Australia at the Olympics

Australia has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic Games, as well as every Winter Olympics except 1924–32 and 1948. In 1908 and 1912 Australia competed with New Zealand under the name Australasia.

Australia at the Olympics
IOC code	AUS
NOC	Australian Olympic Committee
Website	www.olympics.com.au
Medals Ranked 14th	Gold 188 Silver 199 Bronze 232 Total 619
Summer appearances
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winter appearances
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 2030
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games ––––  Australasia (1908–1912)

Australian Olympic Team Uniforms unveiled for Rio 2016

Australian Olympic athletes in 1932 wearing the traditional uniform of a dark green blazer trimmed with yellow, still in use at the London 2012 opening ceremony.^[1]

History

Australia has been represented at every Summer Olympics. New Zealander Leonard Cuff, an athletics administrator, organised with both Baron Pierre de Coubertin and head of the English Amateur Athletics Federation Charles Herbert, for Australasia to be represented at the first International Olympic Committee meetings in 1894. While it was initially thought that no Australian (or New Zealand) athlete would be able to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics, Edwin Flack, an Australian accountant and amateur athlete working in London, was able to obtain leave and travelled to Athens, where he won Gold in the 800 and 1500 metres, representing Australia.^[2] Australia and New Zealand were represented by Australasia at the IOC until 1920, although the two nations competed as individual entities at the 1908 and 1912 games. From 1920 onwards, they competed as separate nations.^[3]

Australia became the first country in the Southern Hemisphere to host the games, hosting the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, before hosting the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Australia is due to host the Summer Olympics for the third time at the 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane.^[4]

While Australia had frequently overachieved at the Summer Olympic Games, this came to a halt at the 1976 Olympic Games. After winning at least five gold medals and seventeen total medals at every Olympics since 1956, Australia won zero gold medals and only five medals in total. This was the first time Australia had not won Gold since the 1936 Summer Olympics. It caused an uproar in Australia, and the government-funded Australian Institute of Sport was subsequently founded in 1981. Since the formation of the AIS, Australia has finished with less than 20 medals only once, in 1988, and has won at least three gold medals at every Summer Olympics since, holding an average of 11 gold medals per Games.^[5][6]

While Australia has focused largely on the Summer Olympics, Australia has been represented at the Winter Olympics since 1936 with Ken Kennedy the first Australian Winter Olympian and sole representative. Kennedy competed in the Speed skating in all four events, with a best finish of 29th in the 500 metres. It would take until 1952 for the next representatives, starting an unbroken attendance streak. Despite this long history, it took until the 1994 Winter Olympics to win its first medal: Bronze in the Men's 5000 metre relay. After Zali Steggall won Australia's first individual medal in the Women's Slalom at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia was founded, leading to Australia's first Winter Olympic gold medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics with Steve Bradbury winning the Men's 1000 metres and Alisa Camplin winning the Women's aerials.^[7]

Olympic bids and hosted Games

Hosted Games

Australia has hosted the Olympic Games twice and will host again in 2032:

Games	Host city	Dates	Nations	Participants	Events
1956 Summer Olympics	Melbourne, Victoria	22 November–8 December	72	3,314	151
2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, New South Wales	15 September–1 October	199	10,651	300
2032 Summer Olympics	Brisbane, Queensland	23 July–8 August	TBD	TBD	TBD

Unsuccessful bids

Australia has unsuccessfully bid for the Games on three other occasions:^[8]

Games	Proposed host city	Awarded to
1988 Summer Olympics	Melbourne, Victoria	Seoul, South Korea
1992 Summer Olympics	Brisbane, Queensland	Barcelona, Spain
1996 Summer Olympics	Melbourne, Victoria	Atlanta, United States

Overview of Olympic participation

See also: All-time Olympic Games medal table

Timeline of participation

Date	Team
1896-1900	Australia (AUS)
1904	Australia (AUS)
1908–1912	Australasia (ANZ)
1920–	Australia (AUS)	New Zealand (NZL)

Australia at the Summer Olympics   Host country Games Athletes  Gold  Silver  Bronze Total Rank 1896 Athens 1 2 0 0 2 8 1900 Paris 3 2 0 3 5 9 1904 St. Louis 3 0 3 1 4 11 1908 London as part of  Australasia (ANZ) 1912 Stockholm 1920 Antwerp 13 0 2 1 3 16 1924 Paris 37 3 1 2 6 11 1928 Amsterdam 18 1 2 1 4 19 1932 Los Angeles 12 3 1 1 5 11 1936 Berlin 33 0 0 1 1 30 1948 London 77 2 6 5 13 14 1952 Helsinki 81 6 2 3 11 9 1956 Melbourne 314 13 8 14 35 3 1960 Rome 188 8 8 6 22 5 1964 Tokyo 234 6 2 10 18 8 1968 Mexico City 175 5 7 5 17 9 1972 Munich 173 8 7 2 17 6 1976 Montreal 184 0 1 4 5 32 1980 Moscow 123 2 2 5 9 15 1984 Los Angeles 240 4 8 12 24 14 1988 Seoul 270 3 6 5 14 15 1992 Barcelona 290 7 9 11 27 10 1996 Atlanta 424 9 9 23 41 7 2000 Sydney 630 16 25 17 58 4 2004 Athens 482 17 16 17 50 4 2008 Beijing 433 14 15 17 46 6 2012 London 410 8 15 12 35 8 2016 Rio de Janeiro 422 8 11 10 29 10 2020 Tokyo 470 17 7 22 46 6 2024 Paris 461 18 19 16 53 4 2028 Los Angeles future event 2032 Brisbane future event Total 182 192 226 600 4

