Australia (AUS)

[mtnme]

Borodulina wins top ice racing award19:47 AEST Thu Apr 23 2009




Speed skater Tatiana Borodulina has been named Australia's ice racing athlete of the year.


Dual World Cup-winning short-track speed skater Tatiana Borodulina has been named Australia's ice racing athlete of the year.

The 25-year-old won two 500m World Cup races in Dresden, Germany in February to become the first Australian to win a short track World Cup event.

The Brisbane-based skater also claimed bronze at a meet in Beijing on her way to a No.3 world ranking in the 500m.

Other winners in the annual awards included bobsleigh and skeleton association athlete of the year Emma Lincoln-Smith, ice skating athlete of the year Cheltzie Lee and curling athlete of the year Sean Hall.

[Laura (Lori)]

Congrats to Tatiana Borodulina (I just love saying her name!) - and I love the phrase 'short-tracking immigration requirements'...

Some may not know that Tatiana was part of the Russian ST team in Torino, 2006! Here's a related article:

PM Urged to Fast-Track Russian Skater's Citizenship
Jacquelin Magnay, April 24, 2009

THE Australian Olympic Committee is determined the country should be represented by talented Russian speed skater Tatiana Borodulina at next year's Winter Olympics and will urge the Federal Government to change a law so she can wear the green and gold.

AOC president John Coates will meet Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for Immigration Chris Evans and ask for a change to the Citizenship Act. The AOC wants the Act to include ministerial discretion for "distinguished talent".

For her part, Borodulina is so committed to representing Australia at Vancouver in February next year that she has joined the Australian Army Reserve in an attempt to short-track immigration requirements.

Borodulina, a former European champion and finalist at the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, decided after two years of consideration to relocate from her home town of Omsk in Siberia to Brisbane, leaving behind her parents, younger sister and boyfriend, in an effort to improve her skating under respected coach Ann Zhang.

The 24-year-old arrived in Australia in July 2006 but missed becoming an automatic Australian citizen by just 18 days when the Act changed in 2007, a difficulty compounded by delays getting a Russian security clearance.

"This is a two-pronged approach to getting Tatiana Australian citizenship by the October Olympic qualifying period," AOC director of sport Fiona de Jong said.

"She has joined the Australian Army Reserve because that shortens the citizenship time to six months but we are also seeking to have the Citizenship Act amended to re-establish the consideration for distinguished talent."

De Jong said encouraging athletes, particularly from sports not well known in Australia, had the flow-on effect of creating competition for that event in Australia and a pathway for other Australian athletes.

"Just look at the pole vault, Tatiana Grigorieva became a citizen and won an Olympic medal in 2000 and now we have a pole vault gold medal in Beijing [won by Steve Hooker]," she said.

Borodulina said she joined the Army Reserve on April 18 in a transport unit and was waiting to find out her defence training commitments. "I think it is very good thing to do" she said of joining the army, adding that she wouldn't regret the move if she didn't get the citizenship in time for her to qualify as an Australian.

"I thought it would be easier but, yes, I would still make the same decision," she said.

The Russians, who will host the 2014 Games, have tried to lure back Borodulina with offers of money and an apartment. But she is adamant that the Australian training had taken her to a new level. "I have improved my skating, I am faster and stronger," she said.

[Laura (Lori)]

This does bring up an interesting debate topic:

What if Ho-Suk Lee (or Meng Wang) moved to the U.S. and wanted to be part of our Olympic Team - and our government was moving heaven and earth to 'git-er-done'? (Keeping in mind that one of our favorite US skaters would not get a ticket to Vancouver if that happened...)

Any thoughts?

[mtnme]

NSW wins 2009 Duke Trophy, a prestigious short track speed skating event for a second year in the row.
by Ted Szukalski| July 26th, 2009

www.digital-photo.com.au/2009/07/26/nsw-wins-2009-duke-trophy-a-prestigious-short-track-speed-skating-award-for-a-second-year-in-the-row


Photograph: Lachlan Hay, Jeremy Beck and Noah Essaghir racing in 2009 Duke Trophy speed skating competition _MG_5087
Photographer: Ted Szukalski. ©2006-2009
Click on the photograph to see a bigger version and exposure details.

NSW has won 2009 Duke Trophy by a margin of 88 points, reflecting how close the racing this year was.

Although short track speed skating has given Australia a gold Winter Olympic Games medal courtesy of Steven Bradbury’s historic and very dramatic win in Salt Lake City 2002 the sport rarely features in the news.

