Editing Hubert Opperman (section)

==Anti-doping stance==
Opperman was widely known for his vocal opposition to [[Doping in sport|doping]] and illegal drugs being used by athletes attempting to gain a competitive advantage, a practice he labelled as “vicious”.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=13 December 1990 |title='92 ban for Ben? |work=Canberra Times |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122330199 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref>

Despite racing and competing in an era where doping in sport was considered to be available to most athletes and prevalent within sections of the world’s cycling community,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Academy |first=U. S. Sports |date=29 June 2012 |title=Doping Part of Professional Cycling's Culture |url=https://thesportdigest.com/2012/06/doping-part-of-professional-cyclings-culture/ |access-date=13 October 2023 |website=The Sport Digest |language=en-US}}</ref> Opperman was never the subject of any credible or formal accusation or investigation for doping and the taking of illegal substances.

As an advocate for natural athleticism over artificial enhancement, Opperman often cited the benefits of healthy diet, physical training, rest and preparedness in maximising a cyclist's endurance and competitive edge.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 November 1937 |title=OPPERMAN'S MARATHON RIDE |work=Benalla Standard |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article269703818 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bromhead |first=Nat |date=7 June 2022 |title=How A Letter From Sir Hubert Opperman Helped Lead To A Lifetime Of Cycling |url=https://bicyclingaustralia.com.au/news/how-a-letter-from-sir-hubert-opperman-helped-lead-to-a-lifetime-of-cycling/ |access-date=13 October 2023 |website=Bicycling Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=29 September 1937 |title=HUBERT OPPERMAN. Preparations for Record Ride. |work=Sydney Morning Herald |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17412510 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref>

1932 Australian Olympic team [[Massage|masseur]], Edwin Gill, called Hubert Opperman "one great antagonist of doping” and said that, along with fellow champion rider Duncan Gray, they opposed the practice of doping. When referencing that some cyclists’ trainers might have secretly added dope to a riders’ intake, Gill noted that Opperman would never participate.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=6 July 1939 |title=DOPING OF ATHLETES IN AUSTRALIA |work=Sun |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article231406266 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref> Gill recounted: "In Europe, he [Opperman] threatened to sack trainers if they indulged in the practice [of doping their riders]."<ref name=":1" />

Towards the end of his cycling career, Opperman was adamant cyclists who took drugs were disadvantaging themselves, and that many clean champion riders were unfairly accused of taking drugs by their less successful opponents.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=15 July 1939 |title=Athletes Crippled by Drugs? |work=Saturday Evening Express |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264876800 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref> In 1939 Opperman stated:<blockquote>A beaten rider who has seen a rival make some extraordinary effort is often inclined to give himself a let out in his own mind by saying the other fellow must have been doped […] you cannot perform consistently if you dope, because a doped man takes more out of himself than nature would allow him to do. You can't thwart nature. There must be some compensation.<ref name=":2" /></blockquote>In [[Russell Mockridge]]’s posthumous autobiography, My World On Wheels, Mockridge wrote that he believed ‘strong stimulants’ were used by cycling champions in their era, but conceded that the great champions, including Hubert Opperman, realised the dangers [of drugs and doping] and would not "dare depend on them”. Mockridge states that caring for and feeding a cyclist’s body with proper food and providing it sufficient rest from the rigours of professional cycling was the key to these men becoming great champions with longevity in their sport.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Mockridge |first=Russell |title=My world on wheels: The posthumous autobiography of Russell Mockridge |publisher=Stanley Paul |year=1960 |isbn= |edition=1st |location=Australia |pages=132–133 |language=en}}</ref>

Mockridge, a fellow Australian and Victorian champion cyclist, said of Opperman and the great drug-free champions:<blockquote>Men who treat themselves this way are the champions whose reign will be a long one — Bartali, Coppi, Volpi, Bini and Magni of Italy; Geminiani Bobet, Gerardin and Vietto of France; Van Vliet, Derksen, Van Kempen and Schulte of Holland; Scherens, Van Steenbergen and, until he was killed, Ockers, of Belgium; Harris of England, Opperman and Strom of Australia.<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>In 1990 Opperman continued to be outspoken against doping and illegal drug taking in sport when addressing the [[Sport Australia Hall of Fame Awards|Sport Australia Hall Of Fame]] awards lunch, held at the [[Melbourne Cricket Ground]]. On the topic of athletes potentially doping to cheat at the upcoming [[1992 Summer Olympics|1992 Olympic Games]], he told the members and inductees:<blockquote>The use of drugs is a vicious practice [...] personally I would circulate expert medical opinions concerning its adverse effects to every competitor, demand they sign it as read and understood and then if they are tested positive, suspend them for life. Fame is something which must be won. Honour is something which must not be lost.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>In the official biography [https://www.sirbrucesmall.com.au Sir Bruce Small: From Malvern Star To Mr Gold Coast] by Rachel Syers, Hubert Opperman's late son, Ian Opperman, stated:<blockquote>One thing I wish to make quite clear is that [[Bruce Small]] [Hubert Opperman’s manager] and my father would never sanction the use of drugs and stimulants during their time together. Some authors have insinuated that my father received ‘help’ from sources never named and offer no proof that this occurred. My father was quoted in his own book, saying ‘there is no sporting prize worth the use of drugs and stimulants’. In 1995 [[Griffith University]] awarded my father an [[Honorary degree|Honorary Doctorate]] in Health and Psychology and in 2014 he was named Australian Tour de France Team Captain of the Century. These honours would not have been awarded had there been any question of drug involvement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Syers |first=Rachel |url=https://www.sirbrucesmall.com |title=Sir Bruce Small: From Malvern Star To Mr Gold Coast |publisher=Debanne Pty Ltd |year=2023 |isbn=9780648367147 |edition=1st |location=Australia |pages=278–279 |language=en}}</ref></blockquote>Daniel Oakman, a Senior Curator at the [[National Museum of Australia]] and historian was clear when describing Opperman’s healthy habits. Oakman said Opperman was viewed admirably for his ‘athletic virtue’ and that his ‘performance enhancement’ beverage of choice was simply coffee and a herbal brew as potent as a cup of tea or piece of chocolate. In 2021 Oakman attested: <blockquote>Abstemious (he neither drank nor smoked), disciplined, and unpretentious, Oppy was seen as a paragon of athletic virtue. His sports beverage of choice was coffee and the South American herbal brew called [[Yerba mate|Yerba maté]], which had the same stimulating effect as tea and chocolate.</blockquote>