Wilf O'Reilly
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's short track speed skating | ||
Representing  United Kingdom
| ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1991 Sydney | Overall |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 1990 Amsterdam | Overall |
Wilfred John O'Reilly (born 22 August 1964 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England)[1] is a former British short track speed skater. He won two gold medals at the 1988 Winter Olympics when short track speed skating was held as a demonstration sport. He was also the 1991 Overall World Champion. He was also coach of the Netherlands short track team.
Speed skating career
O'Reilly won two gold medals in the 500 metres and 1000 metres at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, but was denied full Olympic acclamation because short track speed skating was just a demonstration event that year. O'Reilly won the overall World Championship title in Sydney in 1991.
O'Reilly had a disastrous 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer where he crashed out of both the 500 metres and 1000 metres, protesting about being forced to race with a damaged blade.
Commentating
O'Reilly commentated alongside Hugh Porter for BBC Sport on Speed skating at the Winter Olympics in both 2010 in Vancouver and 2014 in Sochi.
Honours
O'Reilly was awarded the MBE in 1997. He is currently a member of the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup Management Commission.