Just a couple of years ago Steven Bradbury was swimming with his son in the surf and noticed some girls in difficulty. He rescued them - said he'd never been hugged like the hug one of those girls gave him. He was awarded a bravery award. Wonderful bloke!!
"Doing a Bradbury" has entered the Australian lexicon for achieving an unlikely victory through a stroke of luck. Over the years, Bradbury doggedly chased his dream, and paid in blood for every bit of luck that came his way in the 2002 Games. He started, he crossed the line first, he won it fair and square.
People call it luck but it doesn’t make the facts any less true: Steven Bradbury was a world class athlete who trained his arse off for years to get himself there, and he was clearly the best in that race… He stayed on his skates when no one else could, and gold medals are for people who can do what no one else can. 100% earned.
Bradbury had a plan, he figured he couldn't win but he knew in finals one or two of the leaders will fall in the final lap so he pushed to stay in touch and take advantage.
I can vouch for that, I went to high school with Steve in the southwest suburbs of Sydney. He would get up every morning at 4am and head off to training at the closest ice ring at Bankstown (an hours drive from home). He would train for 2 hours and the travel the hour back home and come to school, then he would do it over again in the afternoon after school. His family moved to Queensland part way through high school to provide him with access to better facilities and coaching.
I saw an interview with Steven recently. He had been racing at top level for years. At that level and ESPECIALLY the Olympics, it is give it all or nothing. He actually DID go in with the plan to stay at the back because he knew.he couldn't outrun them and he KNEW falls at this level are really common. As had happened in the preliminaries. He was a top level skater. Had won world championships. Otherwise he wouldnt have been there. But like any sport, it's all about strategy. He thoroughly deserved the medal.
@@relwalretepBondy!!!!!!! Even the crew were sudden celebrities! Everybody in Australia suddenly learned what a grinder was, and how friggin' strong they were!
Met him in a nightclub not long after........an absolute legend, and drunkenly told him so. He's reached "Australian Icon" status, his sporting achievement will never be surpassed in the eyes of the public.
I hated that for years his win was treated as a joke because the other skaters fell. But Steven had won his way through to the Final...he didn't just walk off the street and jump into the race. He fought long and hard even recovered from a broken neck...to represent Australia at these Olympics ....He's a bloody hero to most of us.
Go back and watch the early rounds. People fell over in front of him in every race. Hence why he was so far behind. He’s a good guy, he worked hard, but this narrative that so many Aussies have is just false. Alyssa Camplin deserved the honour more. She won our second gold a night or two later.
@@jasonjohnson9072I dunno if you carn't stand up as a speed skater then ya ain't got what it takes. Steve kept his balance and stood on his feet in all his races, for me that qualifies him as the best in the world for that olympics.
@@shaundouglas2057 spin how you like, 2 day later Alyssa Camplin won a legitmate gold medal after years of bring world champ. Brabury won, but it will always have a smirk on it. I dont blame him for making the most of it. But its sad hes our first one ever thats a joke, and we were so close to our first one being a real champ. I rate Bradbury, its not his fault, but he might be the luckiest Olympic champ of all time
@@jasonjohnson9072 Its no spin, to be a speed skater you need the skill to stay on ya feet, DUH i know. If you cannot do that then you'll not win. Bradbury had the skill to win gold he was the best at that olympics, yes some were faster, stronger or whatever but he was the last man standing as he crossed the line. He was the best speed skater at that particular event it is that simple, enough said.
@@shaundouglas2057 he wasnt fast enough to be near the guys who took each other out. If you call that skill I’m clearly arguing with a moron and Im done here. Have fun putting your soup in alphabetical order.
I'm a bit odd on Aus as I've always dug the winter Olympics more than summer. So I watched Bradbury over 4 Olympics, I remember when a skate filleted his leg and when he nearly ended up in a wheel chair. He earnt every bit if luck that came his way throughout those games, and deserved the gold.
