Charlie Walsh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Barry Vivian Walsh, better known just as Charlie Walsh, was the national cycling coach for the Australian Cycling Federation at the Australian Institute of Sport from 1980 to 2001 and oversaw Australia's competitive cycling performance going from a ranking between 20 and 30 in track cycling in the world, to the number one ranked nation in 1993 and 1994, and Australia placed third at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

As a competitive cyclist Walsh crossed the line first more than 1000 times in over 25 years of competitive racing at Australian National and State level, including winning the Austral Wheel Race in 1969 on a 50 yards handicap.

Contents

[edit] Coaching career

Over his career as coach, the Australian cycling team won a total of two Olympic gold medals, nine silver, nine bronze and ten world titles. He coached the legendary team of Michael Grenda, Mike Turtur, Dean Woods, and Kevin Nichols, euphemistically known as Charlie's Angels, in winning the gold medal for the 4000 metres Team Pursuit event at the 1984 Summer Olympics. This event was seen as a turning point in Australian cycling achievement at the world level.

In 1996 Charlie Walsh heard about the development of the Superbike by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), after Olympic cyclist Kathy Watt was involved in a photo shoot with the bike. Development and production of the bike then became a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Sport and RMIT.

Walsh was known as a tough taskmaster, which demanded much from the cyclists under his direction, sometimes leading to heated public arguments and criticism of his coaching style. His extremely demanding style of training regime has nurtured cyclists such as Brett Aitken, Shane Kelly, Dean Woods, Kathy Watt, Bradley McGee, Gary Neiwand and Stuart O'Grady, to name but a few.

Walsh has also created and conducted international cycling coaching courses, based in Switzerland, at the behest of the international cycling body.

[edit] Criticisms

A number of "scandals" have rocked the Australian cycling team while under the coaching direction of Charlie Walsh. These include a multitude of accusations that selection for the Australian team were biased in favour of Australian Institute of Sport cyclists, and was done hapharzardly often ignoring the performances of other cyclists, and accusations that the Australian track team used a banned growth hormone in tablet form. Unfortunately, as is sometimes the case in such matters across sports and business, the "full story" behind some events cannot be tabled by those actually associated and/or involved with them due to the possibility of legal action arising... and Charlie, whilst innocent, was a public face and bore the brunt of the public scrutiny of the sport; suffice it to say some of the circumstances surrounding, as well as actions by, some of the individuals other than Charlie may not withstand scrutiny by those "in the know".

[edit] Kathy Watt

Kathy Watt, who won two Olympic medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, became involved in a legal dispute with the Australian Cycling Federation in 1996 over the issue of who would race the 3 km Pursuit in the Olympic Games. Earlier in the year, Watt had been told that she would be racing the event, but was then replaced only few days before the actual running of the event by Lucy Tyler-Sharman who had turned in some very good times in the months leading up to the Olympics.

The case was appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming that there had been a breach of contract. In a decision which took on some importance in the history of sports law, the Court upheld her appeal and ordered Watt to be reinstated in the Pursuit race. Charlie was subsequently proven to be correct in assessment of rider performance potential at those Games.

Following the Games, however, certain "character reference" comments made about her by Australian head coach Charlie Walsh led to a series of defamation lawsuits, from which Watt emerged victorious.

[edit] Stephen Pate

In March 1998 there were allegations that Australian Team selectors, including Charlie Walsh, had been biased in favour of riders in the AIS squad, rather than selecting other riders. The selection procedure was questioned after Bradley McGee (a former AIS rider) was selected even though he did not attend the selection trial or ride in the national championships, while the National Madision Champion, Stephen Pate (not a member of the AIS squad), was not selected. [1]

[edit] Matthew Gilmore

At the August 1998 World Cycling Track Championships in Bordeaux, France, the Australian team did not perform to expectations. Walsh came in for criticism from the winner of the Madison event, former Australian rider Matthew Gilmore, who had taken up Belgian citizenship and won the event with fellow Belgian Etienne De Wilde: "I found it very stupid when Danny Clark and I were the number one (Australian) six-day riders here in Europe for two years and we weren't selected for the Madison for Australia. It's their loss and my gain. I was fortunate to be able to have the option of ... getting the Belgian citizenship, where I have the full support from the Belgian Cycling Federation." [2]

[edit] Lucy Tyler-Sharman

During 1998 the head of the drug unit of the UK Sport Council, Michelle Verrocken, accused the Australian track team of using an illegal growth hormone on the IOC's banned substances list, Insulin Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), and found in Colostrum tablets. Verrocken statement raised doubts on the legality of using Colostrum tablets saying: "We have to ask whether it is a scientific advance of sport or cheating.". Colostrum is a naturally occuring compound (concentrated mother's first milk) and is now widely accepted in public and athlete use. Google it. There is politics in elite sport, as in other aspects of competitive life.

Charlie Walsh had ordered the purchase and use of Colostrum for his squad, to overcome the threat of illness. At the 1998 Commonwealth Games cyclist Lucy Tyler-Sharman is alleged to have refused to take Colostrum which precipitated a heated argument with Charlie Walsh and her subsequent expulsion from the Australian Team and the games. This allegation may or may not accord with the actuality of actual "behind the scenes" reasons not made public.

The Australian team doctor rebuffed the accusations saying "We would not get involved in administering anything that was dubious. Colostrum is a dairy product, not a drug. It is produced naturally at the moment of birth for babies to suckle before breast milk appears." This was supported by Brian Sando, an Australian medical official at the Games, who said: "Colostrum is high in IGF-1 (human growth hormones) but the simple fact is that when it is taken orally in tablet form, the IGF-1 is denatured in the stomach and cannot be absorbed into the body. The only way it can be absorbed is by injection. Colostrum in tablet form is nothing more than a training aid, as vitamins are, and it helps stave off infection." [3]

Lucy Tyler-Sharman claimed that she had been deliberately sabotaged by the team management by forcing her to change pedals just before the semi-final of the 3000m pursuit. She also implied a sickness just before the race may not have been coincidental. After her expulsion from the games, the first Australian athlete to be sent home from a Commonwealth Games, she said in a statement: "My problems relate to ongoing troubles with my sport, track cycling and its officialdom.".

[edit] Awards and Retirement

On Australia Day 1987 Charlie Walsh received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for service to cycling, particularly as national coaching director. Three years later in 1990 he was awarded the status of "World Coach" by the World governing body of cycling, Union Cycliste Internationale. He has won nine awards as Australian Coach of the Year for all sports, and was awarded the Australian Sports Medal on 14 July 2000.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics the Australian cycling team achieved its best ever Olympic performance with 6 gold medals, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. Charlie Walsh celebrated the successes in Adelaide, which many believed were a result of his 20 year coaching foundation and mentoring of new head coach Shayne Bannan, track cycling coach Martin Barras, and Ian McKenzie on track endurance.

Since his retirement as head coach of the Australian cycling team he has remained active as a coaching consultant with cycling, including supporting and being involved in the organisation of the Tour Down Under in South Australia. In 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Walsh has assisted Adelaide coach Neil Craig, with fitness work at the Australian Football League team, the Adelaide Crows.

[edit] External links