Australia_at_the_2006_Winter_Olympics
Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics
Sporting event delegation
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.
| Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
| IOC code | AUS |
| NOC | Australian Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Turin | |
| Competitors | 40 (23 men, 17 women) in 10 sports |
| Flag bearers | Alisa Camplin (opening) Dale Begg-Smith (closing)[1][2] |
| Medals Ranked 17th |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Prior to the Olympics, Australia had set a goal of winning one medal.[3] 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.
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gold | Dale Begg-Smith | Freestyle skiing | Men's moguls | 15 February |
 Bronze | Alisa Camplin | Freestyle skiing | Women's aerials | 22 February |
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.[4][5]
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Total | Rank | ||
| A. J. Bear | Men's super-G | Did not finish | ||||
| Craig Branch | Men's downhill | n/a | 1:52.55 | 32 | ||
| Jono Brauer | Men's slalom | Did not finish | ||||
| Men's combined | Did not finish | |||||
| Bradley Wall | Men's giant slalom | Did 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.
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.[6][7]
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Misses | Rank | ||
| Cameron Morton | Men's sprint | 32:07.4 | 4 | 81 |
| Men's individual | 1:07:03.7 | 7 | 82 | |
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.[8][9] 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.[10]
| Athlete | Event | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total | Rank | ||
| Jeremy Rolleston Shane McKenzie |
Two-man | 56.77 | 56.59 | 57.22 | Did not advance | 22 | |
| Astrid Loch-Wilkinson Kylie Reed |
Two-woman | 58.53 | 58.85 | 59.00 | 58.73 | 3:55.11 | 14 |
Australia sent 3 skiers to compete in the cross country events, its largest contingent at a Winter Olympics.[11]
- Distance
| Athlete | Event | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | ||
| Clare-Louise Brumley | Women's 15 km pursuit | 47:03.1 | 42 |
- Sprint
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | Rank | Total | Rank | ||
| Esther Bottomley | Women's sprint | 2:23.55 | 52 | did not advance | |||||
| Paul Murray | Men's sprint | 2:25.29 | 51 | did not advance | |||||
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.[12]
| Athlete | Event | CD | SP/OD | FS/FD | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Joanne Carter | Ladies' | 40.86 | 25 | did not advance | |||||
Key: CD = Compulsory Dance, FD = Free Dance, FS = Free Skate, OD = Original Dance, SP = Short Program
Canadian-born Dale Begg-Smith entered the Games as the top ranked man in moguls, and won Australia's only gold medal in Turin.[13] 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.[14][15] Jacqui Cooper set a world record in qualifying for the women's aerials, but ended up 8th in the final.[16]
- Men
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Dale Begg-Smith | Moguls | 25.40 | 1 Q | 26.77 |  |
| Jason Begg-Smith | Moguls | 20.22 | 29 | Did not advance | |
| Nick Fisher | Moguls | 22.89 | 16 Q | 23.39 | 12 |
| Michael Robertson | Moguls | 21.52 | 24 | Did not advance | |
- Women
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | ||
| Manuela Berchtold | Moguls | 22.19 | 16 Q | 22.21 | 14 |
| Alisa Camplin | Aerials | 165.32 | 10 Q | 191.39 |  |
| Jacqui Cooper | Aerials | 213.36 | 1 Q | 152.69 | 8 |
| Elizabeth Gardner | Aerials | 127.42 | 23 | Did not advance | |
| Lydia Ierodiaconou | Aerials | 155.45 | 14 | Did not advance | |
Hannah Campbell-Pegg was the lone lugist representing Australia in Turin. She finished 23rd overall.[17]
| Athlete | Event | Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total | Rank | ||
| Hannah Campbell-Pegg | Women's singles | 49.577 | 49.350 | 49.574 | 49.038 | 3:17.539 | 23 |
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.[18]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Alex McEwan | Men's 500 m | 45.173 | 4 | Did not advance | 22 | ||||
| Mark McNee | Men's 1000 m | 1:30.033 | 4 | Did not advance | 20 | ||||
| Men's 1500 m | 2:29.356 | 4 | Did not advance | 20 | |||||