It was an amazing win. He got so much nastiness thrown at him saying he should give the medal back. He was such a class act. He said something like ... the medal was for all the hard years he had put in. My favourite part of the race is seeing all the hot shots crawling over the line to get second and third. His strategy worked! He is an Aussie Legend!!!
i Had nt noticed till watchingthis clip now how funny he was straight up, saying yeah my stretch wad to hang back and wait for them to fall. that's so classic Aussie, well played
Everyone knows of Steven Bradbury. His name has become part of the Australian language, coming from behind to win anything is now known as 'doing a Bradbury'.
My wife used to skate with him back in the day when they were younger. She was a figure skater and he was always the speed guy. Short track speed skating is only in the Olympics because of years of lobbying by Steven to get it included. Australias second gold medal came the next night when Alissa Campline won the aerial skiing
It was his fourth Winter Olympics. He had some terrible injuries along the way, he nearly bled to death after having his thigh sliced open by someone else’s skate and he got slammed into a wall during a race, broke his neck and ended up in one of those braces they screw into your head. But he persevered and he got there in the end. And don’t forget he came from tropical Queensland where ice rinks are few and far between, we don’t have a lot of snow and ice in Australia, there’s only 27 ice rinks in the whole country.
Yes we do our snowy mountains get more snow that Switzerland. And where I live we get snow and huge icy frosts during autumn and winter down to -12 even snowed in summer..
@@aussiekat6379 compared to countries like the US and Canada and the continent of Europe, which are close in size to Australia, we don’t get much snow. Our snowfields cover a greater area than Switzerland because it’s a tiny country, we’ve got 15 ski fields in comparison to hundreds in North America and Europe.
@@aussiekat6379just because you do in that tiny part of the country, it doesn't mean we do. That's like me saying its hot in Australia everyday because I live in Darwin
We’ll never forget Stephen Bradbury, Aussie legend. He actually went through a lot to get to this point as well. He got through the qualifier with a good enough time, then finished third in the quarter final but still made the semi as one of the two qualifiers were disqualified for obstructing another skater. Then in the semi final, just like the final, there was a collision which allowed him to qualify for the final. An unbelievable string of events. 👍👍
Probably the single most epicly Australian way to win our first Winter Gold Medal!! The total underdog story, compete in a sport that most Australians wouldn't have a clue about, have a plan, the balls to stick to your plan and then the awesome payoff that has proven the gift that keeps giving!
I met him at a pub a year after he won the gold medal. He was all too happy to speak genuinely to anyone who approached. He was a bit older than we were but I left our conversion thinking what lovely down to earth guy
Steven Bradbury is a fabulous guy. Will never forget that race every now and then it is referred to as it was quite a miracle. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy😊
The day I moved from Sydney to Brisbane I caught a plane up, I was so nervous, and Stephen Bradbury was in the seat next to me! Absolutely wonderful person! He talked to me the entire fight! Such an amazing person!
His win personifies Australian humour. Unpredictable outcome done hilariously. Never forgetting the Steven had earned his Olympic place in history already by qualifying for this race. You little beauty.
The US officials were stunned and didn't want to give him the medal (surprise surprise), but they were forced to follow the rules and gave it to him, begrudgingly. (Remember when Oz won the America's Cup ...)
Absolutely honest win! He knew there was always a chance of the others tripping each other up. A technique of chance, but that’s what everyone does, hope their technique works!
He had been working hard his entire life for that medal and this was quite possibly his last chance due to getting on in years compared to everyone else in the field. It was well deserved.
Bradbury is a legend in Australia. The way he won is brilliant and so Aussie! 'Doing a Bradbury' is now a thing in Oz....if you come from nowhere to win with an ounce of luck involved. It was a great moment in Australia's sporting history!
He's a top bloke. I've seen a few interviews of his, and he deserves what he achieved. Edit: He has a boutique brewery that produces beer named Last Man Standing.
Steven Bradbury is a legend. He was well up there to win a gold medal as the best speed skater before the olympics. He was a contender and in his prime he was taken out and nearly died on the ice when his femoral artery was cut in a race. He was a world champion contender. He came back from the near death and qualified to be in the race. He deserved to be there and won gold... but he was not always behind. He was brilliant and stuck in there and got the gold. He deserved the win.
hehe do we remember, all of Australia remember this, he has had some really serious injuries over the years so this really was well deserved, he had put in the hard long slog and it paid off
And......that's why we remember where we were when it happened. My memory might be off, but I seem to think that he came third in his semi, but the man in second place was disqualified, putting him through to the final.
