Broken & Bruised: Bill Roycroft's Quest for Gold

Bill Roycroft might just be Australia's greatest Olympian you've never heard of. He competed in five consecutive Summer Games, winning several medals. But his debut at Rome 1960 was the scene of a remarkable feat, when not even severe injury could keep Bill down.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
There are probably lots of reasons you've never competed in
the Olympics, like training's hard. Maybe your parents made you
get a normal job. Reaching elite athlete status requires dedication
and self belief. Olympians aren't like the rest of us,
Like the Greek gods, sometimes they do something superhuman. Hey,

(00:33):
welcome to the poolroom, where we celebrate the winners, losers,
and the weird stuff between. I'm Tony Armstrong, James Willing.

(01:00):
George Roycroft, better known as Bill, didn't take your typical
road to Olympic glory. He wasn't a posh horse guy.
He didn't go to private school or learned to ride
on his family's sprawling estate. Bill grew up as one
of seven children in rural Victoria from a poor farming family.
His parents had plour horses on their dairy farm, and

(01:21):
throughout his childhood he raced them with his friend Lawrence Morgan.
As Bill got older, he competed in horse riding before
enlisting as a soldier in World War Two. Bill Roycroft
wasn't a polished young man in fancy boots. By the
time he made it to the Olympics. It was nineteen
sixty and he was a forty five year old dairy

(01:43):
farmer Italy. A team of riders arrive in Rome, hoping
to bring home Australia's first gold medal in every day
equestrian event day were Neil Lavis, Brian Krago, Bill and

(02:07):
his childhood horse riding friend Lawrence Morgan. Three day Equestrian
also known as eventing, is like a triathlon for horses.
It's the ultimate display of skill and has its roots
in a cavalry test, something former soldier Bill Roycroft understood
better than most. Day one dressage, Day three show jumping.

(02:36):
But Day two well that's where the real action happens.
Cross country over a long outdoor circuit of up to
thirty five kilometers, Competitors prove their speed, endurance and jumping ability.
They take their horses over fences and ditches and navigate

(02:58):
hectic obstacles. This is not a gentle canter across the countryside.
It's tough mutter on horseback, not for the fainthearted. Luckily,
Bill Roycroft was anything but that. The day before the
team went for the customary walk around the track to
familiarize themselves with the layout. They'd had a successful day

(03:21):
in dressage and were confident of their chances in the field.
Conditions were good. Three riders cleared the course successfully, but
Bill failed miserably. One of the jumps was made of
concrete pipes arranged in a way that hid them from
his horse. Old Solo kareem straight into the obstacle, throwing

(03:45):
Bill to the ground, then landing heavily on top of him.
Bill was unconscious, but only briefly. When he came to,
he said, where's my bloody horse and found the creature
standing alongside him, waiting to get going again. In those days,
you were allowed to just climb back on, so that's

(04:07):
what Bill did. With a broken shoulder, dislocated collarbone, bruises
and a concussion, he completed the course. The Americans gave
him whiskey before he was airlifted to hospital, where they
packed his head in ice, as was the custom at
the time. The Aussie team led by a good margin,

(04:30):
but alongside Bill's injury, Brian Crago's horse was also hurt
and had been withdrawn. The competition required at least three
riders on their own horses, no swapsis. Bill had to
find a way to get back to the arena because
with only two riders, they wouldn't be allowed to compete

(04:50):
and their gold medal would be lost. Bill wouldn't stand
for it. He threw away his arm sling and jumped
out of bed. The doctors wouldn't discharge him, telling him
he needed several more days of observation. They even took
away his clothes, but Bill simply threatened to discharge himself.

(05:13):
In his undies, he downed some painkillers, a fat steak,
and a glass of beer. After signing a waiver, he
arrived back at the Games, where he spoke only five words,
where do I weigh in? Although he acted tough, Bill

(05:33):
was in pretty bad shape. His teammates had to dress
him and practically tie him into the saddle. He had
almost no strength on his right hand side, and spectators
said he looked like he might fall from his horse,
which obviously was how he got into this mess to
begin with. But off they went show jumping as a

(05:53):
test of poise and obedience. Try not to knock anything
over or break Harsey etiquette, and try to be faster
than everyone else too. Australia was a fair stretch ahead
of the pack by this stage, so this practically broken
bruised and can cast athlete didn't have to put in
his best ever performance, But that day, as if to

(06:16):
stick it to the doctors who told him to stay
in bed, a practically incapacitated Bill Roycroft took old solo
round without dropping a point. One handed. They made a
perfect run and Australia came away with the gold. That night,

(06:38):
Bill could only drink with his left hand, but he
had plenty to celebrate. Rome nineteen sixty was Bill's first
Olympic outing. He then went on to compete at four
more games alongside his three sons. At sixty one, he
became Australia's oldest Olympic medalist, bringing home bronze in Montreal.

(07:00):
Bill Roycroft was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of
Fame in nineteen eighty five and elevated to legend status
in nineteen ninety six. But history won't just remember him
for his success as an equestrian. He did more than that.
Bill took part in the age old Australian tradition of
leaving early to help out a mate. Thanks for dropping

(07:33):
into the poolroom. You've been listening to an iHeart production.
I'm Tony Armstrong and I'll catch you next time.