Dick Telford
Emeritus Professor, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise and Health Research Institute, University of Canberra
As inaugural sports scientist at the AIS in 1981, Dick was tasked with setting up our first sports science program for Australian coaches. In 2005 his research moved to child physical activity related health, directing the Australian LOOK longitudinal cohort study, and overall, he has around 120 peer-reviewed publications.
His coaching career always ran in parallel, initially in VFL football and cricket, and two years with the Victorian State cricket team in 1978-80 yielded 2 Sheffield Shields. In his personal sporting days, he won the VFA (now VFL) J.J. Liston Trophy in 1968 and medalled in the 1500 metres at the 1987 World Masters Athletics Championships.
Across recent decades, he coached Australia’s only Olympic marathon medallist and 6 Commonwealth Games gold medallists. Dick has been recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia, inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, and was selected as an ACT Senior Australian of the Year in 1917.