Wilfred John 'Wilf' O'Reilly (born 22 August 1964 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England)[1] is a former British short track speed skater. He won two gold medals in 1988 Winter Olympics when short-track speed skatiing was held as a demonstration sport. He also is the 1991 Overall World Champion.
[edit] Speed skating career
Wilf won two gold medals in the 500 metre and 1000 metre events at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, but was denied full Olympic acclamation because shorttrack skating was just a demonstration event that year. O'Reilly won the World Championship in Sydney in 1991.
He had a disastrous 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer where he crashed out of both the 500 metre and 1000 metre events, protesting about being forced to race with a damaged blade.
Wilf commentated for BBC Sport on speed skating events at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver alongside Hugh Porter.
[edit] Honours
O'Reilly was awarded the MBE in 1997. He is currently a member of the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Management Commission.
[edit] References
| Persondata |
| Name |
Oreilly, Wilf |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
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| Date of birth |
22 August 1964 |
| Place of birth |
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| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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United Kingdom
