| Eric Bickerton | |
| Nationality: | Australian |
| Birth Place: | 24 April 1962 |
| Residence: | Southport, Queensland |
| Country: | Australia |
| Sport: | Para-alpine skiing |
| Event: | Downhill Super-G Giant slalom Slalom |
| Paralympics: | 2010 Winter Paralympics |
Eric Bickerton (born 24 April 1962) is a former member of the Royal Australian Navy who took up skiing in 1990, and has represented the Australian military internationally. In 2008, he became Jessica Gallagher's guide skier for para-alpine skiing. Named to the 2010 Winter Paralympics team for Australia, he and Gallagher earned a bronze medal in the giant slalom event.
Bickerton was born on 24 April 1962,[1] and was a member of the Royal Australian Navy, actively serving in 1990. He retired from the navy in 2000.[1] He represented the Australian military in rugby union.[1] In 2010, he lived in Southport, Queensland. He is self-employed, and leads ski tours around the world as a guide.[1] He is on the board of Disabled Winter Sport Australia, and serves as the National Technical Delegate Commissioner for Ski & Snowboard Australia.[1]
Bickerton is a skier, ski tour guide and para-alpine skiing guide skier.[1] He began skiing in 1990, while serving in the Australian Navy.[1] Representing the Australian military, he finished seventh at the International Military Downhill Championships.[1] Bickerton, Jessica Gallagher's senior by 23 years, became her guide skier in 2008.[1] While skiing, Bickerton communicates through the use of a headset with Gallagher, who is legally blind. In 2009, he guided Gallagher at the 2009 New Zealand Winter Games where she won a gold medal.[1]
Bickerton was named as Gallagher's guide for the Australian 2010 Winter Paralympic team in November 2009.[2] [3] At the January 2010 IPC World Cup, Gallagher won a gold medal with Bickerton acting as her guide, the first medal Gallagher had ever won at an IPC World Cup.[1] At a Rinn-hosted 2010 World Cup, Gallagher won bronze in the slalom,[4] and at the January 2010 IPC World Cup in an Abtenau, Austria, she finished third, also in the slalom.[4]
Bickerton was Gallagher's guide when winning a bronze medal in the slalom event at the 2010 Winter Paralympics,[5] [6] with a combined run time of 2:04.35.[7] Success in the giant slalom eluded them in part because their headsets stopped working.[8]