Australia, a visionary force in winter sports

Since 1936, the Southern Hemisphere’s “sport-crazy island” has been a regular guest at the Winter Games. With gold on the poles and skeletal medal opportunities, euphoria thrives.

Australia competed in mixed curling at the Beijing Winter Games. Down Under was won the Gold Medal over the Masters of the Tournament by 23-year-old Jakara Anthony. Scotty James took the silver in the half-pipe on ice. After two skeleton runs, Jacqueline Narracott, a track and field athlete from Brisbane, led the ice track. What is neither a typo nor a clumsy confusion with Austria (no “yes, there are kangaroos in Australia”) is the logical consequence of a winter sports tradition cultivated on the faraway continent of the Southern Hemisphere. Team Australia in Beijing 44 strong players, competing in ten sports.

Of course, when you think of sports and Australia, your thoughts quickly turn to rugby, Australian rules football, sailing, the Melbourne tennis majors, Sydney 2000 (Kathy Freeman), surfing or the 2032 Games in Brisbane. But the nation has also expanded into winter sports (the first skiing as a hobby since 1860), and in 1998 the “Australian Olympic Winter Institute” was founded and supported with $1 million annually (along with “subsidies” from the International Olympic Committee). The first medals were won in 2002, now “Australians” are represented in almost all disciplines. Only in ice hockey are there still lost worlds.