Australia at the Winter Olympics Games Athletes  Gold  Silver  Bronze Total Rank 1924 Chamonix did not participate 1928 St. Moritz 1932 Lake Placid 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1 0 0 0 0 – 1948 St. Moritz did not participate 1952 Oslo 9 0 0 0 0 – 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo 8 0 0 0 0 – 1960 Squaw Valley 31 0 0 0 0 – 1964 Innsbruck 6 0 0 0 0 – 1968 Grenoble 3 0 0 0 0 – 1972 Sapporo 4 0 0 0 0 – 1976 Innsbruck 8 0 0 0 0 – 1980 Lake Placid 10 0 0 0 0 – 1984 Sarajevo 10 0 0 0 0 – 1988 Calgary 18 0 0 0 0 – 1992 Albertville 23 0 0 0 0 – 1994 Lillehammer 25 0 0 1 1 22 1998 Nagano 24 0 0 1 1 22 2002 Salt Lake City 27 2 0 0 2 15 2006 Turin 40 1 0 1 2 17 2010 Vancouver 40 2 1 0 3 13 2014 Sochi 60 0 2 1 3 24 2018 Pyeongchang 51 0 2 1 3 23 2022 Beijing 43 1 2 1 4 18 2026 Milano Cortina future event 2030 French Alps 2034 Salt Lake City Total 6 7 6 19 26

Medals by summer sport   Leading in that sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total  Swimming 76 78 76 230  Athletics 22 29 32 83  Cycling 18 21 23 62  Sailing 14 9 8 31  Rowing 13 15 17 45  Canoeing 8 9 15 32  Equestrian 6 5 4 15  Shooting 5 1 6 12  Field hockey 4 4 5 13  Diving 3 4 8 15  Skateboarding 3 0 0 3  Tennis 2 1 4 7  Triathlon 1 2 2 5  Water polo 1 1 2 4  Weightlifting 1 1 2 4  Beach volleyball 1 1 1 3  Taekwondo 1 1 0 2  Archery 1 0 2 3  Modern pentathlon 1 0 0 1  Rugby sevens 1 0 0 1  Basketball 0 3 4 7  Boxing 0 1 6 7  Softball 0 1 3 4  Wrestling 0 1 2 3  Marathon swimming 0 1 1 2  Surfing 0 1 1 2  Baseball 0 1 0 1  Gymnastics 0 1 0 1  Judo 0 0 2 2 Totals (29 entries) 182 192 226 600

Medals by winter sport Sport Gold Silver Bronze Total  Freestyle skiing 4 3 2 9  Snowboarding 1 3 2 6  Short track speed skating 1 0 1 2  Skeleton 0 1 0 1  Alpine skiing 0 0 1 1 Totals (5 entries) 6 7 6 19

These totals do not include 11 medals recognised by the Australian Olympic Committee: 10 medals (3 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze) won by Australians competing for the combined Australasia team in 1908 and 1912 (8 by individuals, 1 by an exclusively Australian team and 1 by a combined team) and 1 bronze medal won in tennis by Edwin Flack in 1896. The AOC therefore recognises Australia as having won 611 medals at the Summer Olympics (185 gold, 196 silver and 230 bronze).^[9]

Medals by individual

This is a list of people who have won at least three Olympic gold medals for Australia, based upon data from the International Olympic Committee. Medals won in the 1906 Intercalated Games are not included. It includes top-three placings in 1896 and 1900, before medals were awarded for top-three placings.