Got a mate who ended up being in very senior position in a large company basically because everyone else left or got made redundant. Remind him that he pulled a Bradbury regularly! Great story and Stephen Bradbury is just a ripping bloke.
Yeah man, the best bit is that's exactly how he won his semi-final race. He sat at the back and let everyone fight for the lead and eventually take themselves out. His races were some of the few I was actually able to catch live. So yeah, I know where I was when the first ever "Bradbury" was done!
I was on an American based web forum at the time and the amount of outright hostility directed toward him from the American fans was ridiculous. I couldn't help but to remember something Murray Walker used to say about motor racing, to finish first, first you have to finish. Besides its always gratifying to see an underdog have a win.
An absolute Aussie Legend!! When you hear what he has been through to even get to that race, he's a bloody legend. He was part of a team that won Australia's first ever Winter Games medal, even if it was just a bronze. He also had his leg sliced open by another skater during fall in a race. He pretty much bled to death and was bloody lucky to survive. He was involved in another skating accident that he went head first into a wall and was told he would NEVER walk again. He had one of those halo braces screwed into his skull. He came back from all that to make it to this final in his last Olympic Games and did what all Aussies know as 'doing a Bradbury!!'. Absolute Aussie legend!! Also I don't think any Aussie will ever forget that moment he won, it was massive news in Australia at the time.
Not just the first gold thanks to him, but the first medal ever. He was part of the relay team that won bronze eight years earlier if memory serves that was Australia's first ever winter Olympics medal.
Yep, that's correct, plus nearly bled to death from another skaters blade slicing through his leg and lost majority of his blood, so was lucky to survive. Then also ended up head first into a wall and told he would never walk again, He had to wear a halo braces. He even came back from all that to win the most amazing victory in history!! Absolute Aussie legend!!
They say doing a "Bradbury" is winning by luck. This guy from the suburbs made it to an Olympic final in one of ,if not the most prestigious winter Olympics events. It takes insane skill to compete at that level in a sport no one in Australia had ever attempted or even qualified and this guy got it done. You dont get to the final in this event unless you got the balls to do so.
If you "do a Bradbury" it means you're the "last man standing". Some people say "winning against all odds". Can mean both I guess. . I remember seeing him win live and watching the interview with Roy and HG. The win was astonishing 😂
"Were you tempted to stop and help them up?" great question! lol - Actually, the Grand Final was not his only huge slice of luck at this Olympics. In the QF, he had to finish top 2 to go through to the SF, and he finished 3rd. However one of the top 2 was disqualified for some reason allowing Steven through to the SF. Then while coming last in the SF, there was also a collision which once again enabled him to actually get through to the Grand Final. So he definitely had his share of luck! But if you ever hear his life story, he definitely deserved some luck at some stage.
Roy and HG were the best part of the Olympics 😂 you'd stay up all night and watch the games, sink some piss and laugh ya ass off... Doing a Bradbury is now part of the vernacular 😂
I remember that he remonstrated with spectators that where abusing him. As if it was his fault the others did not win. Aussies love a battler who wins more than a favourite.
All Aussies remember this. They say 'you have to be in it to win it' and never was that a truer saying. He was in it from beginning to end, which was more than could be said for his opponents. It was deserved too, because he didn't just pop up out of the blue. He'd won minor medals before.
Do i remember it?!? Mate, I remember this more clearly than i remember the birth of my daughter Steven.... Glorious moment. There should be a public holiday for it.
Steven Bradbury is one of the all-time great Aussies. I have briefly met him; he comes across as incredibly humble. He was one of the favourites in previous Olympics and got cruelled by bad luck. He has had so many injuries, and serious injuries at that. While it is easy to laugh at him doing a Bradbury, he thoroughly deserved his gold medal. Legend!
The Americans wanted the race rerun but the result was upheld. In a show of typical poor sportsmanship by the local crowd Steven was booed as he made his way to the podium.
