Steven Bradbury

Keynote Speaker

Not only is Steven Bradbury one of Australia’s most well-known Olympic Champions, he is also a highly successful keynote, motivational, safety and after-dinner speaker sharing his story with corporate clients, sporting clubs, schools and charity organisations.

He’s vastly experienced having spoken at over 800 conferences and events in 15 countries. He is equally in demand as a superb MC, conference facilitator and humourist. Whatever role he takes on stage, Steven is always relaxed, informative, entertaining and highly prepared.

Steven’s victorious Olympic gold win in speed skating has been described by some as lucky – in fact, it took a lot more than just luck. Strategy and planning were also key ingredients in his success.

Based in Brisbane

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Book Steven Bradbury Keynote Speaker: Olympic Gold Medallist and Underdog Icon

Organisations that book Steven Bradbury keynote speaker secure Australia’s most famous Winter Olympian, whose 2002 gold medal victory became a global symbol of perseverance and seizing opportunity. Steven Bradbury was the first athlete from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Winter Olympic gold medal, a feat achieved in short-track speed skating after surviving two career-threatening injuries that would have ended most athletes’ careers.

Bradbury’s path to gold was anything but easy. In 1994, a rival’s skate blade sliced through his thigh, causing him to lose four litres of blood and requiring 111 stitches. In 2000, he broke his neck in a training accident, fracturing two vertebrae and spending months in a halo brace. Doctors told him he would never skate competitively again. Yet Bradbury returned to compete at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where a calculated strategy of staying upright while his rivals took risks saw him inherit the gold medal after all four competitors ahead of him crashed in the final corner.

The phrase “doing a Bradbury” has since entered Australian vernacular, officially recognised in the Australian National Dictionary as shorthand for an unexpected, hard-earned success. As a motivational keynote speaker, Bradbury draws on this remarkable story to deliver powerful, entertaining messages on resilience, persistence, risk management and being ready when opportunity strikes, regardless of the odds stacked against you.

Since retiring from competition, Bradbury has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and Australian Survivor, commentated at multiple Winter Olympics, and in 2022 rescued four teenage girls from drowning at a Queensland beach, earning a Commendation for Brave Conduct. His engaging, self-deprecating humour and extraordinary life story make him a memorable and genuinely inspiring choice for corporate conferences, sales kick-offs and gala dinners alike. Based in Queensland, Steven is available to speak at events across Australia.

Four Olympic campaigns and 12 years of hard slog resulted in an Olympic Bronze in 1994, 111 stitches in his leg and in 2000, a broken neck. 18 months later that same neck was supporting Australia’s first Winter Olympic Gold Medal.

Steven Bradbury’s story is memorable and unique, touching a chord with people from all walks of life. It is a prime example to all that if you ‘stick it out’ you too can be the last man standing.