Jasmine Directory

Almost a quarter of Australians over the age of 15 participate in sporting activities on a regular basis. The national sport is widely considered to be cricket, even though attendance rates and popularity rankings are held by soccer. Following close by, there’s also Australian Rules Football and the Rugby League. In terms of achievements, there are many areas of the Olympics in which Australians have proven their worth, like: cricket, field hockey, rugby and netball. Track races and rowing are also popular, but the field in which Australia excels the most is swimming, having won so many medals that the country is known to be the most prolific swimming medal winner at the Olympics in history. Among popular Australian swimmers, there are: Murray Rose, Shane Gould, Dawn Fraser and Ian Thorpe.

Aside from swimmers, Australia has well-known and prominent sprinters like Shirley Strickland, Cathy Freeman and Betty Cuthbert; tennis players like Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong. Jack Brabham is a three-time Formula 1 world champion and Mick Doohan has won the motorcycle grand prix champion title five times. Other popular sports include squash, motor racing, horse racing and surfing. Even though not popular, winter sports like skiing have been practiced since the middle 19th century, mainly in the Australian Alps and Tasmania.

Melbourne hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics while Sydney hosted the same event in 2000. Australia also participates in all Commonwealth Games, hosting the 1938, 1962, 1982, 2006 events and set to host the 2018 event as well. Most important events include the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the Australian Open tennis event and a wide variety of international cricket sporting events.