Kerry O’Brien was a distinguished athlete and a two-time Olympian. He died at 79 after an inspiring four-year life-and-death struggle with serious illness. Early life and education O’Brien was born in Quorn in 1946. Youth At the age of ten, Robinson relocated to Port Augusta and started to develop his gift for sports. At 80 years old, his career flourished even after the groundbreaking efforts that propelled Australian sports and the steeplechase into a golden age.
Few would ever attain the success O’Brien found when he became world record holder in the steeplechase. He held onto this remarkable distinction for two years in the early 1970s. He was honored to play for Australia at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Mexico City. There, he continued dazzling the world with his talent, winning a silver medal in the steeplechase. At that same meet, he raced the 3000m steeplechase. He would go on to place fourth at the Olympic Games in Mexico City later that year.
O’Brien’s versatility garnered him nine Australian titles throughout disciplines such as steeplechase, 5000m, and cross-country during his athletic career. He was part of the Australian team at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh and at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. His outstanding talents quickly established him as a double gold medalist at the Pacific Conference Games.
When it comes to a short competitive resume, O’Brien’s is hard to beat. He went on to hold the South Australian steeplechase record for a remarkable 54 years, until it was finally eclipsed last year. Five years later, his astonishing contributions to the world of athletics were finally recognized in prestigious form. In 2012 he was inducted into the South Australian Sport Hall of Fame.
Colleague and sports commentator Bruce McAvaney reflected on O’Brien’s significance in South Australian athletics, stating, “He was the absolute star of South Australian athletics.” He further emphasized O’Brien’s influence by saying, “I looked up to him certainly in an athletic sense and I admired what he did in horse racing; he was a huge figure in South Australian sport.”
McAvaney noted the impact O’Brien might have had if he were competing today, saying, “If a South Australian athlete, male or female, broke a world record on the track at the moment, it would be crazy. I mean it would be unbelievable. If Kerry was doing that today, he’d be the biggest star in Australian sport.”
