Andrew Murtha
Encyclopedia
Andrew Murtha is an Australia
n short track speed skater
who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics
and in the 1994 Winter Olympics
.
In 1991, Murtha was part of the Australian quartet that won the 5,000 m relay at the World Championships in 1991 in Sydney. It was the first time that Australia had won a World Championship in a winter sport.
Australia's short track relay team went into the 1992 Olympics as world champions, but the team crashed in the semi-finals. The Australians were in third place when Richard Nizielski
lost his footing and knocked over team-mate John Kah
; they finished fourth and failed to reach the final. Murtha and his teammates finished seventh overall.
Murtha also competed the individual 1,000 metre event along with Nizielski and finished 19th out of 27 competitors.
In 1994, Murtha was part of the short track relay team won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze. They scraped into the four-team final after edging out Japan and New Zealand to finish second in their semi-final. They adopted a plan of staying on their feet as first priority, and remaining undisqualified and beating at least one of the other three finalists. During the race, the Canadians fell and lost significant time, meaning that Australia would win their first medal if they raced conservatively and avoided a crash. Late in the race, Nizielski was fighting with his American counterpart for track position for the silver medal, but took the safe option and yielded, mindful of the lost opportunity following the crash in Albertville. Thus Murtha, Nizielski, Kieran Hansen
and Steven Bradbury
became Australia's first Winter Olympics medallists. Murtha did not compete in the individual events in 1994, as his three teammates were preferred instead.
In 1998, Murtha attended the Olympics as the section manager of Australia's short track team. The remaining three members of the Lillehammer relay team, Bradbury, Nizielski and Hansen, returned with new teammate Richard Goerlitz
, and there were hopes that they could repeat their Lillehammer performance. However, in their qualifying race, they placed third in a time of 7 m 11.691 s and missed the final by one place, even though they had been two seconds faster than their medal-winning performance in 1994. They completed the course four seconds slower in the B final and came last in the race, and thus last out of eight teams overall. Bradbury was the only Australian entered into the individual events and he came 19th and 21st out of 30 in the two races.
In his early years, Murtha and Hansen learned to skate at the Blacktown Ice Racing Club, in the outer western working-class suburb of Blacktown
. Hansen's mother Helen said "These boys are pure western suburbs – kids with a one-track mind", attributing their success to their determination.
During his career, Murtha trained at Canterbury Olympic Rink, in the western Sydney
suburb of Canterbury, New South Wales
. His training colleagues included Hansen and Winter Olympic figure skaters Steven
and Danielle Carr. Murtha supported himself by workuing for the City of Canterbury local government association. In 2008, a plaque in honour of Murtha was unveiled by the City of Canterbury. In 1991 and 1994, the years that Australia won medals in the short track relay, Murtha was named by the City of Blacktown
as their Sportsperson of the Year.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n short track speed skater
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics
1992 Winter Olympics
The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 8 to 23 February 1992 in Albertville, France. They were the last Winter Olympics to be held the same year as the Summer Olympics, and the first where the Winter Paralympics...
and in the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994 Winter Olympics
The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
.
In 1991, Murtha was part of the Australian quartet that won the 5,000 m relay at the World Championships in 1991 in Sydney. It was the first time that Australia had won a World Championship in a winter sport.
Australia's short track relay team went into the 1992 Olympics as world champions, but the team crashed in the semi-finals. The Australians were in third place when Richard Nizielski
Richard Nizielski
Richard Nizielski is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, and in the 1998 Winter Olympics.-Early life:...
lost his footing and knocked over team-mate John Kah
John Kah
John Kah is a former Australian short track speed skater, who represented Australia at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics in the relay team....
; they finished fourth and failed to reach the final. Murtha and his teammates finished seventh overall.
Murtha also competed the individual 1,000 metre event along with Nizielski and finished 19th out of 27 competitors.
In 1994, Murtha was part of the short track relay team won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze. They scraped into the four-team final after edging out Japan and New Zealand to finish second in their semi-final. They adopted a plan of staying on their feet as first priority, and remaining undisqualified and beating at least one of the other three finalists. During the race, the Canadians fell and lost significant time, meaning that Australia would win their first medal if they raced conservatively and avoided a crash. Late in the race, Nizielski was fighting with his American counterpart for track position for the silver medal, but took the safe option and yielded, mindful of the lost opportunity following the crash in Albertville. Thus Murtha, Nizielski, Kieran Hansen
Kieran Hansen
Kieran Hansen is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics, in the 1994 Winter Olympics, and in the 1998 Winter Olympics....
and Steven Bradbury
Steven Bradbury
Steven John Bradbury OAM is a former Australian short track speed skater and four-time Olympian, who won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last corner pile-up...
became Australia's first Winter Olympics medallists. Murtha did not compete in the individual events in 1994, as his three teammates were preferred instead.
In 1998, Murtha attended the Olympics as the section manager of Australia's short track team. The remaining three members of the Lillehammer relay team, Bradbury, Nizielski and Hansen, returned with new teammate Richard Goerlitz
Richard Goerlitz
Richard Goerlitz is an ice speed skater from Australia.Goerlitz holds the national longtrack records on the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 meters.-Achievements:*World Sprint Speed Skating Championships for Men :** 2006...
, and there were hopes that they could repeat their Lillehammer performance. However, in their qualifying race, they placed third in a time of 7 m 11.691 s and missed the final by one place, even though they had been two seconds faster than their medal-winning performance in 1994. They completed the course four seconds slower in the B final and came last in the race, and thus last out of eight teams overall. Bradbury was the only Australian entered into the individual events and he came 19th and 21st out of 30 in the two races.
In his early years, Murtha and Hansen learned to skate at the Blacktown Ice Racing Club, in the outer western working-class suburb of Blacktown
Blacktown, New South Wales
Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located 34 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of City of Blacktown.Blacktown is the largest...
. Hansen's mother Helen said "These boys are pure western suburbs – kids with a one-track mind", attributing their success to their determination.
During his career, Murtha trained at Canterbury Olympic Rink, in the western Sydney
Western Sydney
Western Sydney is a major region of Sydney, Australia. It has a number of different definitions but one consistently used is the region composed of the 11 councils which until recently were all members of the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils:* Auburn Council* Bankstown City Council*...
suburb of Canterbury, New South Wales
Canterbury, New South Wales
-Commercial area:Canterbury has a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial developments. Commercial developments are mostly situated on Canterbury Road and surrounding streets...
. His training colleagues included Hansen and Winter Olympic figure skaters Steven
Stephen Carr
Stephen Carr is an Irish footballer who plays for and captains Birmingham City. He previously played for the Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and, for a shorter spell, Newcastle United. He is a former international player with the Republic of Ireland...
and Danielle Carr. Murtha supported himself by workuing for the City of Canterbury local government association. In 2008, a plaque in honour of Murtha was unveiled by the City of Canterbury. In 1991 and 1994, the years that Australia won medals in the short track relay, Murtha was named by the City of Blacktown
City of Blacktown
The City of Blacktown is a Local Government Area in the heart of Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately 35 km from Sydney CBD. It is bounded by the Local Government Areas of Penrith, Parramatta, Fairfield, Holroyd, Hawkesbury and The Hills Shire. It occupies an area...
as their Sportsperson of the Year.