However, the sport is well alive with many young skaters coming through the ranks. Short track speed skating calendar features a number of events such as Australian Championships, NSW and QLD Championships, Endurance and Sprint cups and speed skating version of the State of The Origin the Duke Trophy.

This year’s Duke Trophy competition took place at Erina’s Ice Arena with participants from Victoria, Queensland and NSW.
The competition was fierce in all distances and age groups. Seniors tried extra hard as it is the selection time for the Olympics.

Blazingly fast Tatiana Borodulina (QLD) was in close races against Alix-Myra Anderson (NSW). At the same time Marissa Earle (NSW) and Julie Courtier (QLD) have vastly improved their times and are showing real competitive spirit while in younger category Deanna Lockett (QLD) and Mari Deland (NSW) are clearly the stars of the future, with both girls achieving times well beyond their years.

In senior men Lachlan Hay (VIC), Jeremy Beck (QLD) and Noah Essaghir (NSW), who was named most improved skater of the event, provided thrilling, close races, keeping the spectators on the edge every time they stepped on the ice. Elliot Shriane (QLD) and Grant Hester (NSW) staying close to the leading trio.

It is time mainstream media took notice of this sport and its athletes, without having to wait for another “Last Man Standing” medal, as these sportsmen deserve the attention on their merit alone.

[Laura (Lori)]

Jul 26, 2009 10:01:54 GMT -8 mtnme said:

It is time mainstream media took notice of this sport and its athletes, without having to wait for another “Last Man Standing” medal, as these sportsmen deserve the attention on their merit alone.

Amen to that!

[Laura (Lori)]

Our new Tat is an ice queen
By Josh Massoud From: The Daily Telegraph September 01, 2009 12:00AM


Welcome...short track speed skater Tatiana Borodulina, who will represent Australia at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, training at Fox Studios in Sydney. Picture: Alan Pryke Source: The Daily Telegraph

AUSTRALIANS fell in love with a Russian-born pole-vaulter called Tatiana at the Sydney Olympics ... and now they will get to marvel at an athlete with the same name and a similar background at the Vancouver Winter Games from February 12-28.

Short-track speed skater Tatiana Borodulina, 24, was yesterday welcomed to Australia's Olympic family thanks to generous immigration law changes, designed to fast-track more overseas-born athletes into the green and gold.

With her dream of representing Australia at the 2010 Winter Olympics melting beneath red tape, the Russian-born skater was given a late reprieve yesterday when the Federal Government halved the citizenship waiting period for "athletes of distinguished sporting talent".

Borodulina moved Down Under in 2006, but arrived 18 days too late to fulfil the four-year residency requirement for citizenship. Desperate to compete for her adopted country at Vancouver in February, she joined the Australian Army Reserve this year to cut her wait to six months.

But the Rudd Government yesterday came to the aid of Borodulina - and a host of new sporting arrivals training in Australia - by retrospectively slashing the waiting period to two years. She has already passed her citizenship test and will be naturalised in the nick of time once the new legislation is passed later this year.

Her 11th-hour inclusion is a huge boost for Australia's hopes of winning medals for a fifth successive Winter Olympics.

Borodulina was a 1500m finalist at the 2006 Torino Games, while skating for Russia.

Fittingly, she competes in the same discipline that saw last-man-standing Steven Bradbury win Australia's first Winter Olympics gold medal at Salt Lake City in 2002.

Training under respected coach Ann Zhang in Brisbane, Borodulina is a genuine chance to follow 2000 Summer Olympics heroine Grigorieva to the dais for Australia.

She won two World Cup short-track races over 500m in Germany earlier this year and has been wooed by the Russians since leaving her family in the Siberian city of Omsk three years ago.

Chef de Mission of the Australian Winter Olympics Team, Ian Chesterman, said Borodulina would have been left with little option but to represent Russia in Vancouver had the law not been changed.

"The Russians have tried to lure her back to compete for them, but she wants to stay in Australia," Chesterman said.

"This is her new home, I think that joining the army indicates the level of her commitment.

"Tatiana has been competing for Australia for the past couple of years. She won two gold medals and a bronze on the World Cup circuit last northern winter. We are a multicultural nation and there's no reason why Tatiana should not compete for her new country at the Winter Olympics in February."

