The Winter Olympic Games is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in Chamonix, France. The modern Olympic Games were inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, from 776 BC to 394 AD. The Baron Pierre de Coubertin of France founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) 1,500 years later in 1894, leading to the first modern Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece in 1896. The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure and authority.
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.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 310 competitors, 181 men and 129 women, took part in 179 events in 23 sports. These were the first Summer Olympics in which the team of selected athletes was officially known as Team GB in a highly successful attempt to unify all the competing athletes across all the sports and events and boost team morale. Going into the games following their exceptionally poor performance in Atlanta widespread expectations of the team were low.
The Netherlands competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, United States.
Australia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St. Moritz.
Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 189 competitors, 163 men and 26 women, took part in 108 events in 17 sports.
Sonja Viola Edström-Ruthström was a Swedish cross-country skier. She competed at the 1952, 1956, and 1960 Olympics in the 10 km and 3 × 5 km relay events and won bronze medals in both in 1956; in 1960 she finished fifth in the 10 km, but won the 3 × 5 km relay.
Megan Jones is one of Australia's top event riders, a Silver Medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
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.
Katrina Maree "Triny" Powell is an Australian field hockey player. She represented Australia in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996.
Sonja Manzenreiter is an Austrian luger who competed from 1997 to 2006. She won the bronze medal in the mixed team event at the 2003 FIL World Luge Championships in Sigulda, Latvia.
Judith Anne Pottinger, known as Tinks Pottinger, is a New Zealand horsewoman who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Pottinger, riding Volunteer, was in the New Zealand three-day event team which finished third, along with Andrew Bennie, Margaret Knighton and Mark Todd. In the individual three-day event at the same Olympics, she finished fifth.
A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors. Australian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era.
Clayton Fredericks is an Australian equestrian who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as part of the three-day eventing team. He currently lives in Ocala, Florida.
Emma Moffatt is a retired Australian professional triathlete. She won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, and won the gold at the ITU Triathlon World Championships in 2009 and in 2010. She was born in Moree, New South Wales, and was raised in the northern New South Wales town of Woolgoolga.
Courtney Johnson is an American water polo player, who competed in the 2000 Olympics where women's water polo made its debut. She won a silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She competed at the 1998 World Championships in Perth, Australia and the 2001 World Championships In Fukuoka, Japan. She won a silver medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada.
Felicity Jane Johnson is an Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist, who won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Stephanie Morton, is a retired Australian track cyclist. She has won national and international cycling titles, and was Felicity Johnson's tandem pilot at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, where she won a gold medal.
Taylor McKeown is a former Australian competitive swimmer. She won a gold medal in the 200 metre breaststroke at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and a silver medal at the 4 × 100 m medley relay during the 2016 Summer Olympics. McKeown also represented Australia in both the 100m breaststroke, and 200m breaststroke, qualifying fastest for the final and finishing in 5th in the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is a University of Sunshine Coast student.
