Australia competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 180 competitors, 146 men and 34 women, took part in 115 events in 20 sports.[1] Australia performed poorly, winning one silver and four bronze medals, finishing thirty-second on the medals table.[2] This result caused significant negative backlash within the country, and spurred Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to set up the Australian Institute of Sport.[3]
| Australia at the 1976 Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | AUS |
| NOC | Australian Olympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| in Montreal | |
| Competitors | 180 (146 men, 34 women) in 20 sports |
| Flag bearers | Raelene Boyle (opening) Robert Haigh (closing) |
| Medals Ranked 32nd |
|
| Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
| 1906 Intercalated Games ––––  Australasia (1908–1912) | |
Medalists
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
 Silver | Australia national field hockey team | 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
In the second Olympic archery competition that Australia contested, the nation sent two women and two men. Only one archer, Terry Reilly, had Olympic experience. He dropped 11 places from his 1972 finish.
Women's Individual Competition:
- Carole Toy — 2305 points (→ 15th place)
- Maureen Adams — 2114 points (→ 25th place)
Men's Individual Competition:
- David Anear — 2407 points (→ 13th place)
- Terry Reilly — 2331 points (→ 26th place)
Athletics
Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay
- Max Binnington, Peter Grant, Don 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
- Chris 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
- Don Hanly
- Heat — 51.90s (→ did not advance)
- Peter Grant
- Heat — 51.07s (→ did not advance)
Men's Long Jump
- Chris Commons
- Heat — 7.46m (→ did not advance)
Men's Marathon
- Chris 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
- 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:
- Head coach: Lindsay Gaze
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Twelve cyclists represented Australia in 1976.
- 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)
- Ron Boyle — 20th place
- Stephen Goodall — 1:08.610 (→ 12th place)
- Gary Sutton — 6th place
Diving
Equestrian
Fencing
Three fencers, two men and one woman, represented Australia in 1976.
Gymnastics
Hockey
- Men's competition
- Preliminary round (Group A)
- Defeated Malaysia (2-0)
- Defeated Canada (3-0)
- Defeated 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
- Lost to New Zealand (0-1) →
- Team Roster
- ( 1.) Robert Haigh
- ( 2.) Ric 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
Modern pentathlon
Two male pentathletes represented Australia in 1976.
- Individual
Rowing
Sailing
Shooting
- Mixed
| Athlete | Event | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Rank | ||
| Donald Brook | 50 m rifle, prone | 586 | 41 |
| 50 m rifle three positions | 1109 | 50 | |
| Jonathan Gillman | 50 m pistol | 525 | 42 |
| Don Gowland | 50 m rifle, prone | 584 | 51 |
| Norman Harrison | 50 m pistol | 540 | 32 |
| Alexander Taransky | 25 m pistol | 580 | 34 |
| Peter Wray | Trap | 173 | 25 |
Swimming
Water polo
- 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
- Head coach: Tom Hoad