Michael Hepburn is a cyclist and Olympian who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2010 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, he was paired with Tim Horan AM as his Mentor.
Michael was born in Brisbane in 1991 and began cycling on the track. At the Australian Youth Olympic Festival in 2009, he won gold in the Team Pursuit. Just two weeks later, he won three gold medals at the National Track Cycling Championships and broke the world junior record in the 3000m Individual Pursuit.
Michael was then selected for the 2009 Australian Junior Track Cycling Team, but unfortunately broke a wrist during a training camp with the national team, which forced him to miss the Australian Junior Road Cycling Championships.
At the UCI Junior World Cycling Championships in 2009, Michael won gold in the 3000m Individual Pursuit and broke his own world record twice in the same day, including in the final. He also won the silver medal in the Team Pursuit and finished 4th in the Omnium.
In 2010, Michael won more gold at the national championships, as well as winning the Team Pursuit at the Commonwealth Games and the UCI World Championships. He would win the same event at world champs a year later and take bronze in the Individual Pursuit, before winning the Team and Individual events at the Oceania Track Championships.
Michael competed in his first Olympic Games in 2012, where he won a silver medal in the Team Pursuit, and he would repeat that effort at the games in Rio four years later. In the intervening years, he reached the podium on various occasions at the world titles in his pet events and competed on the road.
Honours & Achievements
- 2009: Australian Youth Olympic Festival, gold – team pursuit.
- 2009: National Track Cycling Championships, x3 gold.
- 2009: World Junior Record, 3000m Individual Pursuit.
- 2009: UCI Junior World Cycling Championships, gold – 3000m Individual Pursuit.
- 2010: Commonwealth Games, gold – Team Pursuit.
- 2010: National Championships, gold.
- 2010: Oceania Track Championships, x2 gold -Team and Individual Pursuit events.
- 2010: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder.
- 2010: UCI World Championships, gold – Team Pursuit.
- 2012: London Olympic Games, silver -Team Pursuit.
- 2016: Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, silver – Team Pursuit.
