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Tributes paid to Olympic TT rider Gary Dighton, who has died at age of 46

Dorset-based cyclist who rode for GB at Barcelona Games in 1992 is believed to have taken his own life

Tributes have been paid to Gary Dighton, who rode for Great Britain at the 1992 Olympics and has died at the age of 46 after reportedly taking his own life.

Dighton, who lived near Wareham, Dorset, rode as part of the Great Britain quartet in the team time trial at Barcelona, the last time it was an Olympic event, the four riders finishing in 14th place.

He gave up cycling in 1998 but returned to the sport with Poole Wheelers a decade later, and was a popular figure on the Dorset and south west time trialling scene.

He is said to have battled with depression in recent years and as news of his death spread over the weekend, many people who knew him posted messages on the Sportsmassagebournemouth.co.uk blog.

Bill Temple of the Primera bike shop in Bournemouth said: “Lovely guy who always came in with a big smile. Super fast on a bike and a genuine great all round person.

“Raced TTs for us and was very professional at all times. He will be missed by lots of people but will never be forgotten.

“Rest in peace Gary."

Les Pick wrote: "Whilst this is one of the saddest days of my life I would like to speak for the immediate family and Gary's closest friends and say how touched we are that so many people remember this special man so fondly and I'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and kind words.

“Perhaps Gary never realised how much we friends all thought of him but I hope that he's looking down on this and is overwhelmed.

“A fierce competitor and nice guy to so many who have paid tribute to him. I'll miss him dishing out pain, I'll miss his dry sense of humour and I'll miss him when he's not looking across a dual carriageway at me, trying to work out how far ahead he was

“Where ever you are mate, I hope you're giving it some good old fashioned RootyToot! It won't be the same here without you."

Paul Sloper said: “Just heard about the sad loss of Gary Dighton, local rider and all round top guy. RIP, thoughts to family and friends from all at Sarum Velo, please pass on our condolences.”

In an interview with the Dorset Echo ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Dighton recalled how conditions for the country’s top cyclists were very different when he rode at Barcelona.

“In 1992, cycling was not as high profile as it is now,” he said. “The sport has certainly come on leaps and bounds, which is great.

The former Royal Mail worker said: “When I was riding in 1992, we were all working full-time so we had to fit our training around a job. It was difficult but we did get special leave.

“Now, the guys are full-time athletes and get all the scientific back up and all that support, which is great. I think that has helped their success.”

He gave up cycling in 1998 but returned to the sport with Poole Wheelers in 2010, and was a popular figure on the Dorset time trialling scene.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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James Warrener | 9 years ago
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Gary was an inspiration to me when I took up this sport.

He was a team-mate of Chris Boardman on Manchester Wheelers and yet his family and he always found time to talk to those making their way in the sport at local events.

I still have the Cycling Weekly article on him entitled "Postman in a hurry from sleepy Whittlesey"... it was a piece on him when he was competing regularly for the BBAR.

He stayed in touch periodically when he had moved away, mainly asking for my best times on the various time trial courses in the West Country before smashing them completely!

RIP Mate, and my thoughts are with Zena and the family.

Cycling has lost a true Gent and a great.

A little more here. http://yaxleyriders.89media.co.uk/news/details.php?news_id=11341

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antonio | 9 years ago
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Rest in peace, so sad.

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