Australians love their sport! Football, Tennis, Cricket, doesn’t matter what it is we spend endless hours in front of the telly enjoying, shouting, arm chair coaching, commiserating, celebrating and even occasionally motivated by our sporting hero’s, and everyone loves a winner. The pinnacle for most athletes is representing their country and the Olympics is the greatest of all the world stages for sporting greatness.
At elite level the time is short though, so what do our household names do when they step down from competition, do they just go back to their everyday lives or do they continue to inspire generations of other young hopefuls for years to come? We thought it would be fun to take a look at what some of our greatest and most memorable Olympians are doing now.
Dawn Fraser
Dawn Fraser is of course one of our best known swimming athletes. She has won 8 medals from three Olympic games including 4 gold, one of only 3 swimmers in history to win individual gold medals in the same event at 3 successive Olympics. She has held 41 records, her 100M freestyle record remained unbroken until January 1972 (15 years).
She has not taken a back seat to life since giving up competing. She is a mother, a publican at the Riverview Hotel in Balmain and a swimming coach, in 1988 became an independent member of NSW Legislative Assembly and has a ferry named after her that operates on the Parramatta River in Sydney. She also had a film made about her life in 1979. She is director of football and league clubs in Sydney and has a string of honours to her name.
Dawn Fraser was named Australian of the Year in 1964, she received an MBE (member of the order of the British Empire) in 1976 and an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) in 1998. She was voted greatest female athlete in history, Australian athlete of the century and one of Australia’s National Living Treasures, also in 1998.
At age 77 she continues to inspire as mentor for Able and Disable Australian Olympic teams (since 1998), as patron of the Cerebral Palsy Sports Association, and member of the NSW Sports Advisory Board.
Cathy Freeman
Cathy Freeman was our first Australian aboriginal to win an individual gold medal at an international athletics meeting. She was a 400m specialist winning silver at the 1996 Olympics and who could forget that fantastic gold medal race at our own Sydney Olympics in 2000.
She has been named Australian of the Year, World sportswoman of the year and has been a poster athlete for achievements in sport after successfully negotiating the earlier issues of racial discrimination as a child.
She is herself mother of a 3 year old and since retiring from competition has started her own Non-profit organisation, The Catherine Freeman Foundation, devoted to giving Australian Indigenous children a brighter future through education and to bridge the gap between non indigenous and indigenous, and to develop a strong sense of self belief and equal access to opportunities in life.
Shane Gould
At the younb age of 15 Shane Gould was the toast of the 1972 Australian Olympic team, winning 5 medals, three of them gold. She was the only swimmer in history to hold all freestyle records at the same time. Overwhelmed with the public scrutiny and attention she withdrew from competition and public life at the age of 17, raising a family of 4 children and living a sustainable lifestyle on a farm in SW Western Australia.
Shane has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including Australian Sports Hall of Fame, MBE, Olympic Order, Legend of Australian Sport, Living National Treasure and International Women’s’ Sports Hall of Fame.
She still surfs, rides horses and competes occasionally in mature age ocean and pool races, strongly believing that daily experiences in nature are vital for our overall development, wellbeing and vitality.
Living in Bicheno Tasmania where she has a holiday accommodation business she continues to campaign publicly using her public persona to promote drug free sport, a corruption free Olympic movement and provision of life skills to young athletes.
Shane has written several books, adds photography and film making to her list of achievements and works with several charities that act toward improving physical health and family relationships through activities in and out of the water.
James Tompkins
James Tompkins is rowing royalty! He was a member of the unforgettable ‘Oarsome Foursome’ winning 3 Olympic gold medals. He is one of our most prolific Olympians, competing in 6 Olympic games, 11 World Championships obtaining the title of world champion 7 times.
James has been inducted into the Sports Australia Hall of Fame, honoured with the Order of Australia and in 2012 was elected to the IOC Athletes Commission, a position he will hold for 8 years.
These days he still maintains a keen interest in rowing but works a day job in financial services as director and national sales manager for a Victorian based asset management company.
He may not count it as one of his great achievements, but who could forget the Goulburn Valley Fruit Ad featuring the cheeky Oarsome Foursome touting in song the benefits of enjoying Australian fruit!
Steven Bradbury
Steven Bradbury might have been dismissed from the record books had he not had arguably the most dramatic victory in Olympic history. After a team bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in the Men’s 5000 Short Track speed Skating relay Bradbury’s sporting career was beset by injury and accident. His participation in Salt Lake City in 2002 was probably his last hurrah, and how!!! Lining up in the final of the 1000M short track speed skating men’s final, he struggled to keep up with the other 4 finalists. A good thing, too! Coming up to the final turns the two lead skaters clashed and brought down the other 2 in the melee that ensued. Bradbury was far enough back to avoid collision and raced through to claim the title before the others could react. An accidental hero but no denying the victory was his, just right time, right place.
‘Doing a Bradbury’ is now part of Australian vocabulary as the epitome of an unlikely success against all odds. Not surprisingly Steven Bradbury has gone on to be a motivational speaker and has commentated for the 2006 winter Olympics.
Who is your favourite Olympian past or present?