Michael Colin Turtur (born 2 July 1958 in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

) is a former track cyclist and Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

list in the 4000m Team Pursuit at the 1984 Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, with team members Dean Woods, Kevin Nichols and Michael Grenda, coached by Charlie Walsh. Michael Turtur has competed in the Olympic Games and three

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, winning a total of five medals. At the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games, he won two gold medals in the men’s 4000m teams and individual pursuits, and a bronze medal in the 10 mile scratch race. At the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, he was the flag bearer for Australia and won a gold medal in the men’s 4000m team pursuit. Following his cycling career, Mr Turtur went on to share his knowledge and experience by becoming the South Australian Institute of Sport Cycling Coach for five years. From 1993 Michael Turtur was the manager and promoter of the Adelaide Super-Drome located in South Australia’s State Sports Park, which is the headquarters for the highly successful

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

’s Women's and Men's Track Cycling Program. In 2011 he was a State Finalist in the Australian of the Year. Michael Turtur was a television commentator for the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

during its Olympics coverage. In January 2018 Turtur was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AO) for "distinguished service to cycling, particularly through the development and promotion of world-class road cycling events, and to the community of South Australia". There is a cycling path named after Turtur in South Australia, following the Glenelg tram line.

Australian Sports Commission Board

Michael Turtur is on the

Australian Sports Commission The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is the Australian Government commission responsible for supporting and investing in sport in Australia. The Commission incorporates the Australian Institute of Sport. From 2018 to 2022, it was known as S ...

Board with Mr John Wylie AM, Chair, Mr David Gallop (Deputy Chair), Glenys Beauchamp (ex-officio), Alisa Camplin OAM, Sally Carbon OAM, Liz Ellis AM, John Lee, Margaret Osmond, Andrew Plympton, Ken Ryan, and Kyle Vander-Kuyp.

Union Cycliste Internationale

Michael Turtur is on the UCI board on the Management Committee of the

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

. He is also president and chair of the track commission.

Cycling teams

Michael Turtur was Section Manager of the 1994 Victoria, Canada, Commonwealth Games Cycling Team, the 1995 World Championships, and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

Tour Down Under

From the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

's inception in 1999 by Michael Turtur, he has been its internationally recognized Race Director. Turtur officially handed over the reins of Race Director to Stuart O'Grady at the end of 2020 race.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turtur, Michael 1958 births Living people Australian male cyclists Australian track cyclists Olympic cyclists for Australia Cyclists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Australia Cyclists from Adelaide Olympic medalists in cycling Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Officers of the Order of Australia Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Cyclists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Cyclists at the 1986 Commonwealth Games South Australian Sports Institute coaches Medallists at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in cycling Commonwealth Games gold medallists in cycling