Interesting Facts About Olympic Countries - Australia

Did you know...

Australia has attended all Summer Olympic Games (1896-2004). Unlike Japan, Germany, Norway and the United States, it participated in the Olympic Games in 1980.

Teddy Flack won two gold medals ( 800m and 1500m ) at the 1896 Olympic Games in Athens, the capital city of Grece. Edwin Harold "Teddy" Flack was the first Australian sportspeople to win an Olympic medal.

Dawn Fraser was a great Australian swimmer. She was born on September 4, 1937 in Adelaide, Australia. This sportswoman won four Olympic titles (1956, 1960, 1964). She also won 23 National Championships: 100m (7), 200m (8), 400m (5), 100 m butterfly (2), 200m medley (1). Dawn, the swimming star and idol national, won 8 medals at the 1958 and 1962 volleyball drills Games. During her sports career, Dawn set 27 world records. She was called "The Queen of Swimming" by Pat Besford, volleyball drills of the best sportswriters of the world.

From 1938 to 2007, Australia has hosted several international competitions:

The British Empire Games (1938)

The Summer Olympic Games (1956)

The Commonwealth Games (1962)

The FIFA World Youth Championship (1981)

The Commonwealth Games (1982)

The World Athletics Cup (1985)

The Pan Pacific Swimming Championship (1987)

The FINA World Championship (1994)

The IAAF World Junior Championship (1996)

The FINA World Championship (1998)

The Pan Pacific Swimming Championship (1999)

The Summer Olympic Games (2000)

The Paralympic Games (2000)

The Commonwealth Games (2006)

The FINA World Championship (2007)

Melissa Wu has Chinese ancestry. Who is Melissa?. She is one of the best youngest divers of the world. She was born on May 3, 1992 in Sydney. Under the leadership of Xiangning Chen (her coach), she won a gold medal in the 10m platform event at the FINA World Junior Championships in Kula Lumpur (Malaysia). Melissa also won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne (Australia). Before the Commonwealth Games, Melissa won three gold medals at the 1995 Australian Championship. This athlete resides in Brisbane, Australia. Currently, she is training very hard. "I get let out of school about an hour early each day to come to trining. I do one less subject that the others so I can catch up on homework and assignments.But teachers and school friends understand this demanding daily routine.They are really happye for me!",she says.

This country has participated in the Commonwealth Games 18 times: Hamilton'1930, London '1934, Sydney '1938, Auckland '1950, Vancouver '1954,Cardiff '1958, Perth'1962, Kingston'1966, Edinburgh'1970, Christchurch'1974, Edmonton'1978, Brisbane'1982, Edinburgh'1986, Auckland '1990, Victoria '1994, Kuala Lumpur '1998, Manchester '2002 and Melbourne'2006.

The Australian men's volleyball team qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece. At the Olympic Qualification Tournamente in Tokyo, Australia defeated many teams such as Japan (host country), South Korea and the People's Republic of China. For the first time, Australia beating Japan, who won three medals at the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games. The Australian team was trained by Jon Uriarte (Argentina), who was one of the best volleyball players in the 1980s. The Olympic players were: Brett alderman, David Beard, Matthew Young, Luke Campbell, Zane Christensen, Hidde van Beest, Grant Sorensen, Travis Moran, Dan Howard, Andrew Earl, David Ferguson and Benjamin Hardy.

From 1896 to 1972, Australia won 63 Olympic gold medals.

Catherine "Cathy" Salome Freeman is an iconic figure in Australia's sports. She become the first Aborigine to win an Olympic gold medal since James Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe (United States) at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. Like Dawn Frasser (Olympic champion), Sir Frank (Nobel Prize in Medicine), Shane Gould (Olympic champion) and Patrick White (Nobel Prize for Literature), she was elected Australian of the Year (1998).

