Australia’s best medal tally at the Olympics: Athens 2004, Tokyo 2020 and Sydney 2000 the crowning jewels

Australia won the most medals (58) at a single Olympic edition in Sydney 2000. Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020 saw Aussie athletes win the most gold medals (17). Full list.

3 minBy Utathya Nag
Australia won 17 gold medals at the Athens 2004 Olympics

(Getty Images)

Australian athletes hold the distinction of having competed at every single edition of the modern Olympics since 1896 and never returning empty-handed from any of the 29 editions of the Summer Games to date.

Overall, Australia have won 557 Olympic medals – 167 gold, 177 silver and 213 bronze – to date.

Edwin Flack was the only Australian who competed at Athens 1896 - the very first edition of the modern Olympics - and won two gold medals, thereby opening the country’s account at the global showpiece.

However, it was not till London 1948 that Australia first crossed two digits on the medals table, bagging 13 podium finishes.

Eight years later, Australia hosted the Olympics for the first time with Melbourne 1956 and made full use of the home advantage to claim 35 medals - 13 gold, eight silver and 14 bronze.

The third-place finish behind the erstwhile Soviet Union and the USA on the final medal table at Melbourne 1956, remains Australia’s best finishing position in any single Olympic Games to date.

Swimmer Murray Rose, who accounted for three gold medals, and athletics legend Betty Cuthbert, who bagged two top podium finishes, were the stars of the show at Melbourne 1956.

The next time Australia played hosts was at Sydney 2000 and the home athletes shone again, accounting for 58 medals - 16 gold, 25 silver and 17 bronze - making it Australia’s biggest Olympic medal tally in terms of pure numbers.

Almost a third of the medals, 18 to be exact, came in swimming - which also happens to be the Olympic sport Australia is most successful at.

Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020, however, yielded Australia’s best medal tally as far as gold medals won is concerned. Both editions saw Aussie contestants pick up 17 top podium finishes each.

Australia’s total haul at Athens 2004 was 50 medals - 17 gold, 16 silver and 17 bronze - while Tokyo 2020 accounted for 46 - 17 gold, 7 silver and 22 bronze.

At Tokyo 2020, Australian swimmer Emma McKeon won seven medals - four gold and three bronze - to become the most decorated athlete in that edition. No Australian has ever bagged more medals at any single edition of the Olympic Games either

McKeon also tied former Russian gymnast Maria Gorokhovskaya, who won two gold and five silver medals at Helsinki 1952, for the record of most medals won by a female athlete in any sport at any single edition of the Olympic Games.

Australia's best Olympic medal tally