Colin Hickey

A skating talent from Melbourne, Hickey left for Norway at age 18 to try his luck. Supporting himself as a lumberjack, he initially struggled without any top results. But by the mid-1950s, he had established himself as a decent skater. At the 1956 Olympics, he achieved two seventh places; the only Australian speed skater to ever do better was Colin Coates. Later that year, Hickey also reached the fourth distance of the World Allround Championships, ranking 11th overall after a 5th place in the 1,500 m. He’d equal that overall performance in 1959, and a year later he would become the first Australian to place on the podium of a distance at the allround worlds, coming 3rd in the 500 m.

Personal Bests: 500 – 41.3 (1960); 1500 – 2:11.8 (1956); 5000 – 8:10.0 (1956); 10000 – 17:37.3 (1956).