Michael Sichel

Born in London in 1934, Michael Sichel trained in fencing whilst serving in the Royal Navy. Sichel later moved to Australia and represented that country in the sport, including competing at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. In 1956 he competed in both the individual and team foil events at the Melbourne Olympics, reaching the semi-finals in the former. Two years later he won silver in both the individual and team sabre at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, Wales. Sichel returned to the Olympics for the 1960 Games in Roma, once again competing in the two foil events along with the individual sabre.

Sichel was a man of many talents, inventing the Leafscreener system in the 1980s after becoming frustrated by constantly cleaning leaves out of his guttering. The invention went on to win the Australian Standards Award in the early 1990s. He also worked as a health educator and osteopath in his local community for almost 50 years. Sichel earned a PhD for his work on treating autism spectrum disorders in children, with his thesis becoming a best-selling book.