I was watching that. Disgusting crowd behaviour, no matter who the athlete, & said more about the crowd than Steven Bradbury. He deserved to have a memorable experience, because he will always be the 1st ever Australian Winter Olympics Gold medallist.
Just a couple of years ago Steven Bradbury was swimming with his son in the surf and noticed some girls in difficulty. He rescued them - said he'd never been hugged like the hug one of those girls gave him. He was awarded a bravery award. Wonderful bloke!!
Yep. The blokes a bloody legend.😊
It doesn't surprise me he is such a caring person.
That award means a lot more in life than the default gold he got 1000%
@@Tommass79not default he stayed out of Trouble others didn't well deserved but of course im Aussie 🇦🇺👌
The two things that turn an ordinary man into a hero;
1) A freakishly rare opportunity lands in your lap.
2) Being decent enough to not screw it up.
"Doing a Bradbury" has entered the Australian lexicon for achieving an unlikely victory through a stroke of luck. Over the years, Bradbury doggedly chased his dream, and paid in blood for every bit of luck that came his way in the 2002 Games. He started, he crossed the line first, he won it fair and square.
🤩🤩🤩
I agree completely. All his hard work and persistence paid off in the end.
The amount of times my family has used that phrase over the years since his win is crazy. He's truly left a mark in Australian and sporting history.
Yes, he didn't overestimate himself, he ran his own race and... 🏅.. the rest is history.💚💛
As Roy & HG said,
"The miracle on ice",
& he will forever be Australia's 1st Winter Olympics gold medallist. Well done Steve !!! 👍👍👍
People call it luck but it doesn’t make the facts any less true: Steven Bradbury was a world class athlete who trained his arse off for years to get himself there, and he was clearly the best in that race… He stayed on his skates when no one else could, and gold medals are for people who can do what no one else can. 100% earned.
Exactly, as my Pop used to say, gotta be in it to win it. Bradbury worked to be there, and well, the rest is history
Bradbury had a plan, he figured he couldn't win but he knew in finals one or two of the leaders will fall in the final lap so he pushed to stay in touch and take advantage.
Exactly, he got to the medal race for a reason. He worked his arse off to get through the preliminary races to get to the finals race
I can vouch for that, I went to high school with Steve in the southwest suburbs of Sydney. He would get up every morning at 4am and head off to training at the closest ice ring at Bankstown (an hours drive from home). He would train for 2 hours and the travel the hour back home and come to school, then he would do it over again in the afternoon after school. His family moved to Queensland part way through high school to provide him with access to better facilities and coaching.
He wouldn’t have got anything if he didn’t put himself into that final. All his hard work paid off. Champion effort.
And now if you ever here the term "Doing a Bradbury", you'll know what it means. 😜
I saw an interview with Steven recently. He had been racing at top level for years. At that level and ESPECIALLY the Olympics, it is give it all or nothing. He actually DID go in with the plan to stay at the back because he knew.he couldn't outrun them and he KNEW falls at this level are really common. As had happened in the preliminaries.
He was a top level skater. Had won world championships. Otherwise he wouldnt have been there. But like any sport, it's all about strategy. He thoroughly deserved the medal.
I doubt any Aussie alive would forget it. It was the best sort of win
Better than that time we took the Americas Cup off the seppos!
@@relwalretepBondy!!!!!!!
Even the crew were sudden celebrities! Everybody in Australia suddenly learned what a grinder was, and how friggin' strong they were!
Bradbury's win from so far behind became so legendary that even now, when someone wins against the odds it's sometimes called 'doing a Bradbury' 😆
Does anyone who was an Aussie at this time NOT remember this? Truly one of the more memorable moments in Australian sport.
In the words of a great champion “to finish first, first you must finish”. The others didn’t finish.
The other blokes stuffed it and Steven won 😛
To snatch incredible victory from the jaws of apparent utter defeat is now known in Australia as “doing a Bradbury”.
Met him in a nightclub not long after........an absolute legend, and drunkenly told him so. He's reached "Australian Icon" status, his sporting achievement will never be surpassed in the eyes of the public.
