We all cheered as the Australian men’s pursuit team cycled to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

The squad of Oliver Bleddyn, Kelland O’Brien, Sam Welsford and Conor Leaby had earlier claimed a world record in the qualifier before defeating Great Britain in the final.

What many of us didn’t realise is that the team is coached by Tim Decker, brother and brother-in-law to Donald’s Carolyn and Charles Wheeler.

Tim was born in Natimuk and soon began BMX riding with the Horsham Cycling club. Here, his Uncle Gordan Taylor encouraged him into cycling at the Horsham velodrome. He then headed to Bendigo and furthered his cycling career in his early twenties and opened his own store “Decked Out Coaching”. He married in 2005 and he and his wife Michelle moved to Sydney in 2007 and then Adelaide in 2009, where they currently reside with their two boys.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 20 August 2024.