[Laura (Lori)]

Another similar article, from CTV:

Citizenship Act changes to boost Aussie medal count
By Jennifer Lukas, CTVOlympics.ca Posted Monday, August 31, 2009 10:34 AM ET


Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Thanks to proposed changes to the Australian Citizenship Act, it looks like Russian-born short track speed skater Tatiana Borodulina will be eligible to wear Australia's green and gold colours at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Under the proposal, top athletes will have their citizen applications processed in two years instead of four. Applicants in special circumstances - such as athletes who spend much of their time travelling - will also only need to spend a total of six months in the country while they wait.

The amendments are expected to be introduced into the Federal Parliament as soon as next month, according to the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) website.

Borodulina moved to Australia in 2006 with hopes to represent Australia at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy, but missed the deadline to become an Australian citizen by 18 days.

Now the skater, ranked seventh overall skating for Australia during the 2008-09 season, will be granted a second chance to compete for the country.

"Once the legislation is passed and immediately following Royal Assent, an Australian Citizenship ceremony will be conducted for Tatiana before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games qualification events in November" said AOC Director of Sport Fiona de Jong in a release.

The Chef de Mission of the Australian Winter Olympic Team, Ian Chesterman, also thanked the Federal Government for their support.

"Tatiana has been competing for Australia for the past couple of years. She has won two gold medals and a bronze on the World Cup circuit in the 2008/2009 season" he said.

"She is world class and athletes with her ability lift the standard of all Australian skaters.

"She adds to the talent pool in Australia, and if she does well in Vancouver more young people will be attracted to the sport. Success breeds success across all sports" Chesterman said.

While Borodulina would be the top female short track speed skater for Russia if she did choose to compete for her birth country, she has chosen to compete for Australia for the past two years.

Some athletes, however, have more ambitious reasons of changing nationality. Competitors from athletically strong countries often have difficulty making the national team. If they were able to compete for a country with less depth, these athletes would have a better chance of qualifying for major competitions.

With only two medals earned at the 2006 Olympics, Australia could be a draw for North American and European winter athletes looking to compete on the world stage.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Evans told the Australian Associated press he hoped the changes would lead to more Australian medals, but he added that athletes would also need to show their allegiance to Australia by competing with support from a recognized organization like the AOC.

"All applicants will need to be able to show that despite spending periods of time overseas, their home is in Australia,'' Evans said.

Borodulina herself has competed for Australia since 2006. She joined the Australian Army Reserve and continues to reject approaches from Russian skating officials to return to her home country.

"The Russians have tried to lure her back to compete for them but she wants to stay in Australia, this is her new home, I think that indicates the level of her commitment" Chesterman said.

"Tatiana loves Australia, she is proud to wear the green and gold. She is just one of many athletes who settle in Australia and want to compete for their adopted country. We are a multicultural nation.

"Tatiana represents Australia in World Cup competition and there is no reason why Tatiana should not compete for her new country at the Olympics in February."

[Laura (Lori)]

A nice article about Steven Bradbury - it's interesting to note that he was a FAVORITE for a gold medal in Lillehammer in '94, but he was dogged by bad luck. It makes me happy for his incredible GOOD luck in 2002...

Australia's unlikely skating hero has no regrets
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 | 10:20 am
Canwest News Service

A victory lap was out of the question. Hiding in the corner with a paper bag over his head? Now, there was an option worth considering.

Almost anywhere would have been better than where Steven Bradbury was, standing in plain view, getting serenaded by boos from a pro-American crowd at the Salt Lake Ice Centre.

What happened was not his fault. Bradbury did not wipe out the American favourite, Apolo Anton Ohno, Canadian Mathieu Turcotte, or the rest of the marquee medal threats on the final corner of the men's 1,000-metre short-track speed skating event at the 2002 Winter Games. Hell, Bradbury would have been tangled up in that crash, too, if only he'd had enough left in his legs to keep pace with the leaders.

But he did not. And so there he stood, amid the boos: an Australian tortoise who beat the hares by being so far behind them he was safely out of harm's way...

Read the full article at:

www.kelowna.com/2009/12/08/australias-unlikely-skating-hero-has-no-regrets/

I posted the following photo on Apolo's thread, but I'm copying it here - from WC4, (Marquette) Nov 2009.

Apolo/Bradbury

Photo Credit: Jerry Search

[Laura (Lori)]

www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/speed-skater-swaps-blades-for-khakis-20100113-m6op.html

Speed skater swaps blades for khakis
CHRIS BARRETT / January 13, 2010



Tatiana Borodulina (L) of Australia skates to win the ladies 500 metre final race at ISU World Cup Short Track event in Dresden, Germany in Feburary last year. Photo: REUTERS/Petr Josek

Athletes make extraordinary sacrifices to get themselves on the starting line at an Olympic Games, but few go as far as to join their adopted country's armed forces to secure their ticket.