Date birth:16/2/1973

Place of birth: Slade Point,Mckay,Queensland

Event (track & field): 400m

Distinctions:1st at the 2003 Australian Championship; 1st at the 2000 Grand Prix; 1st at the 2000 Golden League; 1st at the 2000 Olympic Games; 1st at the 2000 Australian Championship; 2nd at the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championship; 1st at the 1999 Australian Championship; 1st at the 1999 World Athletics Championship; 1st at the 1998 Australian Championship;1st at the 1997 World Athletics Championship;1st at the 1997 Australian Championship; 1st at the 1996 IAAF Grand Prix ; 2nd at the 1996 Olympic Games; 4th at the 1995 World Athletics Championship; 1st at the 1995 Australian Championship; 2nd at the 1994 IAAF Grand Prix; 1st at the Commonwealth Games; 3rd at the 1992 Australian Championship.

This country has great athletes in this century: Libby Lenton (swimming/ world champion, 2007), Nathan Deakes (athletics/world champion, 2007), Chantelle Newbery (diving/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004), Anna Meares (cycling/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004), Simon Fairweather (archery/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Ryan Bayley (cycling/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004), Sara Carrigan (cycling/ Olympic gold medalist, 2004), Gail Miller (water polo/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Leisel Jones (swimming/ world champion, 2007), Scott McGlory (Olympic gold medalist, 2000). Michael Diamond (shooting/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Jana Rawlinson (track & field/ world champion,2007), Matt Welsh (swimming/ world champion, 2007), Philip Dutton (equestrian/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Stuart Tinney (equestrian/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Ian Thorpe (swimming/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000 and 2004), Kerry Pottharst (beach volleyball/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000),Grant Hacker (swimming/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000 and 2004), Susie O'Neill (swimming/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Mark Turboll (sailing/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Lauren Burns (taekwondo/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000), Natalie Cook (beach volleyball/ Olympic gold medalist, 2000) and Jessicah Schipper (swimming/ world champion, 2007).

The Australian men's basketball team is one of the best of the world.

Top performances:

1956 Melbourne Olympic Games-12th place (host country)

1964 Tokyo Olympic Games-9th place

1970 FIBA World Championship-12th place

1972 Munich Olympic Games-9th place

1974 FIBA World Championship-12th place

1976 Montreal Olympic Games-8th place

1978 FIBA World Championship-7th place

1980 Moscow Olympic Games-8th place

1982 FIBA World Championship-5th place

1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games-7th place

1986 FIBA World Championship-17th place

1988 Seoul Olympic Games-4th place

1990 FIBA World Championship-7th place

1992 Barcelona Olympic Games-6th place

1994 FIBA World Championship-5th place

1996 Atlanta Olympic Games-4th place

1998 FIBA World Championship-9th place

2000 Sydney Olympic Games-4th place

2004 Athens Olympic Games-9th place

2006 FIBA World Championship-13rd place

Alejandro Guevara Onofre: He is a freelance writer. Alejandro is of Italian, African and Peruvian ancestry.He has published more than seventy-five research paper in English, and more than twenty in Spanish, concerning the world issues, olympic sports, countries, and tourism. His next essay is called "The Dictator and Alicia Alonso". He is an expert on foreign affairs.Alejandro is the first author who has published a world-book encyclopedia in Latin America. He admires Frida Kahlo (Mexican painter), Jos Gamarra (former president of the Bolivian Olympic Committee ,1970- 1982), Hillary Clinton (ex-First Lady of the USA), and Jimmy Carter (former President of the USA). Alejandro said: "The person who I admire the most is Jos Gamarra . He devoted his professional and personal life to sport. Jos played an important role in the promotion of Olympism in Bolivia -it is one of the Third World`s poorest countries- and Latin America. His biography is interesting". The sportspeople he most admire is Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman. "This African-American sportswoman is my idol..."

What You Need to Jump Higher in Basketball and Dunk

When trying to jump higher and dunk volleyball drills basketball there are many factors to consider. If you are not naturally gifted with the ability to be able to jump three feet in the air you will need to work out. The most overlooked thing athletes do when training to jump higher volleyball drills working out the total body. Just doing squats all day will not improve your vertical leap to the level you are looking for.

Although having strong legs is a advantage when training to dunk the ball. You need to condition the rest of your body also. Look at Olympic power lifters, you think they can get that enormous torso off the ground to dunk a basketball? They undoubtedly have some of the strongest legs in the world but their upper body is not trained for jumping.

