Australia at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Australia competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 180 competitors, 146 men and 34 women, took part in 115 events in 20 sports.^[1] Australia performed poorly, winning one silver and four bronze medals, finishing thirty-second on the medals table.^[2] This result caused significant negative backlash within the country, and spurred Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser to set up the Australian Institute of Sport.^[3]

Australia at the 1976 Summer Olympics
IOC code	AUS
NOC	Australian Olympic Committee
Website	www.olympics.com.au
in Montreal
Competitors	180 (146 men, 34 women) in 20 sports
Flag bearers	Raelene Boyle (opening) Robert Haigh (closing)
Medals Ranked 32nd	Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze 4 Total 5
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games ––––  Australasia (1908–1912)

Medalists

Medal	Name	Sport	Event
Silver	Australia national field hockey team David Bell Greg Browning Ric Charlesworth Ian Cooke Barry Dancer Douglas Golder Robert Haigh Wayne Hammond Jim Irvine Malcolm Poole Robert Proctor Graeme Reid Ronald Riley Trevor Smith Terry Walsh	Field hockey	Men's tournament
Bronze	Stephen Holland	Swimming	Men's 1500m Freestyle
Bronze	John Bertrand	Sailing	Men's finn class
Bronze	Ian Brown, Ian Ruff	Sailing	Men's 470 class
Bronze	Mervyn Bennet, Denis Pigott, Bill Roycroft, Wayne Roycroft	Equestrian	Team eventing

Archery

Main article: Archery at the 1976 Summer Olympics

In the second Olympic archery competition that Australia contested, the nation sent two women and two men. Only one archer, Terry Reilly, had Olympic experience. He dropped 11 places from his 1972 finish.
Women's Individual Competition:

• Carole Toy — 2305 points (→ 15th place)
• Maureen Adams — 2114 points (→ 25th place)

Men's Individual Competition:

• David Anear — 2407 points (→ 13th place)
• Terry Reilly — 2331 points (→ 26th place)

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's 4 × 400 metres Relay

• Max Binnington, Peter Grant, Don Hanly, and Rick Mitchell
  • Heat — 3:05.75 (→ did not advance)

Men's 5.000 metres

• David Fitzsimons
  • Heat — did not start (→ did not advance, no ranking)

Men's 10.000 metres

• Chris Wardlaw
  • Heat — 28:17.52
  • Final — 28:29.91 (→ 12th place)
• David Fitzsimons
  • Heat — 28:16.43
  • Final — 29:17.74 (→ 14th place)

Men's 400m Hurdles

• Don Hanly
  • Heat — 51.90s (→ did not advance)
• Peter Grant
  • Heat — 51.07s (→ did not advance)

Men's Long Jump

• Chris Commons
  • Heat — 7.46m (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

• Chris Wardlaw — 2:23:56 (→ 35th place)
• David Chettle — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Ross Haywood — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Men's 20 km Race Walk

• Ross Haywood — 1:30:59 (→ 12th place)

Men's Hammer Throw

• Peter Farmer
  • Qualifying round — 69.92m
  • Final — 68.00m (→ 12th place)

Basketball

Main article: Basketball at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary round (Group A):
  • Lost to Cuba (89-111)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (77-93)
  • Defeated Mexico (120-117)
  • Lost to Canada (69-81)
  • Defeated Japan (117-79)
• Classification Matches:
  • 5th/8th place: Lost to Italy (72-79)
  • 7th/8th place: Lost to Cuba (81-92) → 8th place
• Team Roster:
  • Robbie Cadee
  • Ian Watson
  • Andrew Campbell
  • Tony Barnett
  • Eddie Palubinskas
  • Perry Crosswhite
  • Russell Simon
  • Michael Tucker
  • Andris Blicavs
  • Peter Walsh
  • John Maddock
  • Ray Tomlinson
• Head coach: Lindsay Gaze

Boxing

Main article: Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Canoeing

Main article: Canoeing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Twelve cyclists represented Australia in 1976.

Individual road race

• Clyde Sefton — 4:49:01 (→ 28th place)
• Remo Sansonetti — 4:49:01 (→ 34th place)
• Alan Goodrope — did not finish (→ no ranking)
• Peter Kesting — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Team time trial

• Ian Chandler
• Remo Sansonetti
• Sal Sansonetti
• Clyde Sefton

Sprint

• Ron Boyle — 20th place

1000m time trial

• Stephen Goodall — 1:08.610 (→ 12th place)

Individual pursuit

• Gary Sutton — 6th place

Team pursuit

• Stephen Goodall
• Kevin Nichols
• Geoff Skaines
• John Thorsen

Diving

Main article: Diving at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Equestrian

Main article: Equestrian at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Fencing

Main article: Fencing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Three fencers, two men and one woman, represented Australia in 1976.

Men's foil

• Greg Benko
• Ernest Simon

Men's épée

• Greg Benko

Women's foil

• Helen Smith

Gymnastics

Main article: Gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Hockey

Main article: Field hockey at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary round (Group A)
  • Defeated Malaysia (2-0)
  • Defeated Canada (3-0)
  • Defeated India (6-1)
  • Lost to the Netherlands (1-2)
  • Lost to Argentina (2-3)
  • Replay: Defeated India (1-1, 5-4 after penalty strokes)
• Semi-finals
  • Defeated Pakistan (1-2)
• Final
  • Lost to New Zealand (0-1) → Silver Medal
• Team Roster
  • ( 1.) Robert Haigh
  • ( 2.) Ric Charlesworth
  • ( 3.) David Bell
  • ( 4.) Greg Browning
  • ( 5.) Ian Cooke
  • ( 6.) Barry Dancer
  • ( 7.) Douglas Golder
  • ( 8.) Wayne Hammond
  • ( 9.) Jim Irvine
  • (10.) Stephan Marshall
  • (11.) Malcolm Poole
  • (12.) Robert Proctor
  • (13.) Graeme Reid
  • (14.) Ronald Riley
  • (15.) Trevor Smith
  • (16.) Terry Walsh
• Head coach: Mervyn Adams

Judo

Main article: Judo at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Modern pentathlon

Main article: Modern pentathlon at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Two male pentathletes represented Australia in 1976.

Individual

• Peter Ridgway
• Peter Macken

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Sailing

Main article: Sailing at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Shooting

Main article: Shooting at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Mixed

Athlete	Event	Final
		Score	Rank
Donald Brook	50 m rifle, prone	586	41
	50 m rifle three positions	1109	50
Jonathan Gillman	50 m pistol	525	42
Don Gowland	50 m rifle, prone	584	51
Norman Harrison	50 m pistol	540	32
Alexander Taransky	25 m pistol	580	34
Peter Wray	Trap	173	25

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Water polo

Main article: Water polo at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Men's competition

• Preliminary round (Group C)
  • Lost to Hungary (6-7)
  • Lost to West Germany (3-4)
  • Lost to Canada (5-6)
• Classification group
  • Lost to Canada (3-4)
  • Defeated Iran (8-2)
  • Lost to Soviet Union (2-7)
  • Tied with Mexico (4-4)
  • Lost to Cuba (3-8) → 11th place
• Team roster
  • Andrew Kerr
  • Charles Turner
  • David Neesham
  • David Woods
  • Edmond Brooks
  • Ian Mills
  • Paul Williams
  • Peter Montgomery
  • Randall Goff
  • Rodney Woods
  • Ross Langdon
• Head coach: Tom Hoad

Weightlifting

Main article: Weightlifting at the 1976 Summer Olympics

Wrestling

Main article: Wrestling at the 1976 Summer Olympics

See also

• Australia at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games
• Australia at the 1978 Commonwealth Games