Speed skater Steven Bradbury created history in Salt Lake City in 2002 when he became the first Australian to win a Winter Olympic gold medal and he is coming to Walcha to speak about his little known story in the lead up to his gold medal win and since.
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A story of the true Aussie battler whose drive, passion, determination and ultimately, his will to succeed has seen him overcome all kinds of adversity to achieve.
Walcha Council Community Connect, Library and Tourism will host the event at the Walcha Bowling Club on August 27.
Steven says he had never heard of Walcha before being contacted by Walcha librarian Donna Garrad.
“I do however love going places I’ve never been to before and feel as though I have a good connection with people from rural areas,” he said.
“As a speed skater from Brisbane I wasn’t exactly in the centre of the speed skating universe and I often felt isolated.”
Steven’s remarkable and unlikely victory was achieved after a spectacular final-lap spill took out his four rivals, however his gold medal win was not entirely as fortuitous as many would believe, half the battle is staying on your blades and Steven did just that.
Dubbed the luckiest gold medallist, Steven won fans all over the world for the honesty and humility he showed after the win. He saw his victory as a reward not for one race, but for a decade of hard slog that has included more than his share of misfortune.
When he was at his peak, an average day consisted of 2.5 hours training morning and afternoon, six days a week.
“I did this for 12 years to suddenly become an overnight success,” Steven laughed.
“My training days were all and nothing, meaning I was operating at high intensity or resting. I don’t like to go through the motions in life. I like to do things full on and then stop completely, then back to full on.”
Steven says that unfortunately his life today isn’t like that too often anymore.
“Bringing up children and everyday life is not Olympic sized,” he said.
“I can be the master at getting my kids to eat their breakfast, brush their teeth, get dressed, put sunscreen on, brush hair, pack school lunches, get in the car and get to school.
“But even if I am the master I don’t get a trophy. The rewards however are there; I sometimes just have to look a little harder for them.”
Steven says his biggest enjoyment of the sport was the speed.
“My father got me into speed skating when I was 13 years old,” Steven said.
“He could see I had the potential to be a champion speed skater and he forced me to go running and cycling with him to get me fit,” he said.