Overall full body conditioning is the key to reaching your maximum vertical leap. The most important thing is to use a good training program that works the large muscle groups of the body. By working the large muscle groups you involuntarily work the smaller muscles also. The end result is a solid foundation to work with when learning the mechanics needed to allow you to jump higher and dunk a basketball.

Look at all Major sports that require the ability to jump high. The obvious sport is basketball but there is also volleyball and wide receivers in football. In general they are lean without excessive body fat. These athletes train their whole body, not just their legs.

Another advantage of conditioning the whole body is speed. When all your muscles are stronger they compliment each other and you will be faster. Just because you can jump higher than everyone in a basketball game does not mean you will be the best player. You must have speed and agility to go along with your ability to jump.

The best exercises to perform to help you jump higher are high intensity cardio like sprints, You also want to do resistance exercises that use large muscle groups. You should always workout with a spotter when working with heavy weights.

Do not just go to the gym and start doing squats till you puke. If you can afford it work with a trainer, this can be very expensive, do so. At the least get a good quality training system to follow. And here is the real secret to jumping higher in basketball games and dunking the ball. Whatever training you do you must stick with it. The ability to jump higher than you do now takes time.

We take a un-biased look at the jump training programs available to the public. If you want to know what really works come and read How to Jump Higher Training Systems Reports

Courage To Be Someone New

Have you ever felt paralyzed or crippled by fear? As a
businesswoman, producer, and model through volleyball drills various
business ventures, Ive felt fearful from time volleyball drills time. And Im
sure that, like me, youve found that you can accomplish little
when youre afraid -- and almost nothing if you let fear of
what might happen seize you. Fear freezes the mind,
erases possibilities and clouds opportunities; and it makes
most matters were fearful about seem disproportionately
greater than our ability to deal with them.

However, Ive learned that you and I have the ability to put
fear in its rightful place -- a place where we dont have to
stay. Yet sometimes situations were frightened about have
to get worse before things can get better. Sometimes not
until something or someone hurts us and/or wounds us
badly or deeply enough do we realize that we have to go
beyond fear to make a change.

I remember vividly some of the most unpleasant challenges
Ive had to face to earn respect and defeat fear. In 1987, I
moved from my homeland, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to
Vancouver, Canada, to continue high school for
post-secondary education. I found myself a stranger there --
a funny looking "foreign" girl with a bad haircut and poor
English skills. And soon, I became the prime target for the
supposedly "cool" high school kids around me to
antagonize. And believe me, they did their best to make my
life miserable. I couldnt hide from them; they seemed to be
everywhere, taunting me. Theyd throw objects at me from
behind my back; theyd push and trip me when I wasnt
looking. Theyd sabotage my every chance to be part of any
extra school activity I wanted to pursue; theyd point at me
and laugh, call me names, and torment me in countless
other ways, too.

But because I was extremely unfamiliar with Canadian
culture and lifestyles, and for fear that I might say or do
something wrong, I decided Id just tolerate the situation.
Though I was already a competitive martial arts fighter in the
process of earning my second black belt in Karate, (a sport
Ive been involved in since I was eight years old), I didnt feel
that I should utilize those skills. Again, I feared I might
provoke my tormentors further and possibly even incite them
to extend harm to my family.

So during most of those high school years I allowed
emotions like fear, loneliness, anxiety, anger and sadness
to consume me. Yet eventually even those feelings,
however negative, forced me to find courage to turn my
situation in positive directions, and as a result I can now
help others in similar circumstances to do the same.

I decided that every time my tormentors tried to start a fight
with me, I would look each of them in the eyes and just
calmly walk away. What worse could happen than that
theyd push me, laugh and call me names? However, one
afternoon, things did turn worse.

That afternoon I felt a couple of small objects hit the back of
my head. As usual, bursts of laughter behind my back
followed, and I continued on my way, refusing to even
acknowledge this petty behavior. But this time I made no
effort to keep my eyes on my tormentors as I walked away.
Suddenly one of them decided to run up and strike me in the
left eye. In an instant, I realized that she had crossed a
boundary and endangered a vital organ of my body, and this
I simply couldnt ignore. Before she could blink, with a
crowd of students as my witnesses, I unleashed a kick that
dropped her to the ground. Quickly, two of her friends
leaped at me to defend her. Soon they, too, were picking
themselves up, and then all three made a run for it, leaving
me standing there. Now I began to feel the throbbing pain
in my left eye -- and discovered that it was bleeding.

