Edward Russell Mockridge (18 July 1928 – 13 September 1958) was a racing
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
from
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus.
Family
The son of Robert Glover Mockridge and Aileen Claire Mockridge, née Riley, Edward Russell Mockridge (known as Russell) was born in Melbourne on 18 July 1928. Mockridge married Irene Pritchard (-2004), widely known as "Rene", in London, in 1953; they had a daughter, Melinda, who was born in
Ghent, Belgium
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
in December 1954.
Career
Mockridge started in 1946 by winning his first race of 40 km with Geelong Amateur Cycling Club. For his upper-class accent he was dubbed ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'', but his wins soon earned him the
nickname
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
of ''The Geelong Flyer''. He became described as 'Australia's greatest all-round cyclist for all time'.
His ride in the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...
road race in London was ruined by two punctures and his team was eliminated in the quarter-final of the 4000 m team pursuit. He represented Australia at the
1950 British Empire Games
The 1950 British Empire Games was the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. The main venue was ...
in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
. He took gold in the 1000 m sprint and the 1000m time trial, and silver in the 4000 m pursuit.
In Paris in July 1952 he won the Amateur Grand Prix and the following day the Open Grand Prix, beating world professional champion
Reg Harris
Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE (1 March 1920 – 22 June 1992) was a British track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 19 ...
, becoming first to win both amateur and professional Paris Sprints. His humiliation of the professionals led to amateur riders being barred for many years. Later that year he won
Manchester Wheelers' Club
Manchester Wheelers' Club is a cycling club in Manchester, in north-west England.
Formation and early history
The club was formed on 7 July 1883, as Manchester Athletic Bicycle Club, the name being changed to Manchester Wheelers' Club in 1890. Th ...
Muratti Cup again beating
Reg Harris
Reginald Hargreaves Harris OBE (1 March 1920 – 22 June 1992) was a British track racing cyclist in the 1940s and 1950s. He won the world amateur sprint title in 1947, two Olympic silver medals in 1948, and the professional title in 19 ...
.
Selection for the
1952 Summer Olympics
The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...
in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
was in doubt as he refused to sign the Australian Olympic Federation fidelity bond, which demanded he remain amateur for two years after the Games. A great former cyclist,
Hubert Opperman
Sir Hubert Ferdinand Opperman, OBE (29 May 1904 – 18 April 1996), referred to as Oppy by Australian and French crowds, was an Australian cyclist and politician, whose endurance cycling feats in the 1920s and 1930s earned him international acc ...
, then Federal parliamentarian for
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
, negotiated a reduction to one year. Mockridge won gold medals in the tandem event with
Lionel Cox, and in the 1000 m time trial.
He turned professional a year later with success in Europe and Australia. He teamed with
Sid Patterson
Sydney Patterson (also known as Sid Patterson, 14 August 1927 – 29 November 1999) was a world champion amateur and professional track cyclist from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. While a teenager, Patterson won every Victorian and Australia ...
and
Reginald Arnold
Reginald Athelstane Arnold (9 October 1924 – 23 July 2017) was an Australian racing cyclist.
Arnold's cycling career began in 1941, when his brothers gave him a bicycle for his birthday. Despite being blind in one eye, Arnold joined Ashfield ...
to win the Paris six-day race in 1955. Mockridge was one of 60 of 150 entrants to finish the
1955 Tour de France. He won 12 consecutive Australian championships. He won the
Australian national road race title in 1956, 1957 and 1958.
Death
In 1958, aged 30, he was killed by a bus in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
at the Dandenong Rd and Clayton Rd intersection, two miles from the start of the 225 km Tour of Gippsland race.
[There was a court case: se]
Taylor, Jim, "How it Feels to Be Hit by a Bus", ''The Age'', Wednesday, 19 January 2005.
/ref>
Recognition
*In 2015, he was an inaugural Cycling Australia Hall of Fame inductee.
See also
* Cycling in Geelong
Cycling in Geelong, Victoria is common for recreation and competition, but less so for utility and commuting.
Geelong has a discontinuous network of off-road trails and on-road bicycle lanes.
Geelong's major shared riding and walking trails are ...
References
External links
*
"Mockridge, Edward Russell (1928–1958)"
- ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Australian National University
- a detailed account of the accident which killed Russell Mockridge - newspaper article, ''The Age'' (19 Jan 2005)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mockridge, Russell
1928 births
1958 deaths
Australian male cyclists
Olympic cyclists of Australia
Cyclists at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Cyclists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Australia
Cyclists at the 1950 British Empire Games
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia
Sportspeople from Geelong
Cyclists from Melbourne
Sport deaths in Australia
Cyclists who died while racing
Road incident deaths in Victoria (Australia)
People educated at Geelong College
Olympic medalists in cycling
Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling
Australian track cyclists