I remember screaming at the screen as he won. He's a lovely guy, came back from terrible injuries and just worked so hard to get there. Top bloke.
I hated that for years his win was treated as a joke because the other skaters fell. But Steven had won his way through to the Final...he didn't just walk off the street and jump into the race. He fought long and hard even recovered from a broken neck...to represent Australia at these Olympics ....He's a bloody hero to most of us.
Go back and watch the early rounds. People fell over in front of him in every race.
Hence why he was so far behind.
He’s a good guy, he worked hard, but this narrative that so many Aussies have is just false.
Alyssa Camplin deserved the honour more. She won our second gold a night or two later.
@@jasonjohnson9072I dunno if you carn't stand up as a speed skater then ya ain't got what it takes. Steve kept his balance and stood on his feet in all his races, for me that qualifies him as the best in the world for that olympics.
@@shaundouglas2057 spin how you like, 2 day later Alyssa Camplin won a legitmate gold medal after years of bring world champ.
Brabury won, but it will always have a smirk on it. I dont blame him for making the most of it. But its sad hes our first one ever thats a joke, and we were so close to our first one being a real champ.
I rate Bradbury, its not his fault, but he might be the luckiest Olympic champ of all time
@@jasonjohnson9072 Its no spin, to be a speed skater you need the skill to stay on ya feet, DUH i know. If you cannot do that then you'll not win. Bradbury had the skill to win gold he was the best at that olympics, yes some were faster, stronger or whatever but he was the last man standing as he crossed the line. He was the best speed skater at that particular event it is that simple, enough said.
@@shaundouglas2057 he wasnt fast enough to be near the guys who took each other out.
If you call that skill I’m clearly arguing with a moron and Im done here. Have fun putting your soup in alphabetical order.
Couldn’t have happened to a nicer bloke ❤
I'm a bit odd on Aus as I've always dug the winter Olympics more than summer.
So I watched Bradbury over 4 Olympics, I remember when a skate filleted his leg and when he nearly ended up in a wheel chair.
He earnt every bit if luck that came his way throughout those games, and deserved the gold.
I prefer the winter games as well 👍
@unoriginalsyn I think it was the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympic opening ceremony. I'd watched the games before, but that still stands out for me.
Yep, he nearly bled to death and don't forget he also ended up head first into a wall and told he would never walk again and had to wear a brace.
One of the greatest moments in Winter Olympics history
It was an amazing win. He got so much nastiness thrown at him saying he should give the medal back. He was such a class act. He said something like ... the medal was for all the hard years he had put in. My favourite part of the race is seeing all the hot shots crawling over the line to get second and third. His strategy worked! He is an Aussie Legend!!!
YES!!!
YESSSS¡!!!!!
i Had nt noticed till watchingthis clip now how funny he was straight up, saying yeah my stretch wad to hang back and wait for them to fall. that's so classic Aussie, well played
I meet Steven Bradbury when he was promoting his beer LAST MAN STANDING he also wrote a book LAST MAN STANDING
he had been to so many games/comps and had had so many injuries - he deserved to win that
From that moment on - "Doing a Bradbury" became part of Australian vernacular
The way Steven handled himself is exactly what the world knows an Aussie to be. Humble, hardworking and has a bloody good laugh! 😁👍
It has gone into the dictionary ...'doing a bradbury'. He is a really lovely person.😊🇦🇺
This has to be one of Australia’s favourite gold medals. I think it reflects the larrikin sprit. I still laugh when I watch it.
Everyone knows of Steven Bradbury. His name has become part of the Australian language, coming from behind to win anything is now known as 'doing a Bradbury'.
Watched both Steven and this bit by Roy and HG on TV live, was screaming my head off!
My wife used to skate with him back in the day when they were younger. She was a figure skater and he was always the speed guy. Short track speed skating is only in the Olympics because of years of lobbying by Steven to get it included. Australias second gold medal came the next night when Alissa Campline won the aerial skiing
Doing a “Bradbury” is now officially an Australian Verb. Every living Aussie at the time, Celebrated this moment.
