The Greatest Athlete in History: Aussie Woodchopper David Foster
DYOR Dave
The great Don Bradman once said, “The finest of athletes have, along with skill, a few more essential qualities to conduct their life: with dignity, with integrity, with courage and modesty.” While Sir Don exemplified these values throughout his life, the incomparable career of David Foster embodies these qualities even more so than the Don, Cam Smith, Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and any other athletes that have ever been dubbed ‘The Goat.’
David Foster (OAM) was born in the woodchopper’s paradise of Tasmania, to a father who certainly knew his way around an axe. At just 21, David and his father George set up camp on the top podium of the 600mm Double-handed Sawing World Championship. They defended their title for 11 years in a row before George handed the reigns over to David’s brother Peter, who continued the family tradition and helped his brother to another 10 years of family glory.
In 2001 the World Sawing championships considered a permanent venue change to the Fosters backyard, as the 3rd generation of Fosters picked up the axe and just like his father before him, David ushered his son into the world of woodchopping.
Not since the Hapsburg family ruled over Europe for most the last millennium has the world seen such a long and successful family dynasty, and perhaps if wood was as big a commodity now as it was in times past, the Fosters themselves may have ruled over vast kingdoms.
There’s no doubt that David would list his family as his proudest achievement, such is the humility and integrity of this great Tasmanian, however the record books tell a different story. Apart from winning the Australian Axeman of the Year nine times in a row, David has won over 1000 championships, including every competition in Australia and New Zealand.
He has broken world records, captained his nation for 21 years straight and irreversibly changed the game of woodchopping altogether. It was a no-brainer for the Australian Axeman’s Hall of Fame to put David and his wife in charge in 2004, as there wouldn’t be a square inch of that Hall that didn’t carry the great Foster name.
Away from the trees, David is a community man through and through, partnering with numerous charities such as aged care, men’s health, LGBTQ rights and several others. For his immense efforts on and off the field, he has been rewarded with countless honours, including the Tasmanian of the year, the ANZAC, Centenary and Order of Australia Medals, as well as being inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, just to name a few.
So next time you’re sitting at a pub arguing about the greatest sportsman of all time, look no further than true blue Aussie hero David Foster. Just as The Don hitting a golf ball against a corrugated iron tank with a cricket stump has remained a part of Australian folklore, so should the image of David Foster chopping up firewood in the cold Tasmanian forests act as a cultural legend for all Australian’s to take inspiration from.
While Warnie may be living the celebrity life on the back of his own stellar career, there is no one in the world who deserves to be having sex parties with beautiful women than David Foster, although being the righteous family man that he is, Foster would politely decline. He leaves his woodwork to the axe, and that’s where it belongs in the Foster Family.
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