Andrew Murtha

Who is Andrew Murtha?

Andrew Murtha is an Australian short track speed skater who competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics and in the 1994 Winter Olympics.

In 1991, Murtha was part of the Australian quartet that won the 5,000 m relay at the World Championships in 1991 in Sydney. It was the first time that Australia had won a World Championship in a winter sport.

Australia's short track relay team went into the 1992 Olympics as world champions, but the team crashed in the semi-finals. The Australians were in third place when Richard Nizielski lost his footing; they finished fourth and failed to reach the final. Murtha and his teammates finished seventh overall.

Murtha also competed the individual 1,000 metre event along with Nizielski and finished 19th out of 27 competitors.

In 1994, Murtha was part of the short track relay team won Australia's first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze. They scraped into the four-team final after edging out Japan and New Zealand to finish second in their semi-final. They adopted a plan of staying on their feet as first priority, and remaining undisqualified and beating at least one of the other three finalists.