Sid's Story
Twenty-year-old Sid Patterson was one of the first selected to attend the 1948 Olympic Games at London. He completed with aplomb on the velodrome at Herne Hill, finishing sixth the time trial, making the quarter-finals in the individual pursuit and helping the pursuit team to another quarter-final appearance. In 1949, he became the amateur world champion sprinter and the following year he annexed the amateur individual pursuit world title.
Turning professional in 1951, he became the professional world champion in the individual pursuit in 1952 and 1953. Over the following fifteen years he became a colossus in professional cycling, especially on the track, in Australia and worldwide. Patterson received the 1949 Helms Award for the foremost amateur athlete in Australasia and in 1985 was one of the original inductees into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
