Steven Bradbury
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Steven John Bradbury OAM (born 14 October 1973) is an Australian former short-track speed skater and four-time Olympian. He won the 1,000 m event at the
2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...
. He was the first athlete from Australia and also the first from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, and he was also part of the short-track relay team that won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
. The nature of his gold medal win – a relative veteran and rank outsider, he came through from last place in the final straight as the entire field ahead crashed out on the final corner – became iconic of
underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...
success and perseverance at the Olympic Games.


1991 World Championships and 1992 Winter Olympics

In 1991, Bradbury was part of the Australian quartet that won the 5,000 m relay at the World Championships in Sydney. It was Australia's first world championship in a winter sport. Australia's short-track relay team went into the
1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...
as world champions, but the team crashed in the semi-finals.Gordon (1994), p. 426. The Australians were in third place when
Richard Nizielski Richard Nizielski (born 27 July 1968) is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, and in the 1998 Winter Olympics. Early life He was born in Nottingham, Great Britain. He ...
lost his footing; they finished fourth and failed to reach the final.McAvaney, p. 135. Bradbury was unable to help, as he had been named as the reserve for the team and was sitting on the bench. He was not selected for any individual events.''The Compendium'', p. 219.


1994 Winter Olympics

At the
1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...
in Norway, Bradbury was part of the short-track relay team that won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze. They scraped into the four-team final after edging out Japan and New Zealand to finish second in their semi-final.Andrews, p. 251. They adopted a plan of staying on their feet as first priority, and remaining undisqualified and beating at least one of the other three finalists. During the race, the Canadians fell and lost significant time, meaning that Australia would win their first medal if they raced conservatively and avoided a crash. Late in the race, Nizielski was fighting with his American counterpart for track position for the silver medal, but took the safe option and yielded, mindful of the lost opportunity following the crash in Albertville. Thus Bradbury, Nizielski,
Andrew Murtha Andrew Murtha (born 19 October 1965 in Parramatta, New South Wales) is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics and in the 1994 Winter Olympics. In 1991, Murtha was part of the Australian quartet that won ...
and
Kieran Hansen Kieran Hansen (born 16 November 1971, in Sydney) is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, and in the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 1991, Hansen was part of the Australian qu ...
became Australia's first Winter Olympics medallists. Bradbury was also entered in the 500 m and 1,000 m individual events and was the favourite going into the latter. In the first event, Bradbury came second in his heat in a time of 45.43 s and then won his quarterfinal in a time of 44.18 s to qualify for the semifinal. In the semifinal, Bradbury was knocked over by a rival and he limped home fourth, in a time of 1 m 03.51 s and was eliminated. He came fourth in the B final and was classified eighth overall out of 31 competitors.''The Compendium'', p. 221. In the 1,000 m event, Bradbury fell in his heat after being illegally pushed by a competitor who was later disqualified. He came home in 2 m 01.89 s, more than 30 s off the leaders' pace and was eliminated. Nevertheless, because of the high rate of accidents, Bradbury came 24th out of 31 competitors.Smart and Bradbury During a 1994 World Cup event in Montreal, another skater's blade sliced through Bradbury's right thigh after a collision; it cut through to the other side, resulting in him losing four litres of blood. Bradbury's heart rate had been close to 200 bpm at the end of the race and this meant that blood was being pumped out fast. All four of his
quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...
muscles had been sliced through, and Bradbury thought that he would die if he lost consciousness. The injury required 111 stitches and Bradbury could not move the leg for three weeks. His leg needed 18 months before it was back to full strength.Gordon, p. 290.


1998 Winter Olympics

Bradbury, Nizielski and
Kieran Hansen Kieran Hansen (born 16 November 1971, in Sydney) is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, and in the 1998 Winter Olympics. In 1991, Hansen was part of the Australian qu ...
, three of the quartet that won Australia's maiden medal in 1994, returned for the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...
in Japan with new teammate
Richard Goerlitz Richard Goerlitz (born 2 August 1970) is a former Olympic ice speed skater from Australia. Goerlitz represented Australia in short track Speed Skating at both the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics. He came 6th in the 1500m and ...
. There were hopes that they could repeat their Lillehammer performance. However, in their qualifying race, they placed third in a time of 7 m 11.691 s and missed the final by one place, even though they had been two seconds faster than their medal-winning performance of 1994. They completed the course four seconds slower in the B final and came last in the race, and thus last out of eight teams overall.Andrews, p. 314.''The Compendium'', p. 224. Bradbury was again regarded as a medal contender in the individual events, but was impeded in collisions with other racers in both the 500 m and 1,000 m events.Gordon (2003), p. 291. He came third in the heats of both races, posting times of 43.766 s and 1 m 33.108 s in each race. Neither of these times were fast enough to advance him to the quarterfinals and he came 19th and 21st out of 30 competitors respectively. In September 2000, Bradbury broke his neck in a training accident. Another skater fell in front of him and Bradbury tried to jump over him, but instead clipped him and tripped head first into the barriers. As a result, Bradbury fractured his C4 and C5 vertebrae. He spent a month and a half in a
halo brace HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to: Most common meanings * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head * ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021) Arts and en ...
, and needed four pins to be inserted in his skull and screws and plates bolted into his back and chest. Doctors told Bradbury that he would not be able to take to the ice again, but he was determined to reach another Olympics. He wanted redemption after the crashes in the individual races in 1994 and 1998, even though he conceded that he would be past his best in terms of challenging for the medals.


