16 BILL ROYCROFT STEEPLECHASE Bill Roycroft is one of Australia’s best known Olympians. In 1960 he completed one of his finest years. In the lead up to the Rome Olympics he became the first Australian to win the Badminton Three Day Event in England. In arguably his most famous performance he won a gold medal in the teams eventing competition. Bill had broken his shoulder and dislocated his collarbone in the cross country phase but left hospital and rode in the show jumping to secure the gold medal for Australia. He competed in five Olympics from 1960 through to 1976 winning bronze medals in Mexico and Montreal. At the 1968 Games in Mexico he was the flag bearer and after his last games was appointed National Coach. In 1969 he was presented with an OBE, in 1985 he was admitted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and in 2011 was made a member of the Equestrian Australia Hall of Fame. Bill was a long serving committee member of the Terang and District Racing Club and had a steeplechase named in his honour in past years. With the reintroduction of steeplechases to Terang we are pleased with the reintroduction of the Bill Roycroft Steeplechase.
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