For many years, Id tried to avoid confrontations with my
tormentors. But that afternoon theyd made confrontation
inevitable, and I had put fear aside and finally let them know
who I truly was. Now I wondered what the consequences of
my retaliation would be.

Shortly after the fight I was called into the principals office.
There I was told that the three girls who started the fight had
been suspended from school. The other students whod
witnessed the encounter had reported the story of the attack
and my self-defense. Luckily for me, they all supported my
actions. I was free to return to class unpunished.

After that day, things took a clear turn for the better. My
"tormentors" stopped harassing me; from then on they only
looked away whenever I passed by them. When a new
school year began, some of them left to attend different
schools, though some of them remained at my school.
Some of them even stopped being each others friends --
and others decided to start greeting me with smiles. That
year -- my last -- in high school, I finally was able to make
some good friends, direct numerous extracurricular
activities, coach the basketball and volleyball teams and
even serve as captain of the cheerleading squad.

As my life has unfolded since then, throughout my varied
career Ive had many fortunate opportunities to assist
diverse groups of women through some of their own
challenging moments in life. Of course, through these
experiences, Ive broadened my own knowledge about
career, socializing, love, relationships, family and much
more. Along the way Ive been able, in turn, to assist,
inspire and empower a great number of women along their
journeys in life, for which theyve pointedly thanked me in
one way or another. And whether they know it or not, their
exercise of courage that made their lives better, plus their
trust in me, have been all the thanks Ive ever needed.
Theyve truly inspired me to constantly grow, transform and
become a better person.

A few years ago, while I was out of town, Lidiya, an assistant
in one of the companies I founded, hired two new recruits to
join our team. She formally introduced me to them when I
returned from my trip. One recruit happened to be a chief
"tormentor" of mine from high school.

She didnt recognize me until Lidiya introduced me by my
first and last names. Then, my former tormentors jaw
dropped and her face froze. But I reached out and shook
her hand and welcomed her to our team. Later, she
approached me abashedly and tried to apologize for what
had happened in the past. I told her not to worry; it was
quite all right with me. To help her feel comfortable, I then
took her out for lunch. When we got back to the office, I
jokingly told her, "Get back to work now!" and we laughed
together. Since then, shes become one of my most
cherished workers.

Can you see how learning to make the best of every
situation, including that painful one at school, has led me to
discover something great -- that courage begins with
character? Courage not only means being able to do
something new, it also means being able to be someone
new. The ultimate measure of a person is not where they
stand in moments of comfort, but where they stand in times
of challenge and controversy. Ive come to learn that
growing into a good, solid character requires rising to levels
of self-esteem that so many of us doubt we have.

One way by which you can enhance your own self-esteem is
to do as I did, and make it really clear to those around you
who you truly are. When you know who you truly are, and act
based on who you truly are, youll realize, as I did back then
in high school, that no one can harm you unless you choose
to keep them around and allow them to trouble you.

Copyright 2005 Penny Phang Enterprises, Inc. All rights
reserved.

Penny Phang is one of Canada's nominated Top 40 Under 40 business leaders, recognized for her commitment to provide strategic business services with inspiring enthusiasm, creativity, and elegance. She is also well known as the Producer for Playboy Special Editions for Western Canada. In addition, she remains involved in full-service business communications with her founded Simplex Communications Group, and continues to write for her monthly inspirational lifestyle column, Moments of Inspiration with Penny. Miss Phang's experiences are not limited to the business world. She holds two black belts in Karate and was a member of the West Coast Warriors National Karate Team. Shes also a former Top 20 Special Editions Celebrity Model whose inspiring personality has been transformed into "Penny" the 3-D animated character for Electronic Arts' Def Jam Vendetta video game.

For more information go to: http://www.phangenterprises.com/