About Bill Roycroft
James William George Roycroft, OBE was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. He grew up on a dairy farm and learnt to ride horses there. After serving in the army in World War II, he moved with his family to a soldier's block in western Victoria near Camperdown, where he raised his three sons, all of whom went on to compete alongside their father in the Olympics. At his first Olympics, the 1960 Rome Games, he played a key role on the final day of the team three-day event, despite being thrown off his horse the day before, allowing Australia to win the gold medal in the competition. He went on to compete in four more Olympics from 1964 to 1976, winning bronze medals in team eventing at the 1968 Mexico City and 1976 Montreal Games. He later served as coach of the Australian eventing team. As part of the Australian team's preparation for the 1960 Rome Olympics, they took part in the Badminton Horse Trials, and Roycroft was the first Australian to win the individual three-day event there. He and Wayne were the first father–son combination to win a medal together. At the 1976 Games, he became Australia's oldest Olympic competitor at the age of 61.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.