It was his fourth Winter Olympics. He had some terrible injuries along the way, he nearly bled to death after having his thigh sliced open by someone else’s skate and he got slammed into a wall during a race, broke his neck and ended up in one of those braces they screw into your head. But he persevered and he got there in the end. And don’t forget he came from tropical Queensland where ice rinks are few and far between, we don’t have a lot of snow and ice in Australia, there’s only 27 ice rinks in the whole country.
Yes we do our snowy mountains get more snow that Switzerland. And where I live we get snow and huge icy frosts during autumn and winter down to -12 even snowed in summer..
@@aussiekat6379 compared to countries like the US and Canada and the continent of Europe, which are close in size to Australia, we don’t get much snow. Our snowfields cover a greater area than Switzerland because it’s a tiny country, we’ve got 15 ski fields in comparison to hundreds in North America and Europe.
@@aussiekat6379just because you do in that tiny part of the country, it doesn't mean we do. That's like me saying its hot in Australia everyday because I live in Darwin
@@Bucketcity126 what tiny part are you referring too where I live is a huge area of national parks surrounded us.
@aussiekat6379 it might snow & get a bit chilly a few months of the year but you can't skate on it 😂
Bradbury you bloody legend. Just getting into the final took incredible luck, it was meant to be.
What a lot of people don’t realise is the adversity he had to overcome just to be there. The guy is not just a champion, he has a champion spirit.
We’ll never forget Stephen Bradbury, Aussie legend. He actually went through a lot to get to this point as well. He got through the qualifier with a good enough time, then finished third in the quarter final but still made the semi as one of the two qualifiers were disqualified for obstructing another skater. Then in the semi final, just like the final, there was a collision which allowed him to qualify for the final. An unbelievable string of events. 👍👍
And he came back from catastrophic injury for last chance at Olympics.
Probably the single most epicly Australian way to win our first Winter Gold Medal!! The total underdog story, compete in a sport that most Australians wouldn't have a clue about, have a plan, the balls to stick to your plan and then the awesome payoff that has proven the gift that keeps giving!
Yep, so unexpected and so well deserved!! ..I miss Roy & HG
I met him at a pub a year after he won the gold medal. He was all too happy to speak genuinely to anyone who approached. He was a bit older than we were but I left our conversion thinking what lovely down to earth guy
I used to see him all the time in Broadbeach, Gold Coast Qld. You’re right - he was always talking to someone about his race.
It was sensational. Who could have predicted such a thing? Doing a 'Bradbury' is just brilliant, what a legend!
Love seeing that again, both Steven and Roy and HG👍
Steven Bradbury is a fabulous guy. Will never forget that race every now and then it is referred to as it was quite a miracle. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy😊
This is the most classic gold in the history of the Olympics!! This is where the term "Done a Bradbury" comes from in Australia.
We all know this story. Bloody fantastic. My hero,
Doing a Bradbury is part of our lore now. Thanks Steve!
The day I moved from Sydney to Brisbane I caught a plane up, I was so nervous, and Stephen Bradbury was in the seat next to me! Absolutely wonderful person! He talked to me the entire fight! Such an amazing person!
Lucky you. A legend.
Nothing short of iconic!
Stevey is a legend 😂😂 seriously you couldn’t script it! I remember where I was, it was crazy!!
His win personifies Australian humour. Unpredictable outcome done hilariously. Never forgetting the Steven had earned his Olympic place in history already by qualifying for this race. You little beauty.
The US officials were stunned and didn't want to give him the medal (surprise surprise), but they were forced to follow the rules and gave it to him, begrudgingly. (Remember when Oz won the America's Cup ...)
The bloody Yanks don't like to lose, so they cheat, and change the rules.
BEST WIN EVAH.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doing a Bradbury is now a classic Aussie saying
But not in a derogatory way..
He won the Semi in similar fashion. I read somewhere he used to make his own skates. Man's a legend. Brilliant commentary by Roy & HG :)
Steven Bradbury is an absolute champion, and this is one of my all time favourite stories
Yeah, something similar happened in the semi-final. So he was just happy to be there, it was a big thing that he actually made it to the final.
