Victor Hoog Antink AM has passed the flame once more, adding a rare Paris 2024 Summer Olympics torch to his collection housed at Bond University.
A former executive at Westfield and DEXUS Property Group, Mr Hoog Antink started collecting Summer Olympics torches after carrying the flame ahead of the Sydney 2000 Games.
He has now amassed 21, a complete set beginning with Berlin 1936.
Mr Hoog Antink said the Paris torch was the second most difficult acquisition in his collection.
“There were only 1500 torches compared to over 10,000 runners,” Mr Hoog Antink said.
“Many of the torches were given to the cities through which the torch relay ran, to the Olympic organisations around the world, and to celebrities.
“So that means virtually no one wants to give them up.”
Accordingly, only a handful of Paris torches have appeared on the open market, with several selling at auction at significant premiums over torches from previous Olympics.
The torch now on display at Bond was sourced from Portugal.
Mr Hoog Antink said the most difficult torch to acquire was the rarest in Olympics history, Helsinki 1952.
Just 22 were produced and only 17 are thought to remain. One sold at auction in London for a record £420,000 in 2015.
Mr Hoog Antink’s Helsinki torch is a high-quality replica that he had to travel across the globe to retrieve.
“I tracked one down in Greece and ended up flying there to collect it because the seller didn't want to pay for the insurance or the freight!”
The torch collection is housed in the Hoog Antink Olympic Room which complements the nearby honour boards recording all Bond Olympians and their achievements.
Bond University Vice Chancellor and President Professor Tim Brailsford thanked Mr Hoog Antink for entrusting the collection to the university.
“What Victor has created here is not only remarkable, it’s deeply inspiring,” Professor Brailsford said.
“Each torch tells a story of passion, perseverance, and purpose.
For our students, it’s a daily reminder that extraordinary things are possible.”
Mr Hoog Antink’s connection to Bond began when he studied an MBA at Harvard University where he met Dr Helen Nugent AC who would become Bond’s seventh Chancellor.
Years later when their paths crossed again, she urged him to get involved with the university.
Mr Hoog Antink is the current Chair of the Bond Business School Advisory Board and a former member of the Bond University Council.
The Hoog Antink Olympic Room has space set aside for torches from the Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Mr Hoog Antink said he hoped the collection would inspire students.
“The Olympics are a demonstration of total commitment and achievement,” he said.
“In my book, the small number of people that get to the Olympics have already qualified for a medal.
“It demonstrates not only to Bondies, but to the whole community, what people can achieve through dedication, commitment and hard work.”