Australia at the 1896 Summer Olympics

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Australia at the Olympic Games

Flag of Australia
IOC code  AUS
NOC Australian Olympic Committee
external link
At the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens
Competitors 1 in 2 sports
Medals Gold
2		 Silver
0		 Bronze
0		 Total
2
Olympic history (summary)
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*with New Zealand as Australasia
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One athlete from Victoria, a British colony which later formed part of Australia, competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Teddy 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.

Contents

[edit] Medals

[edit] Gold

  • Teddy Flack - athletics, 800 metres
  • Teddy Flack - athletics, 1500 metres

[edit] Results by event

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1896 Summer Olympics
Edwin Flack
Edwin Flack

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

Event Place Athlete Heat Final
800 metres 1st Teddy Flack 2:10.0 2:11.0
1500 metres 1st Teddy Flack No heats 4:33.2
Marathon – Teddy Flack No heats Did not finish

[edit] Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 1896 Summer Olympics

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.

Event Place Player(s) Round 1 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
Singles 8th Teddy Flack Lost Did not advance
Doubles 3rd Teddy Flack and
Great Britain George S. Robertson (GBR)		 – Bye Lost Did not advance
Opponent nation Wins Losses Percent
Greece Greece 0 2 .000
Total 0 2 .000

[edit] Notes

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

[edit] 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 [2])
  • 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 [3])
  • Smith, Michael Llewellyn (2004). Olympics in Athens 1896. The Invention of the Modern Olympic Games. London: Profile Books. ISBN 1-86197-342-X. 

[edit] External links


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