On the occasion of Australia Day, the Council handed out awards for "Person of the year", "Young Person of the year" "Volunteer of the year", "Sportsperson of the year" and more.
According to Mr Aulakh, he felt extremely proud to be the first person of Indian heritage, of Punjabi background and from the Sikh faith to be in contention for this award.
"They read out my achievements, announced that I've won 126 medals in my lifetime, of which 77 are gold. Everyone clapped for me and cheered me on".
The citation for Mr Aulakh, as read out at the Australia Day event, was as follows:
HS Aulakh and other award winners at Coffs Harbour Council on Australia Day 2016 Source: Supplied
Harbhajan Singh Aulakh
Dubbed ‘The Marathon Man’ and ‘A Real Life Super Hero’, this amazing 83-year-old world class veteran athlete took out nine Gold and three Silver medals at the 15th Australian Masters Games in Adelaide in October 2015 where he competed in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5,000m, 5,000m Walk, 100m Hurdles, Steeplechase, Long Jump, Triple Jump, and High Jump.
He humbly puts his success down to hard work, training hard and running three to four hours daily before competitions and a simple lifestyle - ’’simple food, simple thinking and simple living,” he says.
Harbhajan has been competing in the Masters Games nationally and internationally for many years and, since migrating to Australia, proudly carries the Australian Flag into each competition.
The Masters Games are held biennially and give athletes over 30 the opportunity to compete in different sporting events. Over the last 30 years Harbhajan has accumulated 128 medals in various sporting contests including the Asian Masters Games.
His record speaks for itself:
* 2013 - Australian Masters in Geelong - 5 gold Medals
* 2012 -Australian Masters Games Melbourne - 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 5 Bronze Medals
* 2011- Victorian Masters Games in Doncaster - 7 Gold, 1 Silver Medal
* 2010 - Australian Gold Coast Mini Olympics where competitors included athletes from Australia, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Fiji, China and Japan. Harbhajan Singh competed in 11 events with a tally of 7 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze Medals
* 2009 - 12th Australian Masters Games - 6 Gold. Amazingly, he won a gold medal in every event that he participated in at these games
* 2009 - World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia where 28,000 contestants from 94 countries participated in many different sports including athletics in which Harbhajan competed in 13 events, claiming 4 Gold, 4 Silver, and 2 Bronze Medals
* 2008 - Sikh Games in Perth-1 Gold
* 2002 - World Masters Games in Melbourne - 2 Bronze
* 2000 - Asian Masters Games - India - 2 Gold, 1 Silver 1 Bronze Medal
* 1999 - World Masters Games - UK -1 Gold
* 1995 - World Masters Games in Malaysia - 2 Gold 1 Silver
At 83 he has a sporting record which is the envy of many elite athletes, but he is an entirely self-funded competitor, who earns the money to take part in competitions by working at a blueberry farm.
Mr Aulakh spoke to SBS Punjabi program soon after the ceremony today.
HS Aulakh with the Mayor at Coffs Harbour Council on Australia Day 2016 Source: SBS Punjabi
PLEASE NOTE: Mr Aulakh mistakenly believed that he was the recipient of the "Sportsperson of the Year 2016" award, as claimed in this interview. Coffs Harbour Council would like to clarify that although he was a strong contender and has many credentials to his name, Will McLennan is the actual recipient of this year's Sportsperson title. SBS Punjabi program apologises for any confusion caused by the initial misunderstanding, and congratulates Mr Aulakh for being a worthy finalist.
