Australasia
Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
was the name of a combined team at the
1912 Summer Olympics in
Stockholm,
Sweden, consisting of 26 athletes from
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The combined team had also competed at the
1908 Games, but
Australia and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
would send separate teams to the next Games in
1920.
There were three New Zealanders in the 1912 team;
Malcolm Champion,
Anthony Wilding
Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...
and
George Hill. Wilding won a bronze medal in the men's indoor tennis singles, and Champion won a gold medal as part of the swimming relay team.
Medallists
Results by sport
Athletics
Five athletes competed for Australasia at the 1912 Games.
Rowing
Ten athletes competed for Australasia at the 1912 Games. It was a match racing format.
Swimming
Nine athletes competed for Australasia at the 1912 Games. The team finished with six medals, two of each color, as well as one world record and an additional Olympic record at the end of the Games.
Fanny Durack and
Mina Wylie, the two women who swam for Australasia, finished first and second in the only women's individual event, the 100 metres freestyle. Durack set a new Olympic record in the quarterfinals, which held throughout the rest of the competition.
The men's freestyle relay team earned the gold medal, breaking the world record of 10:26.4 (itself being newly set after the Americans broke the 10:53.4 set by the British team at the
1908 Summer Olympics) swam by the United States team in the first semifinal by swimming 12.4 seconds faster in the second final. The Australasia team dropped the world record in that event a further 2.8 seconds in the final.
Harold Hardwick
Harold Hampton Hardwick (14 December 1888 – 22 February 1959) was a versatile Australian sports star of the early 20th century – an Olympic gold medal swimmer, national heavyweight boxing champion, and a state representative rugby union ...
and
Cecil Healy each briefly took the Olympic record in the men's 400 meters freestyle heats, with the pair finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the final. Hardwick took another bronze medal in the 1500 free, while Healy took silver in the 100 free.
Tennis
One athlete competed for Australasia at the 1912 Games.
Anthony Wilding
Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...
competed only in the indoor men's singles, finishing with the bronze medal.
References
*
The Olympic Games of Stockholm 1912 – Official Report' (digitized copy online)
International Olympic Committee website for Stockholm 1912Australian Olympic Committeesports-reference
{{Nations at the 1912 Summer Olympics
Nations at the 1912 Summer Olympics
1912
1912
Olympics
Olympics