Olympic year in review: Five of the best Australian sporting performances of 2022
Aussie athletes have been catching the eyes of fans across the world over the past year, with outstanding performances in tennis, freestyle skiing, swimming, snowboard and athletics. As we get ready to say goodbye to 2022, here are five of the best performances by Australian athletes in Olympic sports from the last 12 months.
Following an excellent showing at Tokyo 2020 where they won 17 gold medals, Australian athletes have once again been at their scintillating best in 2022.
From a tennis legend who retired at the top of her career to a freestyle skiing moguls expert who lit up the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, here are five of the best Aussie sporting performances of the past 12 months.
1 - Ash Barty, tennis
Australian tennis ace Ash Barty’s retirement in March 2022 was a huge loss to the tennis world and came in a year when she had just won her third Grand Slam in January’s Australian Open.
The 26-year-old, who won bronze in the mixed doubles tournament at Tokyo 2020 alongside John Peers, beat the USA’s Danielle Collins in 6-3, 7-6 in the Australian Open final, adding to her titles at the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon tournaments.
Barty was still ranked No. 1 in the world when she took the decision to leave the sport and retired having become the first Australian woman in 44 years to win a home Grand Slam.
"[I'm] retiring from tennis,” she announced on her Instagram account. “It's hard to say, but I'm so happy and I'm so ready. And I just know at the moment in my heart for me as a person, this is right. I'm so grateful to everything that tennis has given me. It's given me all of my dreams plus more. But I know that the time is right now for me to step away and chase all the dreams and yeah, and to put the rackets down."
2 - Jakara Anthony, freestyle skiing
Australia left the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing with a single gold medal, and that lone victory belonged to Jakara Anthony.
The moguls freestyle skier put on a tremendous display in the People’s Republic of China, leading throughout qualification and never letting go of the top spot to become Australia’s first-ever gold medal winner in the discipline.
And while her Olympic gold was the highlight of Australia’s participation at the Winter Games, Anthony wasn’t done yet. She also added the overall moguls and moguls World Cup titles to her resume to cap off an exceptional 2022.
3 - Scotty James, snowboard
Four years after winning bronze in the snowboard halfpipe competition at PyeongChang 2018, Scotty James went one better with silver at Beijing 2022.
The 28-year-old three-time World Champion put in a stellar performance in China, coming second only to Japan’s Hirano Ayumu and two places ahead of halfpipe legend Shaun White.
While silver in Beijing was one of the highlights of the games for Team Australia, James has his sights on even more when it comes to Milano Cortina in 2026.
"Got the bronze (at PyeongChang 2018), got a silver now,” he said after the Games in Beijing. “There's only one left to get, so that's the plan: to finish off the collection in Italy (at Milan-Cortina 2026). And it's one of my favourite countries.
"I've already started the process but for now I'll enjoy this. I'm still very young, I still have a lot of vision, I'm still driven."
4 - Mollie O’Callaghan, swimming
It’s been some year for Australian swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan. After picking up two relay golds last year at Tokyo 2020 the 18-year-old won 17 medals in 2022 across the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
O’Callghan’s victory in the 100m freestyle at this year’s Worlds in Budapest saw her become the youngest woman in 30 years to achieve the feat. She was also part of Australian teams that broke two long course world records in 2022 (in the 4x100m mixed freestyle relay and the 4x200m freestyle relay) and three short course world records (in the 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x50m medley relay).
Her impressive progression also saw her named Olympic Swimmer of the Year at the 2022 Swimming Australia Awards.
5 - Eleanor Patterson, athletics
After becoming the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner at age 18, high jumper Eleanor Patterson stepped away from sport at age 22.
However, 12 months later and with a new coaching staff in place, she began her return to the upper echelons of athletics.
Then at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Patterson became only the 10th Australian World Champion in athletics history when she soared to victory with a jump of 2.02m.
“I feel like this has been such a pivotal moment in my career,” Patterson told Olympics.com, reflecting on her win in Oregon. “Who would have thought that me sitting on that couch in 2018 I would be sitting in this spot right now.
“If you told me that I would not believe you. I still don’t believe you, I still don’t believe what happened!”
