Jimmy Lynch first World Champion

7 November 2020   -   The first World Championships Shorttrack ever held was the ISU Championships on 8-9 April 1978 in Solihull Great Britain. The first World Tittle went to Sarah Docter (USA) and Jim Lynch (AUS). The video of this Championship can be seen on the page WebTV of Shorttrackonline.info.
   
    The medal Jim Lynch received from the ISU for the 1978 World Title was stolen several years ago, but last year the ISU decided to give him a copy of the original one, which was handed to him by the President of the Australian Ice Skating Federation Frank Anderson.
   
    Jimmy Lynch is a very special athlete and remarkable person with a long career in the sport as he is still very active as a shorttrack skater with the Masters. Born on March 16 1948 in Sydney and first skated there at Bondi ice rink when he was 12 years-old. He was Australian champion in 1965, then from 1969 until 1976, and again in 1978. Australian representative at the Sapporo Winter Olympics in 1972.
   
    His 1978 world shorttrack title was followed by a 500m world championship in 1979. He was Australian veteran champion in 1985, 1986, 1989, and 1991. Then 33 years after he had first begun he set personal best times for all distances at the 1995 Australian Championships.
   
    Lynch played club ice hockey for St George (later Hotspurs) in New South Wales until 1975 and represented his state four times between 1969 and 1972, winning two Goodall Cups in 1969 and 1970. He was inducted to the Australian Ice Racing Hall of Fame and the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for speed skating on 11 December 1991.
   
    Jim Lynch is still active in many Australian Championships and Masters competitions. He competed in the World Masters Games in 2017 in Sheffield, the 2019 edition in Melbourne and the Winter World Masters Games 2020 in Innsbruck.