Ian Browne (cyclist) - Olympic Gold

Olympic Gold

Ten nations were entered in the tandem competition, and in the first round, they were drawn with Germany and South Africa, who fielded their silver medallist pairing of Tom Shardelow and Ray Robinson from the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. The Australians made their move too early and led at the ringing of the bell at the start of the last lap, but they were overhauled well before the line as they faded in the final straight. Browne and Marchant were given another chance in the repechage round later in the same day. The Australians lead for three quarters of the distance, but were overhauled by their Czechoslovakian opponent in the final metres and were defeated in a photo finish. This would normally have meant that the Australians would have been eliminated, however the final repechage between the Soviet Union and the Germans resulted in a tangle, resulting in a heavy pile-up. Neither teams finished the race, but the Soviets were hospitalised. The cycling officials decided that the bruised Germans would be forced to compete in a repechage sequel against the losers in the previous repechages to qualify. This allowed the United States and the Australians a reprieve.

The Australians seized their good fortune and set their fastest time to date with 11.0 seconds (s). Having been beaten twice after leading out, the Australians sat back before sweeping past the injured Germans and the Americans in the final lap. Australia were again drawn against South Africa in their quarter-final, who had defeated them easily in the heats. This time they equalled the fastest team in the competition over the final 200 m, clocking 10.8 s to progress to the final, where they faced the Italy. Giuseppe Ogna and Cesare Pinarello appeared to be in control at the start of the final lap. They had moved alongside the Australians with one and a half laps to go, but the Australians surprised them at the start of the final lap. The Italians came back to pull level at the start of the back straight, but the Australians held them off and pulled away to win by a length and a half. The Italians lodged a protest for interference but it was dismissed. The Australians finished in a time of 10.8 s and Browne later claimed that he was convinced by the performance that they would win the gold medal.

The final took place on the third day of racing. The Australians came to the conclusion that their wheels and tyres were too heavy, so they sought to buy better cycling equipment from the defeated Germans. The Germans agreed, saying "Have ours and you will win the gold medal." Australia were again pitted against the Czechoslovak Vaclav Machek and Ladislav Foucek. One of the reasons behind Australia's return to form had been the return of Guyatt to a mentoring role. Guyatt had assisted them at the national championships, but they were assigned to another coach at the Olympics. Guyatt was regarded as a marketing-style motivator and he attempted to give Browne and Marchant a psychological boost. Equipped with their new machines, Browne and Marchant employed a tactical trick devised by Guyatt. The Australian staff had noticed that the Czechoslovaks had always made their final burst from a certain point from the finish. During the final, Australian team manager Bill Young stood at the said point as the Australian led out. When Browne came to the point, he pulled upwards and pre-emptively blocked the expected Czechoslovakian attack. This helped to stifle the attack and Australia went on to win the gold medal.