Absolutely honest win! He knew there was always a chance of the others tripping each other up. A technique of chance, but that’s what everyone does, hope their technique works!
Steven Bradbury is an Aussie legend - he never gave up & wholeheartedly deserved that medal!
He had been working hard his entire life for that medal and this was quite possibly his last chance due to getting on in years compared to everyone else in the field.
It was well deserved.
Bradbury is a legend in Australia. The way he won is brilliant and so Aussie! 'Doing a Bradbury' is now a thing in Oz....if you come from nowhere to win with an ounce of luck involved. It was a great moment in Australia's sporting history!
He's a top bloke. I've seen a few interviews of his, and he deserves what he achieved.
Edit: He has a boutique brewery that produces beer named Last Man Standing.
His memoirs/ book is also called Last Man Standing.
Where do I get some?
@@martywest6388 BWS stores in Brisbane stock it. I think you can order online from the Brewery.
If you do something and it's unexpected, in Australia, you've pulled a "Bradbury"
Whenever an Australian is feeling down… they just watch that race to cheer themselves up!
Steven Bradbury is a legend. He was well up there to win a gold medal as the best speed skater before the olympics. He was a contender and in his prime he was taken out and nearly died on the ice when his femoral artery was cut in a race. He was a world champion contender. He came back from the near death and qualified to be in the race. He deserved to be there and won gold... but he was not always behind. He was brilliant and stuck in there and got the gold. He deserved the win.
hehe do we remember, all of Australia remember this, he has had some really serious injuries over the years so this really was well deserved, he had put in the hard long slog and it paid off
And still used to this day, the new term "ya did a bradbury" was born. If you google do a Bradbury, you'll even find it on a Wikipedia page of its own
And......that's why we remember where we were when it happened. My memory might be off, but I seem to think that he came third in his semi, but the man in second place was disqualified, putting him through to the final.
I recommend watching 'the story of the most surprising gold medal'. Steven is a legend.
This is an iconic and epically heroic moment in aussie sporting history.... doing a bradbury is part of the aussie lexicon
Great Aussie sporting moment. Never give up, you don't know what might happen.
Makes me feel more like an Aussie everytime I see that. Makes me proud to be an Aussie the way he handled it. Mr Bradbury I salute you
Got a mate who ended up being in very senior position in a large company basically because everyone else left or got made redundant. Remind him that he pulled a Bradbury regularly! Great story and Stephen Bradbury is just a ripping bloke.
Roy and hg are comedians who had their own show at the Olympics
Yeah man, the best bit is that's exactly how he won his semi-final race. He sat at the back and let everyone fight for the lead and eventually take themselves out.
His races were some of the few I was actually able to catch live. So yeah, I know where I was when the first ever "Bradbury" was done!
I was on an American based web forum at the time and the amount of outright hostility directed toward him from the American fans was ridiculous. I couldn't help but to remember something Murray Walker used to say about motor racing, to finish first, first you have to finish. Besides its always gratifying to see an underdog have a win.
An absolute Aussie Legend!! When you hear what he has been through to even get to that race, he's a bloody legend. He was part of a team that won Australia's first ever Winter Games medal, even if it was just a bronze. He also had his leg sliced open by another skater during fall in a race. He pretty much bled to death and was bloody lucky to survive. He was involved in another skating accident that he went head first into a wall and was told he would NEVER walk again. He had one of those halo braces screwed into his skull. He came back from all that to make it to this final in his last Olympic Games and did what all Aussies know as 'doing a Bradbury!!'. Absolute Aussie legend!! Also I don't think any Aussie will ever forget that moment he won, it was massive news in Australia at the time.
Not just the first gold thanks to him, but the first medal ever. He was part of the relay team that won bronze eight years earlier if memory serves that was Australia's first ever winter Olympics medal.
Yep, that's correct, plus nearly bled to death from another skaters blade slicing through his leg and lost majority of his blood, so was lucky to survive. Then also ended up head first into a wall and told he would never walk again, He had to wear a halo braces. He even came back from all that to win the most amazing victory in history!! Absolute Aussie legend!!
