Famous Australian Athletes

Peter Norman was an Australian athlete who won a silver medal in the 200 meters event at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He is remembered for supporting fellow athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos by wearing the Olympic Project for Human Rights badge during their medal ceremony; he is the third athlete seen in the popular Olympics Black Power salute photograph.

Cathy Freeman is a former sprinter known for her achievements in the 400 meters events. Her personal best of 48.63, set at the 1996 Olympics, makes her the eighth-fastest woman of all time. She gave Australia an Olympic gold at the 2000 Olympics. Also a humanitarian, Freeman is credited with founding the Cathy Freeman Foundation.

Sally Pearson is an Australian former athlete. After winning a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Pearson went on to win Olympic gold in the same event in 2012. A two-time world champion, Sally Pearson also won two gold medals in Commonwealth Games. In 2011, she was named Female Athlete of the Year.

Ron Clarke was an Australian athlete, politician, and writer. One of the most recognized middle and long-distance runners of the 1960s, Clarke is best remembered for setting 17 world records. He also won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters event at the 1964 Summer Olympics. In 2000, Ron Clarke was honored with the prestigious Australian Sports Medal.

Herb Elliott is a former Australian athlete considered the world's greatest middle-distance runner of his era. He won the gold medal in the 1500 meters at the 1960 Rome Olympics. He achieved 36 wins over this distance and never lost a mile race. Following his retirement from athletics, he built a successful career in business. 

Douglas Nicholls was an Australian athlete, ceremonial officer, and Churches of Christ pastor. Nicholls served as an inspiration to the Aboriginal Australian community, Yorta Yorta. In 1972, he became the first Aboriginal Australian to receive the title of Knight Bachelor.

Brandon Starc is an Australian high jumper. He won a silver medal at the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore when he was just 16 years old. He was a finalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He is married to fellow athlete Laura Turner. 

Michelle Jenneke is an Australian track and field athlete and model. She won a silver medal for Australia at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. She received international recognition in 2012 when her pre-race warm-up dance became famous on the internet. As a model, Michelle Jenneke was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2013.

Edwin Flack was an Australian tennis player and athlete. In 1896, Flack became Australia's first Olympian when he represented the nation in the first modern Olympic Games. He went on to win gold medals in the 800m and 1500m events, becoming the first Australian Olympic champion. In 1985, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

A noted Australian distance runner and national record holder for the 1500m, Jessica Hull has been in the limelight since her time at the Oregon University, USA. In 2019, she turned pro and set a new personal best of 4:01.80 in the semi-final at the IAAF World Championships. She came  eleventh in the final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
 

Marjorie Jackson-Nelson is a former Australian athlete. She won two Olympic and seven Commonwealth Games Gold Medals. She was appointed the Governor of South Australia in 2001 and held this position until 2007. She was married to Olympic cyclist Peter Nelson who died in 1977. She has been inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.  

Steven Hooker is an Australian former athlete renowned for his skills as a pole vaulter. His personal best of 6.06m makes him the fourth-highest pole vaulter of all time. Hooker won gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2009 World Championships, and 2010 World Indoor Championships. In 2017, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Australian middle-distance runner John Landy was not just an Olympian but also became the second person to clock a sub-4-minute mile barrier in the mile run. He later became the 26th governor of Victoria, penned books, and also worked with ICI Australia. He also inspired the mini-series The Four Minute Mile.

Peter Bol is an Australian track and field athlete who specializes in middle-distance running events. He represented Australia in the 800 meters event at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. In the 2020 Olympics, Bol finished fourth in the final. Interestingly, Peter Bol's semi-final performance of 1:44:11 was better than Emmanuel Korir's gold-medal winning performance of 1:45:06.

Tatiana Grigorieva is a retired Australian pole vaulter. Born in Russia, she migrated to Australia in 1997 and took up pole vaulting, becoming one of the world's best within a year. In a career spanning a decade, she won Olympic, Commonwealth, and World Championship medals. She retired in 2007. She has also appeared in many TV programs and commercials.  

Shirley Strickland was an Australian athlete who won three Olympic gold medals in running sports. The daughter of an athlete, she developed an early love for running and also played hockey. As a young woman, she pursued a teaching career. She took up running seriously in the late 1940s and participated in several competitive events with great success. 

One of Australia’s most well-known track and field athletes, John Steffensen has won more medals for his country than any other male sprinter. Apart from his two gold medals at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, he also has an Olympic silver and a World Championship bronze in his kitty.

Raelene Boyle is an Australian former athlete who won silver medal in 200m in 1968 Olympics and silver medal in 100m and 200m in 1972 Olympics. In 1985, she was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Raelene Boyle was named in Australia's Top 100 Sportswomen of All Time list in 2013.

Jared Tallent is an Australian athlete who specializes in race walking. He won the gold medal in the men's 50 kilometers race walk event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. A four-time Olympic medalist, Jared Tallent currently holds the Olympic record in the 50 kilometers race walk category. In 2012, he was named Australian Flame Athlete of The Year.

Australian long distance runner, Stewart McSweyn began representing his country while still in his teens. Eventually as a professional, he started participating in 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m and 10,000 m events, representing Australia at the 2017 World Championships, the 2018 Commonwealth Games and finally in the 2020 Olympics, where he managed to qualify for the Men's 1500m final.  

