Australia at the 1936 Winter Olympics

Last updated

Australia at the
1936 Winter Olympics
Flag of Australia.svg
IOC code AUS
NOC Australian Olympic Committee
Website www.olympics.com.au
in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Competitors1 in 1 sport
Medals
Gold
0
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games
Flag of Australasian team for Olympic games.svg  Australasia (1908–1912)

Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1936 Winter Olympics from 6 to 16 February 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. This was the nation's first appearance at an Winter Olympic Games since the competition began in 1924. Australia delegation consisted of one competitor. That was speed skater, Kenneth Kennedy who competed in three events in the Speed skating competitions. He finished in 29th overall in the 500 meters and 33rd overall in the 1500 meters and the 5000 meters.

Contents

Background

The Australian Olympic Committee was formed on 1 January 1895 with the nation making their debut at the first Olympics in Athens with Teddy Flack being the first representative of the nation. [1] [2] This was the nation's first appearance at an Winter Olympics and the ninth overall Olympics that Australia had sent a delegation in. [3] The 1936 Winter Olympics was held at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany and took place from the 6 to 16 February: a total of 646 athletes competed from 28 nations. [4] The Australian delegation consist of a speed skater, Ken Kennedy who before the games had won the 880 yards and a mile national titles in speed skating over in Britain before competing for Australia at the 1936 Games. [5] [6]

Speed skating

In what was his only Olympics, 22 year old Ken Kennedy competed in four speed skating events throughout the 1936 Games. [7] His first event was in the men's 500 metres which took place on 11 February. He was a part of the 36 competitors that competed in the distance with Kennedy finishing 29th overall with a time of 47.4 seconds. [8] His next event was the men's 1500 metres which took place the following day. From the 37 skaters that he entered, he finished in 33rd with a time of two minutes and 31 seconds, a full twelve seconds behind the eventual champion in Charles Mathiesen. [9] On 13 February, he competed in his last event of the Games as he didn't start the 10000 metres event. [10] From 39 entrants, Kennedy finished in 33rd place overall with a time of nine minutes and 48 seconds. He was almost one and a half minutes behind gold medallist, Ivar Ballangrud from Norway. [11]

EventAthleteRace
TimeRank
Ken Kennedy Men's 500 m [8] 47.429
Men's 1500 m [9] 2:31.833
Men's 5000 m [11] 9:48.933
Men's 10000 m [10] Did Not Start

Related Research Articles

1936 Winter Olympics 4th edition of Winter Olympics, held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany) in 1936

The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 February 1936 in the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. The country also hosted the 1936 Summer Olympics, which were held in Berlin. It was the last year in which the Summer and Winter Games both took place in the same country.

The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Grenoble, France, from 6 to 18 February 1968. A total of 1,158 athletes representing 37 National Olympic Committees (NOCs)—including Morocco's first delegation—participated in 35 events from 10 different sports and disciplines. The team relay (4 × 7.5 km) event in biathlon was contested for the first time.

At the 1936 Winter Olympics, four speed skating events were contested. The competitions were held on Tuesday, 11 February 1936, Wednesday, 12 February 1936, Thursday, 13 February 1936, and on Friday, 14 February 1936.

Figure skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics took place at the Olympia-Kunsteisstadion in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, from 9 to 15 February 1936. Three figure skating events were contested: men's singles, ladies' singles, and pairs skating.

At the 1936 Winter Olympics at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, alpine skiing was arranged for the first time in the Olympics, a combined event for men and women.

Australia at the 1952 Winter Olympics Sporting event delegation

Australia sent a delegation to compete at the 1952 Winter Olympics from the 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, Norway. This was the nation's second appearance at the Winter Olympic Games with their last appearance being in 1936.

Kenneth George "Ken" Kennedy was the first Winter Olympian to compete for Australia. He was born in Sydney and was educated at Waverley College was a speed skater and ice hockey player.

The 1936 Winter Olympics were held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The games began on 6 February 1936, and ended on 16 February 1936. There were three cross-country skiing events held, in which only men competed. There were 109 male competitors from 22 different nations. The youngest participant was 17-year-old Resat Erces from Turkey, while the oldest participant was Nils Backstrom from the United States of America at 34 years old. The athletes whom collected the most medals were Oddbjørn Hagen of Norway, and Erik Larsson of Sweden – each received two medals. Sweden collected more medals than any other country in the cross-country skiing events at a total of five.

At the 1936 Winter Olympics, one individual Nordic combined event was contested. It was held on Wednesday, February 12, 1936 and on Thursday, February 13, 1936.

Speed skating at the 1924 Winter Olympics – Mens 500 metres Speed skating at the Olympics

The 500 metres speed skating event at the 1924 Winter Olympics was held on 26 January 1924 at the Stade Olympique de Chamonix in Chamonix, France. One of five speed skating races to be contested at these Games, this was the first event ever contested at the Winter Olympics. The event was won by American Charles Jewtraw who became the first Winter Olympics gold medallist.

Axel Allan Johansson was a Swedish speed skater who competed in the Olympic games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The 500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Tuesday, 11 February 1936. Thirty-six speed skaters from 14 nations competed.

The 1500 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Thursday, 13 February 1936. Thirty-seven speed skaters from 15 nations competed.

The 5000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Wednesday, 12 February 1936. Thirty-seven speed skaters from 16 nations competed.

The 10,000 metres speed skating event was part of the speed skating at the 1936 Winter Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, 14 February 1936. Thirty speed skaters from 14 nations competed.

Alpine skiing at the 1936 Winter Olympics – Mens combined

The men's combined event was part of the alpine skiing programme at the 1936 Winter Olympics. It was the debut of alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics, and was the only men's event. The competition consisted of a downhill race on Friday, 7 February and two slalom heats on Sunday, 9 February.

Yasuo Kawamura was a Japanese speed skater who competed in the 1932 and 1936 Winter Olympics.

For the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, a total of six sports venues were used. Alpine skiing events took place for the first time and were held in three different locations. Riessersee held the speed skating and some of the ice hockey matches while the bobsleigh events took place south of the lake. The ski jump and its neighboring stadium played host to the cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and ski jumping events. Even though figure skating and some of the ice hockey matches took place outdoors at the ice stadium, the ice itself was artificially refrigerated to prevent ice thawing.

Aleksander Mitt Estonian speed skater

Aleksander Mitt was an Estonian speed skater who competed at the 1928 and 1936 Winter Olympics.

References

  1. "Australia". International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. "Australia at the 1896 Summer Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. "Australia". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. "Australia at the 1936 Winter Olympics". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. "Garmsich 1936". Australian Olympic Committee . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. "Ken Kennedy". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. 1 2 "500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. 1 2 "1500 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. 1 2 "10000 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. 1 2 "50000 metres, Men". Olympedia. Retrieved 7 September 2020.