Tony Marchant (cyclist)

Tony Marchant
Personal information
Full name	Tony Marchant
Nickname	Tippy
Born	28 August 1937 (age 86); Chelsea, Victoria, Australia
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	65 kg (143 lb)
Team information
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Sprinter
Medal record
Representing Australia
Men's track cycling
Olympic Games

Anthony John Marchant OAM, also known as "Tippy" Marchant (born 28 August 1937) is a former Australian track cyclist who along with Ian Browne won the 2000 m tandem event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Marchant had little formal training and only took up the sport at the age of 16 because his friends liked the sport. In 1955, Marchant shot to prominence after only two years in the sport, winning the 500 m time trial and the 5 mile event at the Junior Australian Championships. This resulted him being approached by Browne to team up in early 1956 and they promptly won the tandem event at the national championships to earn national selection. The pair were eliminated after losing their first two races but were given a reprieve when the Soviet Union pair were hospitalised in a crash and forced to withdraw. Thereafter Marchant and Browne were unbeaten and progressed to an unlikely Olympic gold. In 1957, Marchant retired to play Australian rules football, again basing his decision on his friends' interests. In 1958 he made a brief comeback as a professional, but with only sporadic success, he retired in 1961.