Australia at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Australia at the Olympic Games
Flag of Australia IOC code  AUS NOC Australian Olympic Committee
At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal
Competitors	180 (146 men, 34 women) in 20 sports
Flag bearer	Raelene Boyle (opening) Robert Haigh (closing)
Medals Rank: 32	Gold 0	Silver 1	Bronze 4	Total 5
Olympic history (summary)
Summer Games
1896 1900 1904 1908* 1912* 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 * with New Zealand as Australasia
Winter Games
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014
Intercalated Games
1906

Australia competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. 180 competitors, 146 men and 34 women, took part in 115 events in 20 sports. Australia performed poorly, winning one silver and four bronze medals. The result that spurred Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to set up the Australian Institute of Sport.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Silver	Australia national field hockey team David Bell   Jim Irvine Greg Browning   Malcolm Poole Rick Charlesworth   Robert Proctor Ian Cooke   Graeme Reid Barry Dancer   Ronald Riley Douglas Golder   Trevor Smith Robert Haigh   Terry Walsh Wayne Hammond	Field hockey	Men's tournament
Bronze	Stephen Holland	Swimming	Men's 1500m Freestyle
Bronze	John Bertrand	Sailing	Men's finn class
Bronze	Ian Brown, Ian Ruff	Sailing	Men's 470 class
Bronze	Mervyn Bennet, Denis Pigott, Bill Roycroft, Wayne Roycroft	Equestrian	Team eventing

Archery

Main article: Archery at the 1976 Summer Olympics

In the second Olympic archery competition that Australia contested, the nation sent two women and two men. Only one archer, Terence Reilly, had Olympic experience. He dropped 11 places from his 1972 finish.
Women's Individual Competition:

• Carole Toy — 2305 points (→ 15th place)
• Maureen Adama — 2114 points (→ 25th place)

Men's Individual Competition:

• David Anear — 2407 points (→ 13th place)
• Terence Reilly — 2331 points (→ 26th place)

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay

• Maxwell Binnington, Peter Grant, Donald Hanly, and Rick Mitchell
  • Heat — 3:05.75 (→ did not advance)

Men's 5.000 metres

• David Fitzsimons
  • Heat — did not start (→ did not advance, no ranking)

Men's 10.000 metres

• Christopher Wardlaw
  • Heat — 28:17.52
  • Final — 28:29.91 (→ 12th place)
• David Fitzsimons
  • Heat — 28:16.43
  • Final — 29:17.74 (→ 14th place)

Men's 400m Hurdles

• Donald Hanly
  • Heat — 51.90s (→ did not advance)
• Peter Grant
  • Heat — 51.07s (→ did not advance)

Men's Long Jump

• Christopher Commons
  • Heat — 7.46m (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

• Cristopher Wardlaw — 2:23:56 (→ 35th place)
• David Chettle — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Ross Haywood — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Men's 20 km Race Walk

• Ross Haywood — 1:30:59 (→ 12th place)

Men's Hammer Throw

• Peter Farmer
  • Qualifying Round — 69.92m
  • Final — 68.00m (→ 12th place)

Basketball

Main article: Basketball at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary Round (Group A):
  • Lost to Cuba (89-111)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (77-93)
  • Defeated Mexico (120-117)
  • Lost to Canada (69-81)
  • Defeated Japan (117-79)
• Classification Matches:
  • 5th/8th place: Lost to Italy (72-79)
  • 7th/8th place: Lost to Cuba (81-92) → 8th place
• Team Roster:
  • Robbie Cadee
  • Ian Watson
  • Andrew Campbell
  • Tony Barnett
  • Eddie Palubinskas
  • Perry Crosswhite
  • Russell Simon
  • Michael Tucker
  • Andris Blicavs
  • Peter Walsh
  • John Maddock
  • Ray Tomlinson
• Head Coach: Lindsay Gaze

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Twelve cyclists represented Australia in 1976.

Individual road race

• Clyde Sefton — 4:49:01 (→ 28th place)
• Remo Sansonetti — 4:49:01 (→ 34th place)
• Alan Goodrope — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Peter Kesting — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Team time trial

• Ian Chandler
• Remo Sansonetti
• Sal Sansonetti
• Clyde Sefton

Sprint

• Ron Boyle — 20th place

1000m time trial

• Stephen Goodall — 1:08.610 (→ 12th place)

Individual pursuit

• Garry Sutton — 6th place

Team pursuit

• Stephen Goodall
• Kevin Nichols
• Geoff Skaines
• John Thorsen

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Equestrianism

Main article: Equestrianism at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Three fencers, two men and one woman, represented Australia in 1976.

Men's foil

• Greg Benko
• Ernest Simon

Men's épée

• Greg Benko

Women's foil

• Helen Smith

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary Round (Group A)
  • Defeated Malaysia (2-0)
  • Defeated Canada (3-0)
  • Lost India (6-1)
  • Lost to the Netherlands (1-2)
  • Lost to Argentina (2-3)
  • Replay: Defeated India (1-1, 5-4 after penalty strokes)
• Semi Finals
  • Defeated Pakistan (1-2)
• Final
  • Lost to New Zealand (0-1) → Silver Medal
• Team Roster
  • ( 1.) Robert Haigh
  • ( 2.) Rick Charlesworth
  • ( 3.) David Bell
  • ( 4.) Greg Browning
  • ( 5.) Ian Cooke
  • ( 6.) Barry Dancer
  • ( 7.) Douglas Golder
  • ( 8.) Wayne Hammond
  • ( 9.) Jim Irvine
  • (10.) Stephan Marshall
  • (11.) Malcolm Poole
  • (12.) Robert Proctor
  • (13.) Graeme Reid
  • (14.) Ronald Riley
  • (15.) Trevor Smith
  • (16.) Terry Walsh
• Head Coach: Mervyn Adams

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon

Main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Two male pentathletes represented Australia in 1976.

Individual

• Peter Ridgway
• Peter Macken

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary Round (Group C)
  • Lost to Hungary (6-7)
  • Lost to West Germany (3-4)
  • Lost to Canada (5-6)
• Classification Group
  • Lost to Canada (3-4)
  • Defeated Iran (8-2)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (2-7)
  • Tied with Mexico (4-4)
  • Lost to Cuba (3-8) → 11th place
• Team Roster
  • Andrew Kerr
  • Charles Turner
  • David Neesham
  • David Woods
  • Edmond Brooks
  • Ian Mills
  • Paul Williams
  • Peter Montgomery
  • Randall Goff
  • Rodney Woods
  • Ross Langdon
• Head Coach: Tom Hoad

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1976 Summer Olympics

See also

• Australia at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
• Australia at the 1978 Commonwealth Games