Australia at The Winter Olympics

Australia At The Winter Olympics

Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.

In the early years, Australia's athletes did poorly; only two athletes placed in the top half of their events before 1976, while the vast majority placed in the bottom quarter, including some who finished last. This lack of success was attributed to the Australian culture, climate and lack of snow, as well as the lack of support for the athletes—sports administrators regarded investment in winter sports as futile.

After the appointment of Geoff Henke—who had been unable to compete in 1956 after the administrators neglected to endorse his ice hockey team's application—as team manager in 1976, the results slowly began to improve, and by the 1990s, some Australians were regarded as medal prospects. The upturn in performance was accompanied by increased government funding for winter sports, the creation of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and the purchase of an alpine training base in Austria.

Australia won its first medal, a bronze, in 1994 in the men's 5,000 metres short track relay speed skating event. Zali Steggall gained Australia's first individual medal in 1998, when she won bronze in the slalom event. In 2002, Steven Bradbury won the 1,000 metres short track speed skating and Alisa Camplin won the aerials event, making Australia the only southern hemisphere country to have won a gold medal at a Winter Olympics.

Australia sent 40 competitors to compete in 10 sports at the 2006 Games in Turin, a national-record number of athletes and events. Their goal of winning a medal was achieved when Dale Begg-Smith won the gold in men's freestyle moguls skiing. Camplin claimed her second medal, a bronze in the aerials event. At the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Begg-Smith won a silver in the moguls, while Torah Bright and Lydia Lassila won the women's half-pipe snowboarding and aerial freestyle skiing respectively. The 2010 Games were Australia's most successful Winter Olympics, with two gold and one silver.