In the semifinal, three skaters, including the defending champion, crashed into each other and Bradbury moved up into second place to qualify for the final. In the final, Bradbury was substantially slower than his opponents and was safely in last place, around 15 m behind with only 50 m to go, when all four rivals collided and fell over, allowing him to avoid the pile-up and take the victory. The unlikely win turned Bradbury into something of a folk hero across Australia and around the world.