Category: History
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Review of Australian Team Sports at the Olympics and Paralympics 1908-2024 – Updated
By Greg Blood The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be another test of the strength of Australia’s Olympic and Paralympic team sports. Since 2012, there has been a decline in the medals won by Australian Olympic and Paralympic teams sports. From 1996 to 2012, team sports won more than one medal at the Games.…
australiansportreflections
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Para-Table Tennis in Australia – A Journey from Hospital Wards to High Performance Innovation
By Arthur Wilks and Tony Naar, June 2024 Documents the development of para-table tennis Australia from 1957 Stoke Mandeville Games to 2020 Toyko Paralympics. Lists Australian athletes that have competed in every major international competition. 56 page PDF document (2.7 KB)
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Albanese Government Endorses the Independent Review into the Australian Institute of Sport.
By Greg Blood The Independent Review Report highlights the reasons for the 249.7 million investment into the “spine of Australian sport – the AIS in Canberra. The last major investment into AIS facilities in Canberra was in the 2002 Howard Government budget where $65 million was allocated over six years for the development of –…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Harold Holt
By Greg Blood HAROLD HOLT LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA 17th Prime Minister: 1966–1967 Harold Holt had a passion for health and fitness and this led to several Australian Government initiatives during his time in leadership positions. Holt as prime minister upheld the Menzies Government view that government should have a limited involvement in sport. His…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Andrew Fisher
By Greg Blood ANDREW FISHER – AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 5th Prime Minister (1908–1909; 1910–1913; 1914–1915) Andrew Fisher viewed sport and physical fitness in terms of nationalism. The physical fitness of Australian men would be important in defending the new nation and the Olympic Games could help promote physical fitness and the nation on the…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Ben Chifley
By Greg Blood JOSEPH BENEDICT ‘BEN’ CHIFLEY– AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 15th Prime Minister: 1945 -1949 Ben Chifley as Treasurer (1941-1949) and Prime Minister (1945-1949) made decisions that impacted positively and negatively on sport in Australia encompassed by World War II. Sport was important to Chifley in his youth and it helped him gain a community…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Prime Ministers and Sport Series – Chris Watson
By Greg Blood JOHN CHRISTIAN (CHRIS) WATSON AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 3rd Prime Minister: 1904 Chris Watson was the Australian Labor Party’s (ALP) first prime minister but his time in the role was very brief – 113 days. Watson predominantly played rugby union and rowed in his youth and twenties. He viewed sport from the…
australiansportreflections
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Notable Australian Sporting Deaths in 2023
By Greg Blood List of notable Australian sports people that died in 2023. These people contributed significantly to their sport and Australian sport in playing, coaching, administration or media roles. Sport Australia Hall of Fame five members – Ron Barassi, Phil Coles, Rale Rasic, John Devitt and Ken Warby. Significant Coaches – Ron Barassi (Australian…
australiansportreflections
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Australian 2023 International Sporting Performances – Will They Be Replicated at the Paris Olympics and Paralympics?
By Greg Blood In November 2023, Gracenote predicted that Australia would win 50 medals including 15 gold at the 2024 Olympics. Listed are Australian world champions and medal performance in Olympic, Paralympic and other major sports in 2023 that most likely would have feed into this prediction. Swimmers led the way topping the medal table…
australiansportreflections
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Australian Sports Books 2023
By Greg Blood Books published in 2023 that provide historical, biographical and policy insights into Australian sport. ASSH Australian Football Australian Sport Policy Boxing Cricket Endurance Sport Football Horse Racing Journalism Motor Sport Rugby League Rugby Union Sport Book Reviews Sport Photography Social Issues Surf Life Saving Surfing Women Additions to this list can be…