That is exactly what Tatiana Borodulina, considered to be one of Australia's best medal hopes at the Winter Games next month, did in her desperation to wear the green and gold in Vancouver.

The 25-year-old speed skater, originally from the Siberian town of Omsk but now based in Sunnybank Hills, was at the centre of high-powered discussions between the Australian Olympic Committee and the Federal Government last year, as she attempted to be awarded citizenship in time for the Olympics.

She was ultimately given the green light in October after Immigration Minister Chris Evans announced changes to the Citizenship Act, which cut residency requirements from four to two years for outstanding residency candidates, including "athletes of distinguished sporting ability".

Having lived in the country since 2006, the legislative amendments smoothed the avenue towards naturalisation for Borodulina.

But only a few months earlier, her presence in an Australian spray jacket in Vancouver had been anything but assured.

Back then, she was wearing khaki.

With the old regulations in place, and desperate to represent her adopted country at the sport's pinnacle, Borodulina joined the Australian Army Reserve last April.

She committed to complete six months aggregate service, or 130 days, that would cancel out the then-four year residency requirement in her citizenship application.

Included was a month-long stint at the Army's training facility at Kapooka near Wagga Wagga in June and July, where Borodulina was put through her paces like any other recruit.

It was a rewarding experience, she said, but had unfortunate implications on her Olympic training.

"I met some good people there. I made some friends... [and] I like shooting a lot," said Borodulina from Calgary, where she is finalising her Games preparations.

"It was four weeks of basic training. We shot a gun, learned how to use the radios and other exercises and movements. They teach you how to survive.

"I actually enjoyed it but I probably would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't Olympic season because I had to miss one month of training.

"When I got back I wasn't that fit. I almost had to start from the beginning."

Borodulina was prepared to further inhibit her pre-Olympic training by attempting to compile the necessary 130 days of service in time to apply for citizenship before the Games, but was spared by the government's tweaks to the Act.

Had the government not intervened, Borodulina's dreams of Olympic gold may have been shattered anyway.

She would have been physically equipped to hike up a mountain but her preparedness to skate round an ice rink at Olympic pace after so much missed training would have been in question.

"It was a factor for her preparation for Olympic qualification [in November]," said national coach Ann Zhang, who trains Borodulina at Boondall.

"It was one month she did not go forward. She went backward. When she came back [from Kapooka] she had lost five kilograms."

Zhang said her pupil, a finalist for Russia in the 1500m at the Torino Olympics in 2006 and a dual winner in the 500m on the 2008/09 World Cup circuit representing Australia, had worked hard on her conditioning since then and would be "at 95 per cent" physical capacity by the Olympics, which begin on February 12.

She will race in all three women's speed skating events - the 500m, 1000m and 1500m - and is considered Australia's best hope for another appearance on the medal dais at the track, eight years after Steve Bradbury's famous and bizarre victory.

"My best distance at the Olympics is going to be the 500," Borodulina said.

"But I'm pretty happy I'm qualified at all three distances so I'll have more chances."

Whatever the case, joining the Reserves hasn't proved a waste of time for this new Australian.

Borodulina sees a future in the defence force after her skating career winds up and continues to serve with the Army Reserve in Brisbane on Tuesday nights.

First things first, though - on her immediate agenda is a rifle-like focus on gold in Vancouver.

[mtnme]

The Luckiest Aussie; Eight years on, Steven Bradbury's gold medal is still inspiring his countrymen

Thursday, January 28th, 2010 | 2:00 am

www.kelowna.com/2010/01/28/the-luckiest-aussie-eight-years-on-steven-bradburys-gold-medal-is-still-inspiring-his-countrymen/

Canwest News Service

A victory lap was out of the question. Hiding in the corner with a paper bag over his head? Now, there was an option worth considering. Almost anywhere would have been better than where Steven Bradbury was, standing in plain view, getting bombarded by boos from a pro-American crowd at the Salt Lake Ice Centre.

What happened was not his fault. Bradbury was an innocent man. He did not wipe out the American favourite, Apolo Anton Ohno, the Canadian Mathieu Turcotte, and the rest of the marquee medal threats on the final corner of the men's 1,000-metre short-track speed skating event at the 2002 Winter Games. Heck, Bradbury would have been tangled up in the crash, too, if only he'd had enough left in his legs to keep pace with the leaders.

