Australia competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in
Lillehammer
Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...
,
Norway.
Australia won a bronze medal in the men's 5000 metres short track relay, the nation's first medal at the Winter Olympic Games. A total of 25 Australian athletes competed, participating in
alpine skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...
,
biathlon,
bobsleigh,
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
,
figure skating,
freestyle skiing
Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, Mogul Skiing, moguls, Ski Cross, cross, Half-pipe skiing, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Freestyle skiing at the Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics. It can consist of a ...
(in both aerials and moguls),
luge
A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...
,
short track speed skating, and
speed skating.
Medalists
Alpine skiing
;Men:
;Women:
Biathlon
;Women
Bobsleigh
Cross-country skiing
;Men
Figure skating
Freestyle skiing
;Men
;Women
Luge
Short track speed skating
The relay result was Australia's first Winter Olympics medal. In the semi-final, they beat
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
New Zealand to qualify behind
Canada. They went into the final with three objectives: to stay on their feet (to avoid a repeat of what happened in Albertville), to remain undisqualified, and to beat at least one of the other three finalists. With 21 of 45 laps to go, a Canadian crashed into the side, and was out of contention. With 12 laps to go,
Italian Mirko Vuillermin accelerated away, creating a gap such that Australia was unlikely to win gold. Until the last change, it seemed that Australia might win silver. Nizielski was the final skater, and said later that "At the last change
mericanEric Flaim got a good push-away and he stepped underneath my feet and stopped me. I thought, well I'm not going to fight him for this. I didn't want to let the team down. And I was very aware that I had taken a fall in Albertville. I just wanted to get through and get the medal." Team member Steven Bradbury went on to win Australia's first winter gold in 2002.
;Men
;Women
Speed skating
;Men
References
External links
Australia NOCOlympic Winter Institute of Australia
*"2002 Australian Winter Olympic Team Guide
PDF file
*"The Compendium: Official Australian Olympic Statistics 1896-2002" Australian Olympic Committee (Inconsistencies in sources mentioned in Wikibooks:Errata/0702234257)
*"Australia and the Olympic Games" by Harry Gordon.
Australian Olympic Committee
{{Nations at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Nations at the 1994 Winter Olympics
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
Winter sports in Australia
1994 in Australian sport