# 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.

## 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.

## 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:
| 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
### Timeline of participation

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

## 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 |

### 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 |