Australian · Camden, New South Wales, Australia · Born 14 October 1973Australian short track speed skater who became the first Southern Hemisphere athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal in one of the most famous underdog victories in Olympic history, giving rise to the Australian phrase 'doing a Bradbury.'
Steven John Bradbury was born on 14 October 1973 in Camden, New South Wales, the son of an Australian speed skating champion, and won a world relay title with Australia's short track team at just 17 in 1991. He competed at four Winter Olympics starting with Albertville 1992, and was part of the relay team that won bronze at Lillehammer 1994 - Australia's first-ever Winter Olympics medal - though he struggled individually, his best result before 2002 being eighth place. Bradbury's career was nearly ended twice by horrific injuries: in a 1995 crash, a rival's skate blade sliced his thigh, requiring over 100 stitches, and in September 2000 he broke two vertebrae in his neck during training, an injury doctors told him would end his skating career entirely. He returned to compete at a fourth Olympics at Salt Lake City 2002, where he advanced through his heats partly by fortune, including benefiting from a rival's disqualification. In the 1,000m final, Bradbury trailed the field of world-class rivals - South Korea's Ahn Hyun-soo, American Apolo Ohno, China's Li Jiajun, and Canada's Mathieu Turcotte - by a significant margin with two laps remaining, skating cautiously in anticipation that a collision was likely among the aggressive front-runners. On the final turn, all four leading skaters crashed into each other, and Bradbury glided past the chaos to win gold, becoming the first Australian and the first Southern Hemisphere athlete ever to win a Winter Olympics gold medal. He retired immediately after, and the phrase 'doing a Bradbury' - describing an unlikely success through others' misfortune - entered the Australian National Dictionary in 2016.
Becoming the first Southern Hemisphere athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal after his four rivals collided in the race's final turn, giving rise to the phrase 'doing a Bradbury'
How They Played
Tactically patient short track racer known for cautious positioning and racing intelligence, particularly in high-risk, chaotic finals
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the Olympics' most iconic underdog stories, whose unlikely gold - built on 14 years of perseverance through career-threatening injuries - became a permanent part of Australian popular culture
Career Honours
- 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist, 1,000m
- First Australian and first Southern Hemisphere athlete to win a Winter Olympics gold medal
- 1994 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 5,000m Relay (Australia's first Winter Olympics medal)
- 1991 World Championship Gold Medalist, 5,000m Relay
Australian Athletes