Australia at the 2002 Winter Olympics
| Australia at the 2002 Winter Olympics |
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| IOC code | AUS | ||||||||
| NOC | Australian Olympic Committee | ||||||||
| Website | www |
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| in Salt Lake City | |||||||||
| Competitors | 27 | ||||||||
| Flag bearer |
Adrian Costa (opening) Steven Bradbury (closing) |
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Medals Ranked 15th |
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| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |||||||||
| Other related appearances | |||||||||
1906 Intercalated Games Australasia (1908–1912) |
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Australia competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, winning its first two gold medals in the Winter Games. It was the nation's best performance at the Winter Games prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Australia's first ever Winter Olympic gold, also the first such medal won by a competitor from any Southern Hemisphere country and semitropical nation was won by Steven Bradbury in the 1000 m short track speed skating. Well off the pace of the medal favourites, Bradbury was positioned at the rear in the semifinal, only to see his competitors crash into each other, allowing him through to the final. Again well off the pace in the final all four other competitors crashed out at the final corner, leaving a shocked Bradbury to take the gold medal. Bradbury was also part of the 1994 relay team that won Australia's first Winter Olympics medal.
Alisa Camplin, who hadn't won a world cup event before and was so nervous she didn't eat dinner the night before the final, won the second gold, in aerial skiing. Jacqui Cooper was previously a favourite, but she injured herself before the competition.
Jenny Owens had a top 10 result, finishing 9th in the combined downhill event, the second best performance by any Australian at an Olympic Games.
Australia competed in alpine skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, short track speed skating and snowboarding. This was the fewest sports Australia had competed in since 1984. No Australian cross-country skiers competed in the Olympics for the first time since 1976, and no bobsledders competed for the first time since Australia's debut in 1988. Australian bobsledder Will Alstergren said "We also beat half the teams currently in Salt Lake City, but unfortunately we couldn't meet the very high standard of the AOC, the Australian Olympic Committee". Australian selection standards was also listed as a factor for Australia not competing in cross-country skiing at Salt Lake City.
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