2002 Winter Olympics

Bradbury took an unlikely gold medal win in the men's short-track 1000 metres event at the
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
2002 Winter Olympic Games The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international winter multi-sport event that was he ...
. He won his heat convincingly in the 1,000 m, posting a time of 1:30.956. However, in the quarter-finals, Bradbury was allocated to the same race as
Apolo Anton Ohno Apolo Anton Ohno (; born May 22, 1982) is an American retired short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. Ohno was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fa ...
, the favourite from the host nation, and
Marc Gagnon Marc Gagnon (born May 24, 1975) is a Canadian former short track speed skating, short track speed skater. He is a four-time World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, Overall World Champion for 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1998, and winner of three O ...
of Canada, the defending world champion. Only the top two finishers from each race would proceed to the semifinals. Bradbury finished third in his race and thought himself to be eliminated, but Gagnon was disqualified for obstructing another racer, allowing the Australian to advance to the semi-finals. After consulting his national coach Ann Zhang, Bradbury's strategy from the semi-final onwards was to cruise behind his opponents and hope that they crashed, as he could not match their pace.Gordon (2003), pp. 287–299. His reasoning was that risk-taking by the favourites could cause a collision due to a racing incident, and, if two or more skaters fell, the remaining three would all get medals; additionally, as he was slower than his opponents, trying to challenge them directly would only increase his own chances of becoming part of a crash entanglement. Bradbury said that he was satisfied with his result, and he felt that, as the second-oldest competitor in the field, he was not able to match his opponents in four races on the same night.Gordon (2003), p. 288. In his semi-final race, Bradbury was in last place, well off the pace of the medal favourites. However, defending champion Kim Dong-sung of South Korea, multiple Olympic medallist
Li Jiajun Li Jiajun (; born October 15, 1975, in Changchun, Jilin) is a former Chinese short track speed skater who has won 5 Olympic medals – two silver and three bronze. He was the overall world champion in 1999 and 2001. Biography In 1998 Wint ...
of China, and
Mathieu Turcotte Mathieu Turcotte (born February 8, 1977) is a Canadian former short track speed skater. He was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by are ...
of Canada all crashed, paving the way for Bradbury to take first place and advancing him through to the final. In the final, Bradbury was again well off the pace when all four of his competitors (Ohno, Ahn Hyun-Soo, Li, and Turcotte) crashed out at the final corner while jostling for the gold medal. This allowed Bradbury, who was around 15 m behind with only 50 m to go, to avoid the pile-up and take the victory. Bradbury became the first person from a southern-hemisphere country to win a Winter Olympic event.Gordon (2003), p. 287. After a period of delay, the judges upheld the result and did not order a re-race, confirming Bradbury's victory. In an interview after winning his gold, referring to his two career- and life-threatening accidents, Bradbury said: "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." He also said, "I was the oldest bloke in the field and I knew that, skating four races back to back, I wasn't going to have any petrol left in the tank. So there was no point in getting there and mixing it up because I was going to be in last place anyway. So figuredI might as well stay out of the way and be in last place and hope that some people get tangled up." He later said that he never expected all of his opponents to fall, but added that he felt that the other four racers were under extreme pressure and might have over-attacked and taken too many risks. Bradbury cited the host-nation pressure on Ohno, who was expected to win all four of his events. Li, much like Bradbury himself, had won Olympic medals but was yet to take a gold medal, Turcotte only had one individual event, and Ahn had been the form racer at the Olympics so far. Bradbury felt that none would be willing to settle for less than gold and that, as a result, they might collide. Bradbury had three other events at the 2002 Winter Olympics. In the relay event, the Australians came third in their heat in a time of 7:19.177 and failed to make the final. They came second in the B final and finished sixth out of seven teams.''The Compendium'', p. 226. In the 1,500 m event, Bradbury came third in his heat, before placing fourth in the semi-final and being eliminated. He then came fifth in the B final to finish 10th out of 29 entrants. He was unable to maintain his speed through the competition; after posting a time of 2:22.632 in the heats, Bradbury slowed by three seconds in each of his next two races. In the 500 m event, Bradbury came second in his heat and was eliminated after coming third in his quarter-final. He finished 14th out of 31 overall.


