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Australia at the Winter Olympic Games

Australia made its first appearance at the Winter Olympic Games in the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated at all events since then except the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.

The nation’s Winter Olympic campaign got a boost when the Australian government increased its funding for winter sports, created the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia and bought an alpine training base in Austria.



The Aussie delegation captured its first medal at the Winter Games, when its 5,000m short track relay speed skating team took the bronze medal in 1994. Zali Steggall became the first-ever Australian to win a medal when she took home the bronze medal in the slalom event in the alpine skiing in 1998.

Australia’s Winter Olympic gold medal drought finally ended in 2002 when Steven Bradbury spectacularly won the 1,000m short track speed skating event and Alisa Camplin taking the aerials event, a feat that made Australia the first southern hemisphere nation to have captured a gold medal at the Winter Games.

Australia’s showing in 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games is the nation’s best ever, winning (at least) a gold medal, two silvers and one bronze. A gold medal for Jakara Anthony in moguls, plus Australia's first medal in sliding sports was won by Jaclyn Narracott, winning silver in the women's skeleton event.

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