Former Olympic boxer Rick Timperi will be the Australia Day Ambassador for the Mid-Western Region next month.
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Timperi was born in Rome, Italy in 1967, and came to Australia at the age of four with his parents and sister.
Rick started boxing at the age of ten, however it wasn’t until he was 17 that he took the sport seriously.
Since then Rick has competed in over 150 bouts with an 85 per cent success rate.
His competitive nature and will to succeed saw him pursue an illustrious career in boxing with many highlights along the way.
Timperi captained the boxing team at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and won a gold medal in the Oceania Championships and Liverpool Multi Nations England in 1996.
At the Presidents Cup in 1995 he won the Australian Championship (Light Heavyweight 81kg Division). In1994 he was selected as the male representative for the International Olympic Academy in Greece and ranked top ten amateur boxers in the world in1992 and 1996.
From 1990 – 1996 Timperi was the Australian Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion and won two gold, two silver and three bronze medals in international tournaments.
Rick retired after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and grew to a happy 110 kilograms.
The cut off age in boxing was lifted from 32 to 34 in Year 2000.
Due to this factor, Rick was eligible to return to boxing in the year 2000 and proceeded to lose 29 kilograms in three months so he could box in the Light Heavyweight 81kg category.
He won three out of the four elimination fights but unfortunately did not qualify for the 2000 Olympics.
Rick officially retired for the last time following this non-selection.
He was a Specialist commentator for SOCOG and sat ringside at the 2000 Olympics.
By trade, Rick is a fourth generation stonemason.
However, he has also worked in the media, commentating at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and made his acting debut in the acclaimed documentary “The Leaving of Liverpool”.
Rick is also an official Ambassador for the Australia Day Council representing Olympians on the Australia Day Celebrations around Australia and this year will visit Gulgong as part of the festivities on January 26.
The Australia Day celebrations will be held at Anzac Memorial Park, Gulgong, on January 26 from 8am to midday.
