Later Career
Following the Olympics, Marchant retired, and Browne went on to win the individual 10 mile race at the 1958 Australian Championships. Browne went to the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games at Cardiff in Wales. He was unplaced in the sprint, but won the 10 mile race to collect a gold medal. Browne had intended to retire after returning from Cardiff, but the lure of a second Olympics proved too much. In 1960, he won the 2000 m tandem with Geoff Smith at the Australian Championships and was selected for the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. There was to be no repeat of the triumph in Melbourne, as the pair were eliminated in the second repechage. Since no other Australian older than 28 had ever represented the nation in cycling, Browne was the oldest ever male cyclist to represent Australia at the Olympics. Browne continued to the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Perth, Western Australia, but was unable to win a gold in front of his home crowd, finishing with a bronze in the sprint. In 1964, Browne again won the tandem event at the Australian Championships, combining with his new partner Daryl Perkins. The pair then went to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where Browne beat his own mark of being the oldest cyclist to represent Australia at the Olympics, at the age of 33. This time, the Australians were eliminated in the quarter-final. Browne continued to compete at national level, successfully defending the tandem title in 1965, this time with a new partner Gordon Johnson. He won his fifth and final tandem and his last Australian Championship in 1968 with Johnson, but the Australian selectors overlooked Browne, instead selecting Hilton Clarke to partner Johnson in the tandem at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, ending Browne's career.
Browne was regarded as an intelligent and meticulous athlete, who was known for a logical and somewhat introspective style in his approach to the sport. He felt that he did not have the raw speed to match the likes of Lionel Cox and Dick Ploog in vying for selection in Australia's sprint team, and that he was not suited to long road races, instead focusing on medium length track racing. Browne typically was the front rider in tandem races, liking to be in control. He was regarded to be a cyclist who behaved in a careful and scholarly manner, and was known for coaxing higher levels of performance out of his younger partners. Browne was respected for his technical knowledge of the tandem and his success was often attributed to his vast experience.
Read more about this topic: Ian Browne (cyclist)
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