Genevieve Gregson is an Australian athlete who specializes in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She started running when she was nine years old and earned an athletics scholarship at the University of Florida. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. She also competed in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 

Chilla Porter was an Australian track and field athlete and political figure. He is best remembered for his silver medal-winning performance in the high jump event at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He also won silver medals at the 1958 and 1962 Commonwealth Games. After his athletics career, Porter served as general secretary of Liberal Western Australia from 1978 to 1987.

Eleanor Patterson is an Australian track and field athlete. She competes in the high jump and has a personal best of 1.99 meters for the event. She was the gold medallist in women’s athletics at the 2013 World Youth Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She took a break in 2018 and returned to athletics in 2020 with renewed vigor. 

Jane Saville is an Australian retired athlete best known for her bronze medal-winning performance in the women's 20 kilometers race walk event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Saville has represented Australia at four Olympic Games. She also won three gold medals at 1998, 2002, and 2006 Commonwealth Games. She was the flag bearer for Australia at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Steven Solomon is an Australian Olympic sprinter who broke the 30-year-old national junior record in the 400 meters in 2011. He won a bronze medal at the 2012 IAAF World Junior Championships and is a five-time defending Australian 400 meters champion.  He was named New South Wales [NSW] Athletics Male Athlete of the Year in 2013. 

Australian triathlete and rower John Maclean is a Paralympic Games silver medalist. Initially a talented rugby player, he became a paraplegic after a bicycle accident. He scripted history as Australia's first paraplegic triathlete and now owns the John Maclean Foundation to motivate minor wheelchair users. He is also a motivational speaker.

Glynis Nunn is a former Australian heptathlete. She is famous for becoming the first Olympic champion in the event.  She qualified for the Commonwealth Games in 1978 but couldn’t participate due to an injury. She later participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1982 and the Olympic Games in 1984, winning gold medals at both the events.

Patrick Tiernan is an Australian track and field athlete who has won several road races in Australia. In 2011, he won the silver medal in the 3000 m long-distance running at the Oceania Youth Athletics Championships. Patrick Tiernan has also represented his country at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.

Debbie Flintoff-King is an Australian former athlete who won the 400m hurdles at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She also won three gold medals and four silver medals at Commonwealth Games between 1982 and 1990. At the 1987 World Championships, Flintoff-King won the silver medal. She was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.

Nina Kennedy is an Australian athlete who won the bronze medal in the pole vault event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. She currently holds the Australian pole vault record of 4.82m, which she set on 13 March 2021 at the Sydney Track Classic.

In spite of his short international career, Australian athlete Ralph Doubell managed to bag an Olympic gold medal. His 1min 44.4sec world record at the 800m at the 1968 Mexico City Games, matched only with New Zealand’s Peter Snell and is still the fastest recorded by an Australian.

Australian long jumper Jai Taurima is best known for his silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Known to fans as Jumping Jai, the Māori athlete has also been in the news for his reckless lifestyle and his chain-smoking habits. Post-retirement, he has joined the Australian Federal Police.

Matthew Denny is an Australian track and field athlete who specializes in the discus throw. Denny represented Australia at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics, setting his personal best of 67.02 meters in the discus throw at the latter event. Matthew Denny also competes in the hammer throw; she won a silver medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Linden Hall is an Australian athlete who specializes in middle-distance running events. Hall represented Australia at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. In the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Linden Hall qualified for the final of the 1500 m race, finishing sixth with a personal best time. She has also represented Australia in other international competitions, including the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Kevan Gosper is an Australian former athlete. He mainly competed in the 400 meters. He competed in the 1956 Summer Olympics held in Melbourne and won the silver medal in the 4 × 400-meter relay race with his teammates Leon Gregory, Graham Gipson, and David Lean. He later became a vice president of the International Olympic Committee. 

Dane Bird-Smith is an Australian race-walking athlete who competes in the 20-kilometer race walk. He set a best of 1:19:28 hours for the distance in 2017. He competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won a bronze medal and emerged as the gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. His father is David Smith, also an international race-walker. 

Dani Stevens is an Australian track and field athlete who specializes in discus throw. She won the gold medal at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, becoming the youngest female world champion in the discus throw event. The current Oceanian and national record holder, Dani Stevens has also won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Kurtis Marschall is an Australian pole vaulter. He competed in the men's pole vault at the 2016 Summer Olympics and was placed second at the IAAF World Junior Championships the same year. His achievements include a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018. He set his outdoor and indoor personal bests at 5.81m and 5.87m, respectively, in 2019. 

Rick Mitchell was an Australian track and field athlete who won the silver medal in the 400 meters event at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. He also won two silver medals, a bronze medal, and a gold medal in two Commonwealth Games. In 2012, Rick Mitchell was inducted into the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame.

Nathan Deakes is an Australian former race walker widely regarded as  Australia's best and most successful ever race walker. He has won several national and international medals. He is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and was named the 2006 Australian Male Athlete of the year. He has degrees from the Australian National University and the University of Melbourne. 

Marlene Mathews is an Australian retired track and field athlete who won bronze medals in the 100 meters and 200 meters events at the 1956 Summer Olympics. In the 1958 Commonwealth Games, she won two gold medals. Regarded as one of the greatest Australian sprinters, Marlene Mathews was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.