But he did not. And so there he stood amid the boos: an Australian tortoise who beat all the hares by being so far behind them he was safely out of harm's way.

"I was about 15 metres down when I saw the Chinese guy fall and I thought that moves me up to fourth, which isn't really any better than fifth, and then from out of the corner of my eye I saw the rest of them go down," Bradbury says from his home in Brisbane. "All I had to do was glide across the finish line. I didn't know if I should put my arms up and celebrate, or go somewhere and hide. I wasn't really sure what the appropriate response was."

Nearly eight years have passed since Bradbury's awkward moment of Olympic triumph. The first Australian to win a gold medal at the Winter Games has been featured on a stamp; has been awarded the Order of Australia; has appeared as a contestant on the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars; raced high performance cars; built a successful career as a motivational speaker; and watched his name enter the popular lexicon of his nation.

To an Australian, "doing a Bradbury," means achieving an accidental success. Or in other words: being the luckiest Aussie on Earth at a singular point in time. Bradbury has his own definition for the term.

"I understand the way I won the gold medal was extremely lucky," he says. "But I think the expression means the underdog getting one up, and triumphing over adversity."

And that is just the thing: The 36-year-old was not always an underdog. Bradbury did not always need to get lucky to win. He was a favourite to capture a gold at Lillehammer in 1994, but a shove by a competitor in the preliminary heats sent his medal hopes sprawling. "I didn't even make it on TV," he says. "That was a real kick in the gut."

His next batch of bad luck arrived the following year at a World Cup event in Montreal where his thigh was cut to ribbons by a skate in a horrific crash. Bradbury nearly bled to death on the ice and spent three weeks in a Montreal hospital.

Bad luck came knocking again at Nagano in 1998. Bradbury was sick and skated miserably when it mattered. Eighteen months before Salt Lake, he broke his neck in a training accident. By the time Bradbury landed in Utah, he had a PhD in adversity.

"I didn't care where I finished in Salt Lake," he says. "I was a couple years past the best of my ability and I just wanted to skate my best at an Olympics."

So that is what he did. Not in the final. Not in the race the world remembers. But in the quarter-finals, in a dash Bradbury will never forget. His ageing legs jumped to life. His lungs worked. Everything came together. It was perfect.

"I skated as well as I could possibly skate and finished second in the quarter-finals," Bradbury says. "And it hit me: all those years of setting the goal to skate my best at the Olympics, and I had just done it."

But his Olympics were not over. Bradbury sensed he would be outgunned in the semis, so he tracked the leaders from the back of the pack. Sure enough, down they went on the last corner, except for Bradbury and the first-place finisher, who was later disqualified. The wily old Australian veteran was in the final.

Bradbury's strategy in the gold-medal race was the same: stay out the way, and wait and see. What he saw was a major pileup that cleared his path to a gold medal and a pro-American crowd that was not too happy to see him get it. Bradbury did not hide in a corner afterwards. He headed to the dressing room, mid-serenade, where Ohno and Turcotte congratulated him. Their blessing drowned out the booing.

These days Bradbury's gold medal resides in his carry-on luggage. It changed his life, and is a mainstay prop in his motivational talks where an unlikely Olympic champion tells Australian audiences exactly what "doing a Bradbury" means to him.

"I got a little bit lucky in the semis and a lot lucky in the finals," Bradbury says. "But maybe if there was a list of people out there who had built up karma points over the years, and deserved to have something freakishly lucky happen to them, maybe I must have been pretty close to the top of the list."

[e-mail]

[Laura (Lori)]

Nice find by Michelle on the IT blog - I don't have a clue who Julia is, but it's always great to hear news about Steven Bradbury!

therockerfund.wordpress.com

+++

Tags: Steven Bradbury / Short Track Speedskating

Julia Gillard's done a 'Steven Bradbury'
Katrina Jones | June 28th, 2010

www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/06/28/232901_gold-coast-lead-story.html

[image]http://i370.photobucket.com/albums/oo144/rocker-u/Australians/b279aa7f.jpg[/image]

STEVEN Bradbury and Julia Gillard have something in common.

They both claimed victory at the expense of other people's failures, and it's something Bradbury is still proud of eight years later.

The Australian short-track speed skater and four-time Olympian -- who won 1000m gold in the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last-corner pile-up -- was on the Coast to open Dreamworld's Illuminate Winter Wonderland.

"Funnily enough Kevin Rudd made mention to me in his speech when he referred to someone doing a 'Steven Bradbury'," he said.

