Australia at the 1896 Summer Olympics

Australia at the Olympic Games
Flag of Australia IOC code  AUS NOC Australian Olympic Committee
At the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens
Competitors	1 in 2 sports
Medals	Gold 2	Silver 0	Bronze 0	Total 2
Olympic history (summary)
Summer Games
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 * with New Zealand as Australasia
Winter Games
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Intercalated Games
1906

One athlete from Victoria, a British colony which later formed part of Australia, competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Edwin Flack was born in England and was resident in London in 1896, but spent most of his life in Australia and so is considered an Australian athlete by the International Olympic Committee.^[1]

The Union Flag was used as the flag for the Australian colonies as well as Great Britain and Ireland at the 1896 Summer Olympics.

Flack was the only competitor from an Australian colony. He entered five events, winning medals in three. The bronze medal in tennis, however, was part of a mixed team and therefore is not counted for Australia.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
01 ! Gold	Edwin Flack	Athletics	800 m
01 ! Gold			1500 m

Athletics

Edwin Flack

Both of Flack's gold medals came in the athletics competitions as he won both of his track races.

Athlete	Events	Heat		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Edwin Flack	800 m	2:10.0	1	2:11.0
	1500 m	N/A		4:33.2
	Marathon	N/A		DNF	-

Tennis

In the singles tournament, Flack lost both of the matches he competed in. His loss in the semifinals of the doubles competition, while carrying no prize at the time, earned him a retroactive bronze medal from the International Olympic Committee. This medal is counted for mixed team rather than Australia, however.

Athlete	Event	First round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Rank
Edwin Flack	Singles	Akratopoulos (GRE) L	Did not advance			8

Opponent nation	Wins	Losses	Percent
Greece	0	2	.000
Total	0	2	.000

Notes

1. ↑ See, e.g., , the IOC medal chart for the 1896 Games listing Flack's two gold medals for Australia.

References

• Lampros, S.P.; Polites, N.G.; De Coubertin, Pierre; Philemon, P.J.; & Anninos, C. (1897). The Olympic Games: BC 776 – AD 1896. Athens: Charles Beck.  (Digitally available at )
• Mallon, Bill; & Widlund, Ture (1998). The 1896 Olympic Games. Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0379-9.  (Excerpt available at )
• Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X. 

External links

• Australian Olympic Committee