Mercy Health Imagine Fund helps Olympian return to the MCG

Once an Olympian always an Olympian, proudly remarked Mercy Place aged care resident Bob Joyce as he set foot on the Melbourne Cricket Ground arena on Wednesday, 65 years after running in the 110m hurdles event at the 1956 Olympic Games.

As a 20-year-old, Bob was the fastest Australian qualifier at the National trials a few months before the Games but due to the might of the American runners, he didn’t make it through to the Olympic finals. Still, Bob has amazing memories. As well as competing in the heats of the Olympics, he is immortalised as one of a select group of Australians who marched into the G on November 27 before 103,000 spectators for the opening ceremony.

Standing this week on what was then the old-styled red cinder hurdles track, Bob said ‘winning was everything’ but he is still immensely proud of his selection in the Australian team.

In recent years, staff at Mercy Place Colac have heard Bob, now aged 85, speak often about returning to the scene of what is one of his great memories. His visit actually coincided with the running of the heats of the Tokyo Olympics’ hurdles.

Bob’s visit to Australia’s iconic sports arena was made possible by the Mercy Health Foundation Imagine Fund, which enables aged care residents to fulfil a dream, and tick off that one late-in-life “bucket list” item.

The philanthropic arm of Mercy Health strives to raise awareness and funding for areas such as pregnancy research and also assists with the purchase of infrastructure in areas such as Neonatal Intensive Care and Special Care Nurseries for premature and unwell babies.

The initiative also enabled Bob to be chauffer driven to the MCG.

A limousine was driven into the bowels of the stadium and was given special permission to park on the players’ ramp, which provided Bob easy access onto the ground.

Earlier Bob had also received a joyous farewell from staff and residents at Mercy Place Colac who formed a guard of honour, cheering and waving flags, as he headed off to Melbourne.

Mercy Health Foundation General Manager, Ms Julie Owens, said it was a wonderful sight to see Bob beaming and proudly holding court before media on the hallowed turf.

“The Imagine Fund is an opportunity to revive a special memory in an aged care resident’s life and Bob’s story is obviously topical, revealing and exciting,” she said.

The MCG was also delighted to host Bob and used both its major scoreboards to generate signage which said: “Welcome James ‘Bob’ Joyce. 1956 Olympian, 110m hurdles”.

An MCG spokesperson says the venue is hearing and seeing from fewer ’56 Olympians so it was therefore appropriate to have Bob back on the arena.

As a schoolboy, Bob was also a promising footballer and it was near the end of the 1955 school footy season and his last year at school, that he received a phone call from the legendary John Landy – the former Governor of Victoria and the second man in the world to break the four-minute mile – who suggested he seriously turn his hand to athletics.

Within a short time, Bob had not only joined the Geelong Guild Athletic Club but he was winning state and national events which ensured his selection in the Olympic team.

Bob was accompanied onto the MCG by his proud grandson Jack, who resides at the University of Melbourne’s University College.

While not a sportsman himself, Jack says he is proud of his grandfather’s story and often shared the family memory with his friends.

One of Bob’s two daughter is retired champion rower Rebecca Joyce, who lives in Singapore and therefore could not be present.

Rebecca is a former world champion (lightweight sculls) and was a bronze medallist at the Atlanta Olympics.
Of greatest importance today for Bob is family.

His two daughters and only son Matthew, a Colac beef farmer, have provided him with eight grandchildren, who live in Singapore, Victoria and the US where daughter Bridget lives and works in Colorado.

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