HISTORY THAT hasn't repeated
"Skating has defined me as a person.. its who I am, Rollerboy"...
Roller skating has been a way of life for Jayson Sutcliffe, but his love of the sport has diversified unlike any other, excelling not only on traditional 'quad' roller skates, but also on inline roller blades and, yes... ICE SKATING.
Above: Jayson, moments before his short program competition at the world championships in Italy, 1994.
Left: Johnny Weir (Olympian) & Jayson Sutcliffe - Ice & Roller boy's meet for the first time for the Herald Sun.
Not content with winning a world title on roller skates during the peak of his career, Sutcliffe was challenged by the newly designed roller blades for figure skating and went on to win two more world titles.
Jayson also considered 'crossing over' into the world of Ice 'figure skating' and was determined to prove that his technical skills on wheels could easily transition on to the ice blades. And while he proved it was possible, he only competed on ice once.
ROLLER, INLINE & ICE
Jayson performs a triple toe loop of three different forms of skates.
Right: Scott Cohen (USA), Darlene, Charmaine and Jayson Sutcliffe (AUST). 1990 World Championships, Germany.
Jayson's career on the international stage began 1985 at the age of 15 in Italy at the Senior world championships, ranking 9th out of 42 (pictured left). It wasn't easy from there and it wasn't until 1990 when he won Australia's his first individual event medal, ranking him No.2 in the world, opening the door for skaters down under to follow.
Make or break time.
In 1991 Jayson's brother Colin took his life only weeks prior to the world championships. Jayson competed nonetheless in his home country in front of his grieving parents and it was a disaster. He went from being ranked 2nd in the world, to 22nd in the world. He vowed to be BACK in 1992... and he was.
Jayson spent three months in the US training prior to the world meet with Petra and April Dayney and it paid off. He won the silver medal and proved to be a force for the following years.
Fast forward five years, five more world top 3 medals and his dream of becoming a world champion is realised in Giron, Colombia, alongside fellow Australian, Tammy Bryant. Not to be outdone, he came home with two gold medals (men's free skating and men's combined) and a front cover shot on the Colombian newspaper 'The Kangaroo has jumped'. This was also a history making moment for Australia by having TWO world champions and giving Australia a country ranking of No.2 in the world. The first and only time it has ever happened.
Pictured: Tammy Bryant, Jayson Sutcliffe, Charmaine and Amanda Bryant.
1995 World Championships, Colombia.
Between 1985 and 2005, Jayson's twenty year stint on the 'world competitive circuit' saw him accumulate no less than 13 Top 3 rankings (medals), four of them Gold. He was inducted into the Skate Australia 'Hall of Fame' in 1996 and received Life Membership's to Skate Victoria & Caribbean Roller-skating Club in recognition of his achievement and contribution to the sport of roller figure skating. In 2013, after 22 years of coaching, he was awarded the 'Coach of the Year' award for the first time by Skate Australia. In 2019 he announced his retirement from the sport and coaching, but you never know what the future holds!
A Gallery of images childhood through to 2019 - Life on Wheels
