Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

CRIPPLED as a child — with his legs in irons for five years — Fred Colman, one
and three mile amateur champion of Australia, provides another instance of
how a man may triumph over adversity. That he is able to run at all is due
to an almost miraculous cure.

Colman was born in England and came to Australia in approximately 1925 and was once one of the outstanding distance runners of this country.

"1 owe my very life to athletics. I would not care two straws whether I won or lost. To me the mere competition in an event and the thought that I may bring some success to my club— St Stephen's Harriers—and my State is my pleasure."

"Health is the greatest blessing one can have," he said. "Would you believe
it, that when I was a youngster I could hardly walk, and for five years I had
to get about with my legs in 'irons'— '1 had to be content to see the school
games and not to take part in them. I was so weak as a child that many
thought I might not be reared. Then, as 1 grew up, my limbs, with careful
massage and other attention, became stronger. However, little did I realise
that one day I would become a champion runner. I owe my present state
of perfect health to running in the open air."

Fred Colman and Gerald Backhouse - both from St Stephen's Harriers were great friends and athletic rivals.

Source Trove
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/181682969?searchTerm=fred%20colman%20legs