Legacy

The unlikely win turned Bradbury into something of a folk hero. Many newspapers hailed Bradbury and held him as an example of the value of an
underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...
never giving up—regardless of the odds against them. The unusual manner of his victory made news across the world.Gordon (2003), p. 286. However, some unhappy American commentators also made fun of the race and used it to criticise what they perceived as a lack of merit required to win a short-track event. ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' said: "The first winter gold medal in the history of Australia fell out of the sky like a bagged goose. He looked like the tortoise behind four hares",Gordon (2003), p. 289. while the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' said that "multiple crashes that allow the wrong person to win are part of the deal". Bradbury's feat has entered the Australian colloquial
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
in the phrase "doing a Bradbury", meaning an unexpected or unusual success. "Do a Bradbury" has been given the official stamp of recognition when the second edition of the ''
Australian National Dictionary ''The Australian National Dictionary: Australian Words and Their Origins'' is a historical dictionary of Australian English, recording 16,000 words, phrases, and meanings of Australian origin and use. The first edition of the dictionary, edited ...
'' included the phrase along with more than 6,000 new words and phrases in 2016. Bradbury's triumph was celebrated by
Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...
issuing a 45-cent stamp of him, which followed on from it issuing stamps of Australian gold medallists at the
2000 Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
. Bradbury's stamp was issued on 20 February 2002, four days after his victory. He received $20,000 for the use of his image. He said the fee "should get me a car. I haven’t had a car for a long time","Gold medallists get framed stamps"
Australian Olympic Committee The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is the National Olympic Committee responsible for developing, promoting, and protecting the Olympic Movement in Australia. The AOC has the exclusive responsibility for the representation of Australia at ...
25 February 2002.
and later described having a stamp issued as "a great honour". Before the Olympics, Bradbury had needed to borrow $1,000 from his parents to fix his old car to go to training. Bradbury was courted for sponsorship after his triumph and was interviewed on many American television shows. He had previously supported himself by making skating boots in a backyard workshop; his Revolutionary Boot Company supplied Ohno with free boots, and Bradbury had asked Ohno to endorse his boots when he won in Salt Lake City, not thinking that he would defeat the American.Gordon (2003), p. 292.


Retirement

Bradbury retired after the 2002 Olympics. He commentated at the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...
and for the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
and
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
at the
2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
. In 2005, Bradbury was a contestant in the second series of the Australian television show ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. In 2019, he competed in the sixth season of ''
Australian Survivor ''Australian Survivor'' is an Australian adventure reality game show based on the international ''Survivor'' format. Following the premise of other versions of the ''Survivor'' format, the show features a group of contestants, referred to as " ...
''. He was eliminated on Day 12 and finished in 20th place. In March 2022, Bradbury rescued four teenage girls from drowning whilst out surfing with his son Flyn on the Sunshine Coast. For this act, he was awarded with a Commendation for Brave Conduct.


Motor racing career

After retiring from skating, Bradbury participated in competitive motor racing. After placing fourth in the 2005 Australian Grand Prix Celebrity Race, he competed in Queensland state-level
Formula Vee Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford. On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Emerson Fittipaldi ...
championship events in 2006 and 2007, placing sixth in both years. In 2007, he raced in the National Formula Vee Championships at Morgan Park Raceway, placing 15th. In 2009, Bradbury competed in the Australian Mini Challenge at the Tasmanian round and 2010 at Queensland Raceway as their Uber Star. He also made a one-off appearance in the V8 Ute Series at Adelaide in March 2010, driving with regular Ute racer Jason Gomersall on the support program of the 2010 Clipsal 500.


Honours

In recognition of his Olympic medal win, Bradbury was awarded the key to the
City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...
in 2002 and a Medal 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 ...
in 2007. He was also inducted into the
Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...
in that year. In 2009, Bradbury was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. In the 2023 August Bravery Honours List, Bradbury was awarded the
Commendation for Brave Conduct The Commendation for Brave Conduct is a bravery decoration awarded to Australians. It is awarded for an act of bravery that is worthy of recognition. The Commendation for Brave Conduct was created in February 1975. The decorations recognise acts ...
. This recognised his role in rescuing four teenage girls caught in a rip off of King’s Beach in Caloundra, Queensland, in 2022.


References


Sources

* * * * * *


External links


Interview with Bradbury on "The Sports Factor", ABC Radio National, 28 October 2005

IOC Footage of the Gold Medal Race, 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics

"Sure footed champion"

"Bradbury still enjoying the race of his life"

AOC Biography

Ian Houghton talks with Bradbury about victory
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradbury, Steven 1973 births Australian male short-track speed skaters Australian male speed skaters Griffith University alumni Living people Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic gold medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in short-track speed skating Olympic short-track speed skaters for Australia Participants in Australian reality television series Racing drivers from New South Wales Racing drivers from Sydney Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Short-track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Short-track speed skaters at the 1998 Winter Olympics Short-track speed skaters at the 2002 Winter Olympics Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from New South Wales Sportspeople from Logan, Queensland Survivor (franchise) contestants World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists