Australia at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Sporting event delegation
Australia at the
1900 Summer Olympics
IOC codeAUS
NOCAustralian Olympic Committee
Websitewww.olympics.com.au
in Paris, France
14 May, 1900 – 28 October, 1900
Competitors2 in 2 sports and 5 events
Medals
Ranked 9th
Gold
2
Silver
0
Bronze
3
Total
5
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

––––

 Australasia (1908–1912)

Australia competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Most Olympic historians keep Australian records at early Olympics separate from those of the United Kingdom, despite Australia not being an independent nation at the time.

Australia was represented by two athletes, both of whom won a medal in each event in which they competed. Frederick Lane won two gold medals in swimming and Stan Rowley won a gold medal (as part of a mixed team with Great Britain) and three bronze medals in athletics.[1]

Medalists

The following competitors won medals at the games. In the discipline sections below, the medalists' names are bolded. Medals awarded to participants of mixed-NOC teams are represented in italics. These medals are not counted towards the individual NOC medal tally.

Medal Name Sport Event Date
 Gold Stan Rowley Athletics 5000 m team race July 22
 Gold Frederick Lane Swimming 200 m freestyle August 12
 Gold Frederick Lane Swimming 200 m obstacle event August 12
 Bronze Stan Rowley Athletics 60 m July 15
 Bronze Stan Rowley Athletics 100 m July 14
 Bronze Stan Rowley Athletics 200 m July 22
Medals by sport
Sport 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Total
Athletics 0 0 3 3
Swimming 2 0 0 2
Total 2 0 3 5

Multiple medalists

The following competitors won multiple medals at the 1900 Olympic Games.

Name Medal Sport Event
Frederick Lane  Gold
 Gold		 Swimming 200 metre freestyle
200 metre obstacle event
Stan Rowley  Bronze
 Bronze
 Bronze		 Athletics 60 metres
100 metres
200 metres

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors in the Games.

Sport Men Women Total
Athletics 1 0 1
Swimming 1 0 1
Total 2 0 2

Swimming

One swimmer, (Frederick Lane) represented Australia in 1900. It was the nation's debut appearance in the sport. Lane won the 200 metre freestyle and obstacle races, both on the same day. He did not receive gold medals, but instead received bronze sculptures of a horse and peasant girl respectively. He was also the favourite for the 100 metre freestyle, but this event was cancelled.

Athlete Event Semi-final Final
Time Rank Time Rank
Frederick Lane 200 m freestyle 2:59.0 1 Q 2:25.2 1st place, gold medalist(s)
200 m obstacle event 3:04.0 1 Q 2:38.4 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Athletics

Rowley was Australia's only competitor in athletics. It was Australia's second appearance in the sport. He entered the three sprint events, taking the bronze medal in each of the three. Rowley also joined the Great Britain team in the 5-man team race, as the British squad had only 4 members. The 5 kilometres of the race was much further than Rowley was used to racing. After the first lap of the track, he injured his foot and began to walk. When the last of the other nine competitors (the United Kingdom and France were the only nations to send teams) finished, Rowley was still 1500 metres from the finish; officials allowed him to retire and claim 10th place at that point.

Rowley's three individual medals put him, and Australia, in ninth place on the athletics leaderboard.

Athlete Event Heat Semifinal Repechage Final
Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank Result Rank
Stan Rowley 60 m 7.3 2 Q — 7.2 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Stan Rowley 100 m 10.9 2 Q 11.2 2 R 11.0 2 11.2 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Stan Rowley 200 m 25.0 1 Q — 22.9 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Stan Rowley 400 m DNS — Did not advance
 Amateur Athletic Association of England (ZZX)
 Charles Bennett (GBR)
 John Rimmer (GBR)
 Sidney Robinson (GBR)
 Stan Rowley (AUS)
 Alfred Tysoe (GBR) 		5000 m team race — 26 points 1st place, gold medalist(s)

Non-Olympic events

Shooting

Donald Mackintosh was a professional shooter from Melbourne. He was travelling through Europe competing in a series of traditional competitions. He won the live game shooting (Prix Centenaire de Paris) with 22 consecutive kills of live pigeons, one more than Marquis de Villancosa of Spain. He finished in the joint third position alongside Crittenden Robinson of the United States in the live pigeon shooting (Grand Prix d'Exposition) with 18, behind the winner Leon de Lunden, who scored 21. Mackintosh' status has often been confused, as some historians were under the impression that game-shooting was an archery contest. The International Olympic Committee does not consider either event Olympic.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Australia at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

References

  1. ^ Titus O'Reily (20 August 2018). A Thoroughly Unhelpful History of Australian Sport. Penguin Books. p. 261. ISBN 9780143793519.
  • Andrews, Malcolm (2000). Australia at the Olympic Games.
  • De Wael, Herman. Herman's Full Olympians: "1900 Olympians from Australia". Accessed 11 March 2006. Available electronically at [1].
  • Mallon, Bill (1998). The 1900 Olympic Games, Results for All Competitors in All Events, with Commentary. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. ISBN 0-7864-0378-0.
Summer Olympic Games
Winter Olympic Games
Intercalated Games
Australia and New Zealand participated together as Australasia during the 1908 and 1912 Summer Olympics. Australia hosted the 1956 and 2000 Summer Olympics