Born Perth, WA
11 August, 1974
An accomplished BMX rider as a boy, Darryn Hill turned his attention to the velodrome in his teenage years where he met with outstanding success. At his first major international event, the Junior World Titles in Colorado in 1991, he won a bronze medal in the sprint. That was followed by a silver medal the following year in Athens in the 1000-metre time trial.
Possessing powerful thighs and a barrel chest, Hill was renowned for his explosive speed. The pinnacle of his career came at the 1995 Track World Championships in Colombia where he claimed the gold medal in the sprint. In the qualifying round he posted a time of 9.926 seconds for the flying 200m, becoming the first Australian to break the 10-second barrier. He had won a silver medal in the sprint at the previous year’s World Championships, and followed his world title with bronze medals in 1996 and 1997.
Hill added a second world title at the Championships in Manchester in 1996, where he teamed with Gary Neiwand and Shane Kelly to claim gold in the team sprint. When the event made its Olympic debut at the 2000 Sydney Games, he won a bronze medal riding alongside Kelly and Sean Eadie.
Individual success eluded Hill at the Olympic Games, where he placed fifth in the sprint in Atlanta and 12th in Sydney.
He won a full set of medals at the Commonwealth Games – gold in the sprint in 1998; silver in the time trial in 1994; and bronze in the sprint in 1994.