The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956.
The individual eventing event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from 15 to 18 August 2004 in the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the eventing competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division.
The team eventing event, part of the equestrian program at the 2004 Summer Olympics, was held from the 15–18 August 2004. For the first time since 1992, the team and individual contests ran concurrently. The team event used the results of the first three phases of the individual eventing program to award rankings. A fourth phase was included in the individual competition for the first time. The competition was held at the Olympic Equestrian Centre on the outskirts of Markopoulo, in the Attica region of Greece. Like all other equestrian events, the eventing competition was mixed gender, with both male and female athletes competing in the same division. 14 teams, each consisting of between three and five horse and rider pairs, entered the contest.
Theodora Elisabeth Gerarda "Anky" van Grunsven is a Dutch dressage champion who is the only rider to record three successive Olympic wins in the same event. Along with her Olympic successes, she has won numerous medals at the World Equestrian Games (WEG), and is the only rider to have competed at every WEG since they began in 1990. Between 1990 and 2006, she competed at the Games in dressage, but in 2010 she was named as part of the Dutch reining team, marking a major change in discipline.
Sylvia Harper was an Australia tennis player who won the singles title at the 1924 Australian Championships. She reached the singles final there two other times, in 1927, losing to Esna Boyd, and in 1930, losing to Daphne Akhurst.
Gillian Rolton was an Australian Olympic equestrian champion. She competed in two Olympic Games, the 1992 Barcelona Games and 1996 Atlanta Games, winning a gold medal in team eventing both times on her horse, Peppermint Grove. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, she broke her collarbone and ribs, but remounted and completed the course. She was one of four Australians to win multiple equestrian Olympic gold medals.
Phillip Peter Dutton, OAM is an Australian-born Olympic-level equestrian rider competing in eventing for the United States of America. He is a dual Olympic gold medalist who formerly competed for his country of birth but now competes for the USA.
Sally Pearson, OAM is a retired Australian athlete who competed in the 100 metre hurdles. She is the 2011 and 2017 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles. She also won a silver medal in the 100 m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.
Lucinda Fredericks is an equestrian athlete who competes in eventing. Having formerly competed for Great Britain, she now represents Australia. Riding Headley Britannia, she has won three CCI 4* events; winning Burghley in 2006, Badminton in 2007 and Rolex Kentucky in 2009. She won an Olympic silver medal in the team event at Beijing 2008, and also competed at the 2012 London Olympics.
The men's 100 metres event at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia, was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 23 and 24 November. Sixty-five athletes from 31 nations competed; each nation was limited to three athletes. The final was won by American Bobby Morrow, marking the fifth consecutive victory by a different American. Hec Hogan of Australia won that country's first medal in the event since 1900. The competition took place in strong winds, with the final run into a 2.5 m/s (5.6 mph) headwind.
Edwina Tops-Alexander is an Australian showjumper known for her participation in three Olympics, finishing in the top ten twice. She is the first Australian to place in the top 10 at the World Equestrian Games and the first rider to earn more than €1 million in prize money on the Global Champions Tour. She is Australia's most decorated female equestrian.
Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Australia commenced its involvement in the sport in 1980. Its men's team has completed in trans-Tasman competitions, the IBSA World Goalball Championships, and the Paralympic Games.
Rheed McCracken is an Australian Paralympic athletics competitor. He named the 2012 Junior Athlete of the Year as part of the Australian Paralympian of the Year Awards. He represented Australia at the 2012 London Paralympics, 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, where he won three silver and two bronze medals.
Joann Formosa, is an Australian Para-equestrian, who won a gold medal at the 2012 London Paralympics.
Chloe Esposito is an Australian shooter and modern pentathlon competitor. She competed at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games in the 10 m air pistol. She represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London, in the modern pentathlon and won the gold medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.
Sally Kehoe is an Australian former representative rower who was a national champion, three-time Olympian and a representative at multiple world championships. Since 2014 she has held the world-record time in the women's double scull over 2000m.
Brittany Joyce Elmslie, is a former Australian competitive swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics in swimming, and won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at both Games.
Australia competed at the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa. A team of 42 athletes represented the country for Australia's second appearance at the Pacific Games. Australia competed in six sports.
Olivia Bunn is an Australian Olympic eventing rider. She was a reserve rider for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and then competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens in the individual and team competitions. Unfortunately her horse, twelve-year-old GV Top of the Line, nicknamed Carlo, was withdrawn before the second horse inspection. At the time Bunn with 46.4 penalties was the second best of the Australian team which finished 6th. The other team members were Rebel Morrow, Phillip Dutton, Stuart Tinney and Andrew Hoy.
Ricky MacMillan, is an Australian equestrian, international dressage judge, chair of Equestrian Australia and dentist.
