Hall of Fame: Steven Bradbury

ACCIDENTAL hero Steven Bradbury's unexpected victory at the 2002 Winter Olympics saw him make history and enter the Aussie vernacular.

Steven Bradbury

LANGUISHING at the back of the field entering the final bend of the 1000m short track final at the Salt Lake City Olympics in 2002, accidental hero Steven Bradbury snatched victory when four skaters spectacularly crashed in a last corner pile-up.

Everything fell into place for the four-time Olympian as he managed to avoid the chaos and sail unopposed through the finish line, recording the nation’s first Winter Olympic gold medal.

Bradbury’s bizarre come-from-behind gold medal triumph in 2002 has propelled him into Aussie vernacular - to do a Bradbury or be ‘Bradburied’ is to unexpectedly achieve success.

After convincingly winning his heat, the Sydney-raised speed skater was allocated to a dreaded quarter-final draw against the event’s likely quinella – USA’s Apolo Anton Ohno and world champion Marc Gagnon, of Canada.

With the top two placegetters advancing to the next round, Bradbury, who finished third, was elevated to the semi-finals after Gagnon was later disqualified for interfering with a rival racer.

Bradbury, the event’s second oldest participant, was much slower than his competitors, so he developed a cunning strategy with national coach Ann Zhang to tail the field in hope of a spill.

In similar circumstances to his gold medal triumph, Bradbury scraped through to the final after two riders collapsed.

In Lillehammer in 1994, Bradbury was part of the short track relay that won bronze – Australia’s first Winter Olympic medal.

The folk hero, 39, was a member of the speed skating relay team that won the World Championship relay in 1991, won bronze in 1993 and silver in 1994.

Steven Bradbury won 'The Don' Award in 2002 and entered the Sport Australian Hall of Fame in 2007.

Australia’s most prestigious sporting awards ceremony, The Sport Australia Hall of Fame “Australian Spirit” Annual Induction and Awards Gala Dinner returns for its 29th edition on Thursday, 10 October 2013 at Crown Palladium.

Seven of the nation’s greatest champions will be inducted into the coveted Sport Australia Hall of Fame, joining 518 Members who represent the pinnacle of 200 years of sporting excellence including Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AO MBE, Betty Cuthbert AM MBE, Rod Laver MBE, Ted Whitten, Wally Lewis AM, John Eales AM, Mick Doohan AM, Greg Norman AC, Catherine Freeman OAM, John Coates AC and Bruce McAvaney OAM.

Presented by Etihad Airways, The Sport Australia Hall of Fame “Australian Spirit” Annual Induction and Awards Gala Dinner will also see the elevation of one Member to Legend status becoming the “35th Legend of Australian Sport”.

The dinner will also celebrate the athlete whose achievements have most inspired the nation through his or her example in the past 12 months via the presentation of the esteemed “The Don” Award, which is named after inaugural inductee and Legend Sir Donald Bradman AC.