The Canada-born Corey did not grow up looking up to Bradbury but will nonetheless be hoping to emulate Bradbury's experience of winning a gold medal after coming narrowly close to death during a crash at a competitive event.
Corey was attempting to win from third position during the final lap in the quarter-finals of the 1000m event at the 2025 World Championships of short track speed skating when another competitor, China’s Liu Shaong, lost their balance in front of him and struck Corey in the neck with their blade, slicing it open and sending him into the barrier grabbing his neck.
He suffered fractured thyroid cartilage which temporarily disabled his ability to speak or eat solids, but fortunately escaped irreversible damage with the blade avoiding any arteries in his neck.
"I’m not fearful that it will happen again; it’s not healthy to live in fear,” Corey said previously of the incident.
“This was an extremely rare incident and not very typical within the sport ... It could have been much, much worse than it was."
“I have personally never seen anyone have their neck cut by a blade in my 20 years of speed skating.”
Whilst now conceding that he would be "a bit smarter about it now" and won't be taking unnecessary risks in qualifying rounds, Corey insists his near-death experience won't change he approaches his second Winter Olympics.
"I’m not afraid to throw myself into the mix," he told Nine Newspapers earlier this week.
"I’ve learned from that and moved on, and it’s not going to affect how I skate here."
Bradbury overcame an incredible accident of his own on his way to gold, albeit going through a far closer call with the afterlife in 1994.
At the age of 20, shortly after representing Australia at the 1994 Winter Olympics, Bradbury suffered a blade cut that sliced all of his quadricep muscles in one leg, an accident that resulted in him losing four litres of blood.
Bradbury required life-saving surgery that included 111 stitches and an 18-month recovery.
In September 2000, Bradbury was told by doctors he would never skate again after fracturing two vertebrae in his neck during a training mishap that also required pins in his skull and six weeks of immobility in a neck brace.
Shortly after 9pm Sydney time on Tuesday night, Corey will be looking one step - or skate - closer to becoming Australia's newest speed skating Olympic medallist.
He's not expected to be in the final, with the 1500m race his strongest discipline. But as we all know, anything is possible in the world of sport.