They say doing a "Bradbury" is winning by luck. This guy from the suburbs made it to an Olympic final in one of ,if not the most prestigious winter Olympics events. It takes insane skill to compete at that level in a sport no one in Australia had ever attempted or even qualified and this guy got it done. You dont get to the final in this event unless you got the balls to do so.
Yes but it also means don't give up
That's not what it means at all, it means to win when the odds are completely stacked against you
"Hope we're not going luging tonight, Roy". 🤣😂😅
Our first Winter Olympic gold ever. He probably considered himself lucky at the start of the games to be invited on Roy+HG.
To finish 1st, 1st you must finish!
This is the most Australian thing that has ever happened. Let's not forget he did make the Olympic final. On ya, Steve.
If you "do a Bradbury" it means you're the "last man standing". Some people say "winning against all odds". Can mean both I guess. . I remember seeing him win live and watching the interview with Roy and HG. The win was astonishing 😂
"Were you tempted to stop and help them up?" great question! lol - Actually, the Grand Final was not his only huge slice of luck at this Olympics. In the QF, he had to finish top 2 to go through to the SF, and he finished 3rd. However one of the top 2 was disqualified for some reason allowing Steven through to the SF. Then while coming last in the SF, there was also a collision which once again enabled him to actually get through to the Grand Final. So he definitely had his share of luck! But if you ever hear his life story, he definitely deserved some luck at some stage.
One of the most famous gold ever and doing a "Bradbury" is a term used quite a lot when you win from the total "blue"
Massive collisions in semi for him to get through too 😂
Roy and HG were the best part of the Olympics 😂 you'd stay up all night and watch the games, sink some piss and laugh ya ass off... Doing a Bradbury is now part of the vernacular 😂
He is without doubt our greatest Olympian. Mate you are talking about Steven Bradbury. No one can throw shade on him, except us Aussies
I remember that he remonstrated with spectators that where abusing him. As if it was his fault the others did not win. Aussies love a battler who wins more than a favourite.
In Australia, we have a saying and says I chucked a Bradbury (and came out on top of anyway)
People can say what they like - he was the last man standing, therefore, it's a legitimate win. Great man
All Aussies remember this. They say 'you have to be in it to win it' and never was that a truer saying. He was in it from beginning to end, which was more than could be said for his opponents. It was deserved too, because he didn't just pop up out of the blue. He'd won minor medals before.
Humble LEGEND.
I watched this live..bloody awesome 👍
Me too
In Australia it’s commonly referred to as “doing a Steven Bradbury” we all use this term
Yep doing a Bradbury.. aka...pulling of the near impossible, he felt so guilty for so long because of how he won
Aussie takes the win. Yep we'll take it 💥 🇦🇺
Do i remember it?!? Mate, I remember this more clearly than i remember the birth of my daughter Steven....
Glorious moment. There should be a public holiday for it.
"Doing a Bradbury" is a phrase understood by every Aussie. 😂
I remember this, watched it live. I would have thought they'd refer him as Phar Lap being in last place for a more dramatic win ;)
Remember? How could we forget! Amazing humble man. Iconic. 🎉
He had Luck because he worked his arse off to be in that place at that time. A true champion.
Steven Bradbury is one of the all-time great Aussies. I have briefly met him; he comes across as incredibly humble. He was one of the favourites in previous Olympics and got cruelled by bad luck. He has had so many injuries, and serious injuries at that. While it is easy to laugh at him doing a Bradbury, he thoroughly deserved his gold medal. Legend!
Thank you for reacting to this. I love Roy and H G and this very Australian victory.😁💕👍🦇
Without a doubt, one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history. Makes me smile everytime I hear his name.
None of us will ever forget and doing a Bradbury has become a regular part of our vernacular
The Americans wanted the race rerun but the result was upheld. In a show of typical poor sportsmanship by the local crowd Steven was booed as he made his way to the podium.
Just as the world now Boos Americans in general ...
Typical American reaction😏
I was watching that. Disgusting crowd behaviour, no matter who the athlete, & said more about the crowd than Steven Bradbury. He deserved to have a memorable experience, because he will always be the 1st ever Australian Winter Olympics Gold medallist.