Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Australia at the 2006 Winter Olympics
IOC code	AUS
NOC	Australian Olympic Committee
Website	www.olympics.com.au
in Turin
Competitors	40 (23 men, 17 women) in 10 sports
Flag bearers	Alisa Camplin (opening) Dale Begg-Smith (closing) [1] [2]
Medals Ranked 17th	Gold 1 Silver 0 Bronze 1 Total 2
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022

Australia competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The team of 40 athletes was the largest ever for Australia, surpassing the team of 31 that participated at the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Prior to the Olympics, Australia had set a goal of winning one medal. ^[3] They were able to win two medals – one gold and one bronze – and had several other top 10 finishes.

Alisa Camplin served as flag bearer at the opening ceremonies.

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Dale Begg-Smith	Freestyle skiing	Men's moguls	15 February
Bronze	Alisa Camplin	Freestyle skiing	Women's aerials	22 February

Alpine skiing

Five Australian skiers competed in Turin, but only one, Craig Branch, finished a run. Branch was the first starter for the men's downhill, and his 32nd place was the highest finish for an Australian alpine skier since Calgary '88. ^{[4] [5]}

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Total	Rank
A. J. Bear	Men's super-G	Did not finish
Craig Branch	Men's downhill	n/a			1:52.55	32
Jono Brauer	Men's slalom	Did not finish
	Men's combined	Did not finish
Bradley Wall	Men's giant slalom	Did not finish

Note: In the men's combined, runs 1 is the downhill, and runs 2 and 3 are the slalom. In the women's combined, run 1 and 2 are the slalom, and run 3 the downhill.

Biathlon

Main article: Biathlon at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Cameron Morton, a primary school principal, and the only Australian biathlete in Turin, was aiming for a top-fifty finish, but failed to make the top 80 in either of his two events. He was the fifth Australian to compete in an Olympic biathlon. ^{[6] [7]}

Athlete	Event	Final
		Time	Misses	Rank
Cameron Morton	Men's sprint	32:07.4	4	81
	Men's individual	1:07:03.7	7	82

Bobsleigh

Main article: Bobsleigh at the 2006 Winter Olympics

The men's pair of Rolleston and McKenzie equalled the best Australian finish in the event by placing 22nd, while Loch-Wilkinson and Reed were the first to represent the country in women's bobsleigh. ^{[8] [9]} Australia also attempted to enter a four-man team in Turin, appealing to the IOC and the CAS after it was revealed a Brazilian athlete had tested positive for nandrolone in a pre-Olympic test. The athlete in question had competed in a qualifying race won by Brazil, with New Zealand second and Australia third, with the top two teams advancing. The disqualification of the Brazilian entry from that race could have allowed Australia to compete, but the IOC, FIBT and CAS rejected the appeal. ^[10]

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Run 4	Total	Rank
Jeremy Rolleston Shane McKenzie	Two-man	56.77	56.59	57.22	Did not advance		22
Astrid Loch-Wilkinson Kylie Reed	Two-woman	58.53	58.85	59.00	58.73	3:55.11	14

Cross-country skiing

Main article: Cross-country skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Australia sent 3 skiers to compete in the cross country events, its largest contingent at a Winter Olympics. ^[11]

Distance

Athlete	Event	Final
		Total	Rank
Clare-Louise Brumley	Women's 15 km pursuit	47:03.1	42

Sprint

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Total	Rank	Total	Rank	Total	Rank	Total	Rank
Esther Bottomley	Women's sprint	2:23.55	52	did not advance
Paul Murray	Men's sprint	2:25.29	51	did not advance

Figure skating

Main article: Figure skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Joanne Carter, who had placed 12th at the 1998 Olympics, finished 25th in the women's short program, failing to advance to the free skate. ^[12]

Athlete	Event	CD		SP/OD		FS/FD		Total
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Joanne Carter	Ladies'	40.86	25	did not advance

Key: CD = Compulsory Dance, FD = Free Dance, FS = Free Skate, OD = Original Dance, SP = Short Program

Freestyle skiing

Main article: Freestyle skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Canadian-born Dale Begg-Smith entered the Games as the top ranked man in moguls, and won Australia's only gold medal in Turin. ^[13] 2002 Winter Olympics gold medallist Alisa Camplin also won a medal, bronze in the women's aerials. This made her the first Australian athlete to win back-to-back medals in a winter sport. Camplin won a medal despite having major surgery on her knee four months before the Turin games. ^{[14] [15]} Jacqui Cooper set a world record in qualifying for the women's aerials, but ended up 8th in the final. ^[16]

Men

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Dale Begg-Smith	Moguls	25.40	1 Q	26.77
Jason Begg-Smith	Moguls	20.22	29	Did not advance
Nick Fisher	Moguls	22.89	16 Q	23.39	12
Michael Robertson	Moguls	21.52	24	Did not advance

Women

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Manuela Berchtold	Moguls	22.19	16 Q	22.21	14
Alisa Camplin	Aerials	165.32	10 Q	191.39
Jacqui Cooper	Aerials	213.36	1 Q	152.69	8
Elizabeth Gardner	Aerials	127.42	23	Did not advance
Lydia Ierodiaconou	Aerials	155.45	14	Did not advance

