Australia competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The team of 40 athletes was the largest ever for Australia, surpassing the team of 31 that participated at the 1960 Winter Olympics.
Prior to the Olympics, Australia had set a goal of winning one medal.Herald Sun: Aussies set target of one medal 2 February 2006. They were able to win two medals – one gold and one bronze – and had several other top 10 finishes.
Alisa Camplin served as flag bearer at the opening ceremonies.
Medalists MedalNameSportEventDate Freestyle skiing Men's moguls 15 February Freestyle skiing Women's aerials 22 February
Alpine skiing
Five Australian skiers competed in Turin, but only one, Craig Branch, finished a run. Branch was the first starter for the men's downhill, and his 32nd place was the highest finish for an Australian alpine skier since Calgary '88.
AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3TotalRankA. J. BearMen's super-GDid not finishCraig BranchMen's downhilln/a1:52.5532Jono Brauer Men's slalomDid not finishMen's combinedDid not finishBradley WallMen's giant slalomDid not finish
Note: In the men's combined, runs 1 is the downhill, and runs 2 and 3 are the slalom. In the women's combined, run 1 and 2 are the slalom, and run 3 the downhill.
Biathlon
Cameron Morton, a primary school principal, and the only Australian biathlete in Turin, was aiming for a top-fifty finish, but failed to make the top 80 in either of his two events. He was the fifth Australian to compete in an Olympic biathlon.
AthleteEventFinalTimeMissesRankCameron MortonMen's sprint32:07.4481Men's individual1:07:03.7782
Bobsleigh
The men's pair of Rolleston and McKenzie equalled the best Australian finish in the event by placing 22nd, while Loch-Wilkinson and Reed were the first to represent the country in women's bobsleigh. Australia also attempted to enter a four-man team in Turin, appealing to the IOC and the CAS after it was revealed a Brazilian athlete had tested positive for nandrolone in a pre-Olympic test. The athlete in question had competed in a qualifying race won by Brazil, with New Zealand second and Australia third, with the top two teams advancing. The disqualification of the Brazilian entry from that race could have allowed Australia to compete, but the IOC, FIBT and CAS rejected the appeal.
AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3Run 4TotalRankJeremy RollestonShane McKenzieTwo-man56.7756.5957.22Did not advance22 Astrid Loch-WilkinsonKylie ReedTwo-woman58.5358.8559.0058.733:55.1114
Cross-country skiing
Australia sent 3 skiers to compete in the cross country events, its largest contingent at a Winter Olympics.
Distance AthleteEventFinalTotalRankClare-Louise BrumleyWomen's 15 km pursuit47:03.142
Sprint AthleteEventQualifyingQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalTotalRankTotalRankTotalRankTotalRankEsther BottomleyWomen's sprint 2:23.55 52 did not advancePaul MurrayMen's sprint 2:25.29 51 did not advance
Figure skating
Joanne Carter, who had placed 12th at the 1998 Olympics, finished 25th in the women's short program, failing to advance to the free skate.
AthleteEventCDSP/ODFS/FDTotalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankJoanne CarterLadies'40.8625did not advance
Key: CD = Compulsory Dance, FD = Free Dance, FS = Free Skate, OD = Original Dance, SP = Short Program
Freestyle skiing
Canadian-born Dale Begg-Smith entered the Games as the top ranked man in moguls, and won Australia's only gold medal in Turin. 2002 Winter Olympics gold medallist Alisa Camplin also won a medal, bronze in the women's aerials. This made her the first Australian athlete to win back-to-back medals in a winter sport. Camplin won a medal despite having major surgery on her knee four months before the Turin games. Jacqui Cooper set a world record in qualifying for the women's aerials, but ended up 8th in the final.
Men AthleteEventQualifyingFinalPointsRankPointsRankDale Begg-SmithMoguls25.401 Q26.77Jason Begg-SmithMoguls20.2229Did not advanceNick FisherMoguls22.8916 Q23.3912Michael RobertsonMoguls21.5224Did not advance
Women AthleteEventQualifyingFinalPointsRankPointsRankManuela BerchtoldMoguls22.1916 Q22.2114Alisa CamplinAerials165.3210 Q191.39Jacqui CooperAerials213.361 Q152.698Elizabeth GardnerAerials127.4223Did not advanceLydia IerodiaconouAerials155.4514Did not advance
Luge
Hannah Campbell-Pegg was the lone lugist representing Australia in Turin. She finished 23rd overall.
AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3Run 4TotalRankHannah Campbell-PeggWomen's singles49.57749.35049.57449.0383:17.53923
Short track speed skating
Four years after Stephen Bradbury won a gold medal in short track, Australia's first, no Australian skater managed to advance to an A final. The best performance came from the men's relay, which won the B final to finish sixth.
AthleteEventHeatQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankTimeRankAlex McEwanMen's 500 m45.1734Did not advance22Mark McNeeMen's 1000 m1:30.0334Did not advance20Men's 1500 m2:29.3564Did not advance20Emily RosemondWomen's 1000 m2:40.1715Did not advance25Women's 1500 m1:39.9422 Q1:37.6273Did not advance12Lachlan Hay Stephen Lee Mark McNee Elliot ShrianeMen's 5000 m relayn/a7:03.3564Final B 7:01.666 6
Skeleton
Michelle Steele, who was recruited to participate in the skeleton just 14 months before the Games, finished 13th in the women's event. Steele was part of a program created by the Australian Institute of Sport to develop Australian winter athletes by converting athletes from summer sports.
AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2TotalRankShaun BoyleMen's1:00.131:00.002:00.1322Michelle SteeleWomen's1:01.261:02.212:03.4713
Snowboarding
Nine snowboarders represented Australia across each of the three disciplines, but only one, Torah Bright qualified for a medal final. Bright was touted as a medal threat, and though she failed to qualify in the first round, she finished 1st in the second to make the final. She struggled in her first run of the final, ending up 10th, but improved to 5th after the second run.
Halfpipe AthleteEventQualifying Run 1Qualifying Run 2FinalPointsRankPointsRankRun 1Run 2RankMitchell AllanMen's halfpipe28.8823.725Did not advance31Torah BrightWomen's halfpipe32.01043.11 Q(17.0)41.05Andrew BurtonMen's halfpipe15.23421.826Did not advance32Holly CrawfordWomen's halfpipe19.02229.918Did not advance18Ben MatesMen's halfpipe4.9435.036Did not advance42
Note: In the final, the single best score from two runs is used to determine the ranking. A bracketed score indicates the run in the final that wasn't counted.
Parallel GS AthleteEventQualificationRound of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalsTimeRankOppositionTimeOppositionTimeOppositionTimeOppositionTimeEmanuel OppligerMen's parallel giant slalom1:12.1115 Q (2)L +1.37 (+0.89 +0:48)Did not advanceJohanna ShawWomen's parallel giant slalom1:38.8629Did not advance
Key: '+ Time' represents a deficit; the brackets indicate the results of each run.
Snowboard cross AthleteEventQualifying1/8 finalsQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinalsTimeRankPositionPositionPositionPositionRankDamon HaylerMen's snowboard cross1:21.5112 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q3 Small final7Emily ThomasWomen's snowboard cross1:34.5721Did not advance
See also Australia at the 2006 Winter Paralympics Australia at the Winter Olympics
References
External links Australian NOC Olympic Winter Institute of Australia Australian Olympic Committee: "2006 Australian Winter Olympic Team" PDF file 25 January 2006.