Athlete	Sport	Years	Games	Gender				Total
Emma McKeon	Swimming	2016–2024	Summer	F	6	3	5	14
Ian Thorpe	Swimming	2000–2004	Summer	M	5	3	1	9
Kaylee McKeown	Swimming	2020–2024	Summer	F	5	1	3	9
Mollie O'Callaghan	Swimming	2020–2024	Summer	F	5	1	2	8
Dawn Fraser	Swimming	1956–1964	Summer	F	4	4	0	8
Ariarne Titmus	Swimming	2020–2024	Summer	F	4	3	1	8
Cate Campbell	Swimming	2008–2020	Summer	F	4	1	3	8
Libby Trickett	Swimming	2004–2012	Summer	F	4	1	2	7
Murray Rose	Swimming	1956–1960	Summer	M	4	1	1	6
Betty Cuthbert	Athletics	1956–1964	Summer	F	4	0	0	4
Leisel Jones	Swimming	2000–2012	Summer	F	3	5	1	9
Petria Thomas	Swimming	1996–2004	Summer	F	3	4	1	8
Grant Hackett	Swimming	2000–2008	Summer	M	3	3	1	7
Emily Seebohm	Swimming	2008–2020	Summer	F	3	3	1	7
Andrew Hoy	Equestrian	1984–2020	Summer	M	3	2	1	6
Shirley Strickland	Athletics	1948–1956	Summer	F	3	1	3	7
Jessica Fox	Canoeing	2012–2024	Summer	F	3	1	2	6
Shane Gould	Swimming	1972	Summer	F	3	1	1	5
Drew Ginn	Rowing	1996–2012	Summer	M	3	1	0	4
James Tomkins	Rowing	1992–2004	Summer	M	3	0	1	4
Bronte Campbell	Swimming	2012–2024	Summer	F	3	0	1	4
Matthew Ryan	Equestrian	1992–2000	Summer	M	3	0	0	3
Rechelle Hawkes	Field Hockey	1988–2000	Summer	F	3	0	0	3
Jodie Henry	Swimming	2004	Summer	F	3	0	0	3
Stephanie Rice	Swimming	2008–2012	Summer	F	3	0	0	3

• People in bold are still active competitors

Dale Begg-Smith and Torah Bright are the most successful Australian athletes at the Winter Olympics, with one gold medal and one silver each (Steven Bradbury, Alisa Camplin, and Lydia Lassila all won one gold and one bronze medal). Emma McKeon is the most prolific athlete at a single games, winning 7 medals (4 gold, 3 bronze) at the 2020 Olympics. While Lauren Jackson never won a gold medal, she is the only Australian to win medals in five different Olympics.

Summary by sport

Swimming

Australia first competed in swimming at the 1900 Games, with Frederick Lane competing in two events and winning gold medals in both. The sport would become a strength of the nation, which (as of the 2024 Games) has the second-most gold and second-most total medals behind the United States.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	76	78	76	230

Athletics

Australia first competed in athletics at the inaugural 1896 Games, with 1 athlete (Edwin Flack) competing in 3 events and winning two of them.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	22	29	32	83[10]

Canoeing

As of the 2024 Games, half of Australia’s gold medals in canoeing have been won by sisters Jessica Fox and Noemie Fox.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	8	9	15	32

Cycling

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	18	21	23	62

Rowing

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	13	15	17	45

Sailing

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	14	9	8	31

Skateboarding

Keegan Palmer won a gold medal - Australia’s first skateboarding medal in the Men’s Park event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. At the 2024 Paris Olympics both Keegan Palmer and Arisa Trew both won gold at the respective Men and Women’s Park events.

Tennis

Australia first competed in tennis at the inaugural 1896 Games, with one player competing in men's singles and, as part of a mixed team, in men's doubles. Edwin Flack lost in the first round of the singles, but paired with George S. Robertson to earn bronze in the doubles. The mixed team medal is not credited to Australia. The first tennis gold medal won by Australia was by the Woodies in men's doubles in 1996; the pair also won Australia's only silver medal in the sport four years later. In 2024, Matthew Ebden and John Peers won the men's doubles, providing Australia with its second gold medal in tennis.

Games	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Total	2	1	4	7[11]

See also

• Olympics portal

• List of flag bearers for Australia at the Olympics
• Australia at the Winter Olympics
• Australia at the Commonwealth Games
• Australia at the Universiade
• Australia at the World Championships in Athletics
• Category:Olympic competitors for Australia

Notes

References

1. "2012 Australian uniform". Archived from the original on 2017-07-29. Retrieved 2016-08-27.
2. "Australia's first Olympian". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
3. "100 years of the AOC". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
4. "100 years of the AOC". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
5. "Australia's Olympic Medal Tally - Summer Games". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
6. "Sporting greats share fears for Australia's Olympic standing as Australian Institute of Sport marks 40 years". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
7. "100 years of the AOC". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
8. "100 years of the AOC". Retrieved 4 August 2024.
9. "St Louis 1904". Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
10. Does not include a gold medal for the 5000 metres team race, in which an Australian runner competed with runners from Great Britain.
11. Does not include a bronze medal won in 1896 by a mixed team with an Australian player.

External links

• "Australia". International Olympic Committee. 27 July 2021.
• "Australia". Olympedia.com.
• "Olympic Analytics/AUS". olympanalyt.com.
• Australia NOC