Luge

Main article: Luge at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Hannah Campbell-Pegg was the lone lugist representing Australia in Turin. She finished 23rd overall. ^[17]

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Run 3	Run 4	Total	Rank
Hannah Campbell-Pegg	Women's singles	49.577	49.350	49.574	49.038	3:17.539	23

Short track speed skating

Main article: Short track speed skating at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Four years after Stephen Bradbury won a gold medal in short track, Australia's first, no Australian skater managed to advance to an A final. The best performance came from the men's relay, which won the B final to finish sixth. ^[18]

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Alex McEwan	Men's 500 m	45.173	4	Did not advance					22
Mark McNee	Men's 1000 m	1:30.033	4	Did not advance					20
	Men's 1500 m	2:29.356	4	Did not advance					20
Emily Rosemond	Women's 1000 m	2:40.171	5	Did not advance					25
	Women's 1500 m	1:39.942	2 Q	1:37.627	3	Did not advance			12
Lachlan Hay Stephen Lee Mark McNee Elliot Shriane	Men's 5000 m relay	n/a				7:03.356	4	Final B 7:01.666	6

Skeleton

Main article: Skeleton at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Michelle Steele, who was recruited to participate in the skeleton just 14 months before the Games, finished 13th in the women's event. ^[19] Steele was part of a program created by the Australian Institute of Sport to develop Australian winter athletes by converting athletes from summer sports. ^[20]

Athlete	Event	Final
		Run 1	Run 2	Total	Rank
Shaun Boyle	Men's	1:00.13	1:00.00	2:00.13	22
Michelle Steele	Women's	1:01.26	1:02.21	2:03.47	13

Snowboarding

Main article: Snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Nine snowboarders represented Australia across each of the three disciplines, but only one, Torah Bright qualified for a medal final. Bright was touted as a medal threat, and though she failed to qualify in the first round, she finished 1st in the second to make the final. She struggled in her first run of the final, ending up 10th, but improved to 5th after the second run. ^[21]

Halfpipe

Athlete	Event	Qualifying Run 1		Qualifying Run 2		Final
		Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Run 1	Run 2	Rank
Mitchell Allan	Men's halfpipe	28.8	8	23.7	25	Did not advance		31
Torah Bright	Women's halfpipe	32.0	10	43.1	1 Q	(17.0)	41.0	5
Andrew Burton	Men's halfpipe	15.2	34	21.8	26	Did not advance		32
Holly Crawford	Women's halfpipe	19.0	22	29.9	18	Did not advance		18
Ben Mates	Men's halfpipe	4.9	43	5.0	36	Did not advance		42

Note: In the final, the single best score from two runs is used to determine the ranking. A bracketed score indicates the run in the final that wasn't counted.

Parallel GS

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
		Time	Rank	Opposition Time	Opposition Time	Opposition Time	Opposition Time
Emanuel Oppliger	Men's parallel giant slalom	1:12.11	15 Q	Schoch  (SUI) (2) L+1.37 (+0.89+0:48)	Did not advance
Johanna Shaw	Women's parallel giant slalom	1:38.86	29	Did not advance

Key: '+ Time' represents a deficit; the brackets indicate the results of each run.

Snowboard cross

Athlete	Event	Qualifying		1/8 finals	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
		Time	Rank	Position	Position	Position	Position	Rank
Damon Hayler	Men's snowboard cross	1:21.51	12 Q	1 Q	2 Q	3 Q	3 Small final	7
Emily Thomas	Women's snowboard cross	1:34.57	21	Did not advance

See also

• Australia at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
• Australia at the Winter Olympics

References

1. "Flagbearers for the Opening Ceremony" . Retrieved 22 February 2009.
2. "Flagbearers for the Closing Ceremony" . Retrieved 22 February 2009.
3. Herald Sun: Aussies set target of one medal ^{[ dead link ]} 2 February 2006.
4. Greg Baum (14 February 2006). "First out – then all downhill". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
5. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Alpine Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
6. Greg Baum (13 February 2006). "Biathlete short of the mark". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
7. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Biathlon" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
8. "Bobsleighs' Rolleston keen for results". The Age. 18 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
9. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Bobsleigh" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
10. "Australians bobsleigh court bid fails". Sydney Morning Herald. 20 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
11. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Cross Country Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
12. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Figure Skating" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
13. "Dale begs the question: can Australia win a mogul medal in Turin?". Sydney Morning Herald. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
14. "Camplin wants one more year in aerials". The Age. 23 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
15. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Freestyle Skiing" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
16. "Lydia's knee pain, Cooper qualifies". The Age. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
17. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Luge" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
18. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Short Track Speed Skating" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
19. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Skeleton" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
20. Greg Baum (18 February 2006). "From sun and surf to the skeleton". The Age. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
21. "Torino 2006 Official Report – Snowboarding" (PDF). Torino Organizing Committee. LA84 Foundation. March 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.^{[ dead link ]}

External links

• Australian NOC
• Olympic Winter Institute of Australia
• Australian Olympic Committee: "2006 Australian Winter Olympic Team" PDF file 25 January 2006.