| Emily Rosemond | Women's 1000 m | 2:40.171 | 5 | Did not advance | 25 | ||||
| Women's 1500 m | 1:39.942 | 2 Q | 1:37.627 | 3 | Did not advance | 12 | |||
| Lachlan Hay Stephen Lee Mark McNee Elliot Shriane |
Men's 5000 m relay | n/a | 7:03.356 | 4 | Final B 7:01.666 |
6 | |||
Michelle Steele, who was recruited to participate in the skeleton just 14 months before the Games, finished 13th in the women's event.[19] Steele was part of a program created by the Australian Institute of Sport to develop Australian winter athletes by converting athletes from summer sports.[20]
| Athlete | Event | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | Rank | ||
| Shaun Boyle | Men's | 1:00.13 | 1:00.00 | 2:00.13 | 22 |
| Michelle Steele | Women's | 1:01.26 | 1:02.21 | 2:03.47 | 13 |
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.[21]
- Halfpipe
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying Run 1 | Qualifying Run 2 | Final | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Rank | Points | Rank | Run 1 | Run 2 | Rank | ||
| Mitchell Allan | Men's halfpipe | 28.8 | 8 | 23.7 | 25 | Did not advance | 31 | |
| Torah Bright | Women's halfpipe | 32.0 | 10 | 43.1 | 1 Q | (17.0) | 41.0 | 5 |
| Andrew Burton | Men's halfpipe | 15.2 | 34 | 21.8 | 26 | Did not advance | 32 | |
| Holly Crawford | Women's halfpipe | 19.0 | 22 | 29.9 | 18 | Did not advance | 18 | |
| Ben Mates | Men's halfpipe | 4.9 | 43 | 5.0 | 36 | Did not advance | 42 | |
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
| Athlete | Event | Qualification | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Opposition Time |
Opposition Time |
Opposition Time |
Opposition Time | ||||
| Emanuel Oppliger | Men's parallel giant slalom | 1:12.11 | 15 Q |  Schoch (SUI) (2)L +1.37 (+0.89 +0:48) |
Did not advance | ||||
| Johanna Shaw | Women's parallel giant slalom | 1:38.86 | 29 | Did not advance | |||||
Key: '+ Time' represents a deficit; the brackets indicate the results of each run.
- Snowboard cross
| Athlete | Event | Qualifying | 1/8 finals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Position | Position | Position | Position | Rank | ||
| Damon Hayler | Men's snowboard cross | 1:21.51 | 12 Q | 1 Q | 2 Q | 3 Q | 3 Small final |
7 |
| Emily Thomas | Women's snowboard cross | 1:34.57 | 21 | Did not advance | ||||
- "Flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony". Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- "Flagbearers for the Closing Ceremony". Retrieved 22 February 2009.
- Herald Sun: Aussies set target of one medal[dead link] 2 February 2006.
- Greg Baum (14 February 2006). "First out – then all downhill". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Alpine Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- Greg Baum (13 February 2006). "Biathlete short of the mark". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Biathlon" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Bobsleighs' Rolleston keen for results". The Age. 18 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Bobsleigh" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- "Australians bobsleigh court bid fails". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Cross Country Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Figure Skating" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Dale begs the question: can Australia win a mogul medal in Turin?". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Camplin wants one more year in aerials". The Age. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Freestyle Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Lydia's knee pain, Cooper qualifies". The Age. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Luge" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Short Track Speed Skating" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Skeleton" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- Greg Baum (18 February 2006). "From sun and surf to the skeleton". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
- "Torino 2006 Official Report – Snowboarding" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009. [dead link]
- Australian NOC
- Olympic Winter Institute of Australia
- Australian Olympic Committee: "2006 Australian Winter Olympic Team" PDF file 25 January 2006.