One year after silver medal in Rio, Bobridges faces drug charges in court
JUST over 12 months to the day since Jack Bobridge stood on the Olympic podium in Rio with a silver medal around his neck, he stood in Perth Magistrates’ Court to face drug charges.
JUST over 12 months to the day since Jack Bobridge stood on the Olympic podium in Rio with a silver medal around his neck, he stood in Perth Magistrates’ Court to face drug charges. How had it come to this?
Bobridge had moved to Perth to set up a business as he embarked on life after cycling which was all he’d known for the best part of 20 years.
Cycling was still in his DNA and he opened the Bobridge Cycle and Fitness Studio in North Perth. He was excited about the future and the gym gave him a focus and a new direction.
“I’m going from being an athlete and being coached to the other side and trying to help other people reach their goals,” Bobridge said in November.
Now he faces the prospect of jail after being charged with two counts of sell and supply a trafficable quantity of MDMA and three counts of sell and supply MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy.
It was Bobridge’s decision to retire from cycling in November at the age of 27, brought on by the pain of living with rheumatoid arthritis, a debilitating condition not overly conducive to elite level sport.
Bobridge felt he had extracted every last drop of energy from his body and after two silver medals from three Olympics, four Commonwealth Games gold medals and four world championships, he could go on no longer.
He was an incredibly gifted athlete, not just in natural talent but in the ability to push himself in a sport where it is essentially about who can hurt themselves the longest.
He still holds the 4km individual pursuit world record and almost broke the hour record as well, and his achievements on the bike are not in question.
But the stability, routine and direction that the sport gave him was only going to last so long.
Life after sport is a reality all athletes must one day face.
They must make real-life decisions that they aren’t always prepared for.
On the surface Bobridge looked ready. A father, business owner and with one of the best track cycling resumes the world has ever seen, he would make for a sought-after coach.
Is this another example of an athlete appearing to lose their way after retiring from sport and disappearing from the public spotlight?
If so, it leads to the question of what level of responsibility - if any - does sport and its organisations have to athletes once the dream is over?
Do they need education and advice or counselling and mental health support?
Or are they human beings, like everyone, else who must make their own decisions and take responsibility for their own actions?
The Australian Olympic Committee and Bobridge’s father Kahl declined to comment on the situation yesterday while Cycling Australia chief executive Nick Green said he was aware of an investigation involving Bobridge and would not make any further comment.
This time last year Bobridge belonged to both CA and the AOC and his professional team Trek Segafredo. He was being told everything from where he needed to be, on what day and for what race, to wear what clothes and to do what job. When that stopped, Bobridge went from professional athlete to normal person like everyone else.
And on Thursday he was released on bail on strict conditions which included a $10,000 surety, a promise not to leave the state and to surrender his passport.
Now his immediate fate will be decided by the courts.