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Clever thinking from the erstwhile tennis pro
The recent siege at Lindt cafe in Sydney claimed three lives. Lindt cafe manager Tori Johnson, 34, lawyer Katrina Dawson, 38 and an Islamist gunman were killed in the cafe.
Former Wimbledon player 82-year old John O’Brien found himself in the middle of the crisis, and he had no hopes of getting out alive. In the heat of the moment, O’Brien, an accomplished tennis player in the 50s, made a daredevil plan to escape from the siege, putting his life at risk.
O’Brien looked at the gunman who was at the other end of the cafe. Three women were standing in front of the gunman, acting as human shields if the police were to attack.
O’Brien looked at Stefan Balafoutis, a lawyer who was standing next to him with his hands next to the window. “I said to the barrister, ‘Look, this is not going to end well, this guy will never get out of here alive, and he’s going to take everyone with him,’” O’Brien said to Stefan. “Good idea”, Stefan replied.
Man Haron Monis, a gunman, asked the hostages to hold up a black Shahada flag with the Islamic declaration of faith written on it. O’Brien agreed to do that and stood with the flag for over 45 minutes. He told Monis how old he was and that he needed to sit sown. Monis allowed O’Brien and a fewothers to sit.
Siezing the opportunity to escape
O’Brien quietly slipped out of his seat and sat on the floor. He noticed a little gap between the wall and an advertising placard, and knew he had to squeeze through for his plan to work. He tried several times, struggled and finally made it through.
Now the only thing between him and the gunman was the advertising placard. He saw a large green button in front of him and was unsure if it would open the glass doors. If it didn’t, he knew he would be killed by the gunman.
O’Brien was also concerned about the others stuck in the cafe. “I was terribly worried for them,” he said. He pressed the green button and escaped from the cafe, and Balafoutis followed O’Brien. Both men ran towards the poile officers with their hands in the air.
The siege ended at 2 am after police rushed in to save the hostages.
O’Brien reached the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1956, and played in as many as 10 Australian Open tournaments. He continues to be active on the tennis circuit even today, and is one of the most successful players aged over 80.