"I don't know if she'll (Gillard) be mentioning me though because I don't think Kevin Rudd really fell over -- maybe pushed over."

Bradbury mentioned Gillard in his speech at the launch of Dreamworld's school-holiday attraction on Friday night.

After giving up his skates, he has been focusing on a career as a motivational speaker and emcee and has been spending time with his two six-month-old twins, Eryn and Flyn, and two-year-old Ryen.

Bradbury said he secretly hoped Ryen wouldn't want to follow in his winter Olympics footsteps.

"I'm hoping she'll be waking me up to say, 'Daddy let's go surfing', rather than 'Daddy let's go to the ice rink'," he said.

Bradbury has also secured a lease on a car in the MINI Challenge.

"The adrenalin of racing is the same as competing on ice, but I don't envisage I'll be the next Craig Lowndes," he said.

"At least you don't have to be fit and strong to be the that semi-elite level in racing."[/img]

[Laura (Lori)]

Australian skater Mari Deland competed in American Cup 2 on November 6-7, 2010 in Cleveland – here are her results:

19th Overall
1500M – 5th (C Final)
500M - Penalty (Heats)
1000M - 3rd (D Final)
1500M Super Final – 3rd (D Final)


Mari (#31) leads Brittany Salmon and Alaina Fiorenza at AmCup2, Cleveland. Photo Credit - Jerry Search

See more of Jerry's photos at: www.nationalspeedskatingmuseum.org/Photo%20Albums/JerrysAlbums.htm

Tags: Mari Deland / Brittany Salmon / Alaina Fiorenza / Short Track Speedskating

[Laura (Lori)]

Alix Anderson represented Australia at American Cup 2 in Cleveland, OH (Oct 29-30, 2011) - here are her results:

14th Overall
1500M (Penalty, B Final)
500M (1st, C Final)
1000M (1st, E Final)
1500M Superfinal (4th, C Final)


Alex leads the pack at AmCup2 - Photo Credit: Jerry Search

See more of Jerry's photos at: www.nationalspeedskatingmuseum.org/Photo%20Albums/JerrysAlbums.htm

[Laura (Lori)]

If you don't watch another video on this forum in the next year, watch this one!

If you're new to the sport, you may not remember this: In the 1000M Men's Final at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Apolo Ohno was in the lead and appeared to be destined for a gold medal. Instead, a pile-up in the last turn left Apolo with a gash in his leg, scrambling over the finish line for a silver medal.

American short track fans remember that race as a heroic effort by Apolo - victory snatched from him by 'bad luck'. His subsequent statements, "I didn't LOSE the gold medal, I WON the silver medal", endeared him to the American public, as did his admiration and respect for the skater who ultimately won that gold medal.

As 4 out of 5 skaters slammed into the pads in the final turn, the gold was won by the 'last man standing', Aussie Steven Bradbury. Far behind the pack, Bradbury was an unlikely contender who had made his way into the finals by a similar stroke of luck in the semifinals!

Bradbury's win made him notorious - it rates in some polls as one of the 10 luckiest wins of all time. His name has become synonymous with victory attained by default. The Urban Dictionary defines 'Bradbury' (or, 'pulling a Bradbury) as "To win as a result of miraculous circumstances, despite being in a losing position. Especially in the case of sporting triumph."

Lucky? Maybe... but this video (from 2009) tells the rest of the story, and it just might bring tears to your eyes...


Thank you, Jose Cavalli, for finding this!

If you'd like to read more, here's an article that Mtnme posted upthread on the same subject (the article is dated a couple months later than the video):

therockerforum.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=worldst&thread=397&page=1#2550

[Laura (Lori)]

Take good care of him, Australia - he's a gem!

One of the nicest people I've ever met in this sport...

Anthony Barthell is leaving the USA for a wonderful reason - he will be headed Down Under to coach with the Aussie National Team!

Anthony was one of the first skaters I ever met. Back when I was trying to put together a group of fans to attend the 2007 US Championships, he worked at the Hilton Garden Inn - and offered a great rate for those of us who wanted to stay there. A friendship was begun, and continued with much excellent advice as we struggled to create The Rocker Fund.

As a skater, Anthony never made it to the Olympics - but as coach of the Junior U.S. team after his retirement, he traveled the world.

His coaching took him all the way to the Sochi Olympics - and now to a wonderful opportunity in a beautiful land. Yet another reason to love Australia!

All the best to you, Anthony - you absolutely deserve every good thing that comes your way! You will be missed.