Bradbury, Steven John

BORN OCTOBER 14TH 1973, in Camden New South Wales, his father was the Australian Speed Skating Champion. Affiliated with the Roos Speed Skating Club in Brisbane, he was a skater in Australia’s short-track relay team that won the World Championship in Sydney in 1991 when he was 17, the first world title won by Australia in a major winter sport.

Subsequently selected for the Olympics in Albertville in 1992, he was eliminated in the semi-finals. Two years later, in Lillehammer, he was considered a medal contender in the individual events, but he was hampered by crashing opponents and did not reach a final. However, he did win Australia’s first ever winter medal — a bronze in the 5000m relay.

A year later, he was involved in the first of two career-threatening accidents. In a crash in Montreal a rival’s skates sliced through his right thigh, requiring 111 stitches and 18 months recovery time. In 2000, in Sydney, he crashed into a barrier during training and broke his neck; he was told he would never skate again. He had been among the world’s best 8 years prior, but he was considered in the twilight of his career by the time he made it through to the Salt Lake City 1000m final. Strategically factoring the likelihood of an accident, he skated behind the front runners and the plan paid off. His four rivals all collided and he skated alone past the finish line to be dubbed “the Accidental Hero”.

The win left him with conflicting emotions, but he eventually accepted it as a reward for 12 long years of toil. It was the first ever gold medal won by an Australian at the Winter Olympics, and also the end of a career which had embraced four Olympics, an earlier bronze medal, much sacrifice, and some horrific injuries. "Obviously I wasn't the fastest skater. I don't think I'll take the medal as the minute-and-a-half of the race I actually won. I'll take it as the last decade of the hard slog I put in."

After the Games he began a career as a motivational speaker and a television commentator for Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics. He published his autobiography, Last Man Standing, in 2005. "Doing a Bradbury" has entered the Australian lexicon as the epitome of an unlikely success against all odds. In 2002, he was awarded the Don Award by Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Named after Sir Donald Bradman, it recognises the sporting achievement of the year which has inspired the people of Australia. In 2007, he was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his Olympic gold medal win and inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was a Director of the Olympic Winter Institute.