In the fourth part of this feature series, we take a trip down memory lane as Oscar recalls his standout sporting memories.

Oscar’s top sporting memories

Mark Webber’s first F1 win (2009, Nürburgring)
I remember I was at home that weekend and Mark was on pole position. Because of the time difference, it was the middle of the night back in Australia, so I fell asleep and woke up the next morning to find that he had won. As a fellow Aussie, I always wanted him to win so I was hoping I’d wake up to the right result. It was 2009, so I would have been 8 at the time and that is one of my very first memories of Formula 1. I remember watching the highlights back and the way he did it by recovering from a drive-through penalty was awesome and a big moment back in Australia, especially for the motorsport community.

Australia vs South Africa T20 (2009, MCG)
David Warner made his debut in this game and smashed 89 off 40 balls. I think it was something like the second-fastest T20 half-century ever at the time. He was at the crease for about an hour and just kept smashing fours and sixes all around the park. I remember going with my dad and I think in the same game, Shaun Tait, was bowling up around 100mph. He kept ramping up the speeds ball-by-ball and the whole crowd was glued to the big screen to see the speedometer. The MCG is an amazing place to watch live sport and the noise when there were wickets was awesome.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors (2016, NBA Finals)
It was one of the best comebacks in sporting history. Cleveland were 3-1 down against the Warriors who were a great team and came back to win 4-3. LeBron James was playing, who is one of my favourite-ever athletes, and I was following all the scores. LeBron started at Cleveland, then went to Miami before going back to Cleveland. It was the team’s first championship in franchise history and they became the first team in NBA Finals history to overcome a 3-1 deficit. I had followed basketball before that point, but this was the moment that hooked me.

The AFL Grand Final (2010, MCG)
St Kilda were taking on Collingwood. I must point out that I am a Richmond Tigers fan but I remember this game because it was so unusual. The rule was that if the game was a tie, they had to come back and replay it the week after, so after a 68-68 draw, they had to do it all again. I think that has only ever happened a few times in history. It’s such a big match back home that it was crazy to be so close.

Another special AFL Grand Final was in 2017 when Richmond won. I was actually in a German hospital as a precaution because I had gone over a kerb at Hockenheim while racing. It was the team’s first premiership since 1980 and I can remember Dustin Martin running the show.