Kenneth George Kennedy (6 September 1913 – 20 August 1985) was the first Winter Olympian to compete for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early Life

He was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and was educated at Waverley College was a

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating. ...

and ice hockey player.

Career

Ken Kennedy was the Australian quarter mile and mile champion speed skater from 1931 to 1934, and played interstate ice hockey. In the next two years, he played for the Birmingham, England Maple Leaf ice hockey team. Kennedy competed in speed skating at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

at the age of 22. Even though he was the only member of the Australian team, his entry received official backing from the then Australian Olympic Federation, which said: His best result was 29th in the 500 metres. He had the following to say about the games held in

Garmisch-Partenkirchen Garmisch-Partenkirchen (; Bavarian: ''Garmasch-Partakurch''), nicknamed Ga-Pa, is an Alpine ski town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the seat of government of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen (abbreviated ''GAP''), in the O ...

in Nazi Germany: The New South Wales Olympic Council reported:

Later Life and Legacy

After the Olympics, he turned professional, earning 75 pounds a week in a time in England when "the basic wage was 50 bob" (about two and a half pounds). He featured in ice shows and did barrel jumping. When World War II broke out, Kennedy joined the Royal Air Force. After the war, he returned to Australia. He played ice hockey in Australia for another six years. He became president of the

Australian Ice Hockey Association The Australian Ice Hockey Federation, currently trading as Ice Hockey Australia (IHA), is the official national governing body of ice hockey in Australia and is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was first established in 190 ...

and the association's delegate to the

Australian Olympic Federation Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

, where he argued that overseas trips would be needed for Australia to reach world standard. In the 1980s, he still skated and owned an ice skating equipment shop near

Central railway station, Sydney Central is a heritage-listed railway station located in the centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The station is the largest and busiest railway station in Australia and serves as a major transport interchange for NSW TrainLink inte ...

. He passed away in August 1985 at the age 72. His family would donate a perpetual trophy for the ''Most Sportsmanlike" player in Australian Ice Hockey, this would later become the Trophy for the Most Valuable Player of the Australian Ice Hockey League from 2010 onwards. After his death he would be inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as an inaugural member.

References

* Lester, Gary. ''Australians at the Olympics: A definitive history''. and a list of suspected errata. * . Retrieved on 2007-08-27. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Kenneth 1913 births 1985 deaths Australian male speed skaters Australian ice hockey players Olympic speed skaters for Australia Speed skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Sportspeople from Sydney Military personnel from Sydney Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Sportsmen from New South Wales People educated at Waverley College