Australia and Olympic athletics

Behind swimming, athletics is Australia’s second highest achieving sport in Olympic history. Edwin Flack’s two gold medals at Athens 1896 set the benchmark. Australia’s other male Olympic champions have been Anthony “Nick” Winter (triple jump at Paris 1924), John Winter (high jump at London 1948), Herb Elliott (1500m at Rome 1960) and Ralph Doubell (800m at Mexico City 1968). The two Winters were not related.

Australia’s women first competed in Amsterdam in 1928 with Edith Robinson competing in the 100m and 800m. The first gold medals came at Helsinki 1952 with Marjorie Jackson winning the 100m and 200m and Shirley Strickland the 80m hurdles. At Melbourne 1956 Australians won all the women’s track events with Betty Cuthbert, like Marjorie Jackson, winning the 100m and 200m and Shirley Strickland, in the 80m hurdles, becoming the first woman to successfully defend an Olympic athletics title. At the close of her career, Shirley Strickland had won seven Olympic medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze) which was a record for a female athlete for many years.

Betty Cuthbert won the inaugural women’s 400 metres at Tokyo 1964 and Maureen Caird and Pam Kilborn finished first and second in the 80m hurdles in Mexico City in 1968. Glynis Nunn won the first staging of the heptathlon (previously the pentathlon) at Los Angeles 1984 and Debbie Flintoff-King stopped the nation with her ever-so-narrow win in the 400m hurdles at Seoul 1988. Cathy Freeman, with the hopes of the whole country behind her, emphatically won the 400 metres in Sydney in 2000.

Athens in 2004 saw bronze medals going to Nathan Deakes and Jane Saville in the men's and women's 20km walks respectively. These medals were the first by Australian walkers at the Olympic since Noel Freeman's silver in the 20km event in Rome. The men's 4 x 400 metres relay team's unexpected silver medal emulated the performance of the Kevan Gosper-led quartet in Melbourne in 1956.

Olympic History

In winning the triple jump (then known as hop, step and jump) in Athens in 1896 James Connolly from the United States became the first Olympic champion in over 1500 years.

An Australian, Edwin Flack, was also victorious at Athens 1896 in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. Flack, who became known as “The Lion of Athens” was leading the marathon with about six kilometres to go before surrendering the lead to the eventual victor, Spiridon Louis from Greece, and eventually withdrawing before the finish.

The first events for women were not held until the 1928 Games in Amsterdam when the 100m, 4x100m relay, 800m, high jump and discus were contested.

Current World Records

Click here to access the IOC Current World Records (as at 18 Sep 2007)

Gold Medal Winners from the Past Three Olympic Games

Click here for a complete document of winners from Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.