Ross Forster (2019)
Ross was born in 1948 and joined Victoria Police on 8th May 1967. Ross had a love for cycling and as an Amateur cyclist, narrowly missed selection in the Australia Team for the 1976 Montreal Olympics. After further success as an Amateur including a bronze medal in the 1977 Oceania Games in the Teams Pursuit, Ross turned to the professional ranks to continue his career.
In 1981, Ross claimed victory in the Victorian 50km Championship before reaching the pinnacle of his career when later that year when he won 2 Australian titles at the 1981 National Championships in NSW. His first victory came in the 4000m Teams Pursuit where he was a member of the Victorian team with their victory setting a new Australian Record. This effort was followed by a win in the Individual Australian 50km Points Race Championships.
Ross was a regular competitor at many famous cycling events across Australia which included notable performances such as victory in the Morwell Madison as well as third place in the Bendigo Madison and the Melbourne Six day bike race.
Ross was also a master of Roller Cycling where he claimed victory 3 times in the “World of Sport” Roller Cycling Championships in 1979, 1981 & 1982. He was also Runner Up in 1980. In claiming his 1981 victory, Ross broke a 22-year record in clipping 3 seconds off the roller mile and breaking the magic minute.
In 1984, Ross competed in the International Police Olympics in Arizona, USA and was successful in winning a Silver medal in the “Criterium” race and a Bronze medal in the “Road Race”.
In 1987 Ross resigned from Victoria Police of his own accord after attaining the rank of Detective Senior Constable. Ross has continued his love for cycling and has continued to ride his bike whilst in retirement.
Ross was inducted into the Victoria Police Sporting Hall of Fame in 2019.
