Australia at the Olympics

Australia has sent athletes to all editions of the modern Olympic Games. Australia has competed in 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 152 Silver 168 Bronze 192 Total 512
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
Winter appearances
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
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]

The Australian Olympic Committee was founded and recognised in 1895. Edwin Flack was the first athlete to represent Australia at the Olympics. He won gold in both the 800 metres and the 1500 metres, competed in the marathon and won a bronze medal in tennis doubles at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Australia's kit is green and gold.[2][3][4]

Australia has hosted the Summer Olympic games twice: in 1956 in Melbourne and in 2000 in Sydney. Australia finished 3rd and 4th in the respective medal counts. In the Summer Olympics since 2000, Australia has placed 4th, 4th, 6th, 8th* and 10th respectively. (*Australia initially finished in 10th position in 2012, but 8th position after the redistributed gold medal to Jared Tallent). Given Australia has a population of only around 23 million people (ranked 53rd in the world[5]), this fact is frequently cited as noteworthy, and is ostensibly due to a strong sporting culture.[6] Other observers have suggested this may also be a result of the generous funding the Australian Government has invested into elite sports development with the specific intention of improving performance at the Olympic games.[7][8] Prior to Montreal, there was no government funding, however.

Many of Australia's gold medals have come in swimming, a sport which is popular in Australia, with swimmers from Dawn Fraser to Ian Thorpe ranking among the sport's all-time greats. Other sports where Australia has historically been strong include:

• field hockey, with the women's team winning three gold medals between 1988 and 2000 and the men's team winning in 2004;
• cycling, particularly track cycling;
• rowing;
• equestrian events and specifically the three-day teams eventing;
• and sailing.

Australia takes international sporting competition, particularly the Olympics, very seriously, and provides much government funding and coaching support to elite athletes, partly through the Australian Institute of Sport. Australia has been more modestly successful in the track events at the games, particularly in modern times. Historically, Betty Cuthbert is Australia's most successful track athlete with four gold medals (three in 1956 and one in 1964).

Australia did not win a medal at the Winter Olympics until 1994, but has moved higher on the medal tallies since then (ranking 13th at Vancouver 2010). This is a reflection on increased funding of Australia's Olympic Winter Games team .