Russell Mockridge

Edward Russell Mockridge (18 July 1928 – 13 September 1958) was a racing cyclist from Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died during a race, in collision with a bus.

Russell Mockridge
Russell Mockridge (left) and Hubert Opperman arrive in Sydney from Melbourne in 1948
Personal information
Full nameEdward Russell Mockridge
Born(1928-07-18)18 July 1928
Melbourne, Australia
Died13 September 1958(1958-09-13) (aged 30)
Melbourne, Australia
Team information
DisciplineTrack & Road
RoleRider
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Men's track cycling
Olympic Games
1952 Helsinki 1000 m time trial
1952 Helsinki 2000 m tandem
British Empire Games
1950 AucklandSprint
1950 Auckland1000 m time trial
1950 AucklandPursuit

Family

The son of Robert Glover Mockridge and Aileen Claire Mockridge, née Riley,[1] Edward Russell Mockridge (known as Russell) was born in Melbourne on 18 July 1928.[2] Mockridge married Irene Pritchard (-2004), widely known as "Rene",[3] in London, in 1953;[4] they had a daughter, Melinda, who was born in Ghent, Belgium in December 1954.[5]

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 of The Geelong Flyer.[6] He became described as 'Australia's greatest all-round cyclist for all time'.[7]

His ride in the 1948 Summer Olympics 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 in Auckland. 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, 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 Muratti Cup again beating Reg Harris.

Selection for the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki 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, then Federal parliamentarian for Geelong, negotiated a reduction to one year. Mockridge won gold medals in the tandem event with Lionel Cox, and in the 1000 m time trial.[8] He turned professional a year later with success in Europe and Australia. He teamed with Sid Patterson and Reginald Arnold 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.[9]

Death

In 1958, at 30, he was killed by a bus in Melbourne at the Dandenong Rd and Clayton Rd intersection, two miles from the start of the 225 km Tour of Gippsland race.[10][11][12]

Recognition

See also

References
  1. Marriages: Mockridge—Riley, The Argus,(Saturday, 5 December 1925), p.13.
  2. Births: Mockridge, The Argus, (Thursday, 9 August 1928), p.1.
  3. Deaths: Mockridge, The Age, (Monday, 15 September 1958), p.12.
  4. Olympic Cyclist Weds, The (Launceston) Examiner, (Tuesday, 6 October 1953), p.16.
  5. This is home, Bubs, The Argus, (Saturday, 3 December 1955), p.48.
  6. "The Geelong Flier", Queens News & Updates, Queen's College, The University of Melbourne.
  7. Meeking, M. (15 September 1958) "Russell Mockridge Was Our Greatest Cyclist". The Age, p. 17.
  8. "Russell Mockridge Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  9. "Russell Mockridge". Cycling Archives. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  10. "Russell Mockridge Killed in Road Race", The Age, 15 September 1958, p.3.
  11. Mockridge Killed In Collision With Bus, The Canberra Times, (Monday, 15 September 1958), p.10.
  12. There was a court case: see Taylor, Jim, "How it Feels to Be Hit by a Bus", The Age, Wednesday, 19 January 2005.
  13. "Inaugural Cycling Australia Hall of Fame inductees". Cycling Australia. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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