had been suspended.
“All avenues were investigated at the time,” she said.
Wiggins’ win at the Tour de France on Sunday has been hailed as one of
Britain’s greatest sporting achievements and the 32-year-old is now targeting
gold at the London Olympics.
Asked during this year’s race if he thought his father would appreciate
seeing his exploits if he could, Wiggins replied: “I don’t know really.
Depends if he was sober… I’ve put that one to bed.”
