Whetters' rise to a champion Australian cyclist was meteoric and at 17 he was the Australian Amateur 25 mile Road champion. His toughness as a rider was legendary. He would represent Australia at the Rome Olympics in 1960 at the age of twenty and would win Australian Cyclist of the year in 1967.
- Status: Pending1960Rome Teams Pursuit and Road Race 13th place (4:48.55)
- Status: Pending1968Sydney Professional Suntour Winner
- Status: Pending1969Duel Australian Professional Road & Track Champion
- Status: Pending1972Goulburn to Sydney 1st place
Beginnings
Rob grew up in Canterbury and came to the district in 1960 to raise his family at Chaseling Street, Greenacre. After 28 years he relocated to Georges Hall. He commenced racing at 14 years of age in 1954 as a member of Canterbury Bankstown Cycling Club
Achievements
In 1967 he received Australian Cyclist of the Year and the Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy and ‘Oppy' Medal. Rob won Gold in ‘the Scody Australian Open Road Cycling Championship' in 1969. He was awarded the symbolic cycling jersey featuring green and yellow stripes which can be worn by the rider at other road racing events in the country to show their status as national champion.
Post Representation
At 40 years of age in 1979 Rob retired. At the urging of his mates however he came out of retirement after a 28 year break. In 2009 he returned to cycling to take part in the World Masters Games (WMG) October 2009 winning bronze in the 200m individual pursuit and the 5km scratch race. Rob then competed in the UCI Cycling Masters World Championship winning a bronze medal in 2,000m pursuit with a time of 2.45.2.