Australia first competed at the Games, then titled the British Empire Games, in 1930; and is one of only six countries to have sent athletes to every Commonwealth Games. The others are Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales. Australian athletes competed for Australasia at the 1911 Festival of the Empire, the forerunner to the British Empire Games.
Australia has placed first at 13 out of the 21 games (compared with England 7 and Canada 1) and has been in the top three for all meets except the first games in 1930.
In all but one of the 18 Commonwealth Games held so far (excluding the 1978 Games), the Australian flag bearer has gone on to win a gold medal.[1]
List of Games Host Nation Bids
Games Staged
Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games on four occasions but have only won once via an international vote. That vote was for the host of the 2018 games, won by the Gold Coast.
Sydney 1938 was simply awarded.
Perth 1962 was a contest between Adelaide and Perth which Adelaide originally won at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Adelaide first won 13 votes to Perth's 3. Two years later that was overturned by the Australian Commonwealth Games Association prior to the 1958 British Empire Games in Cardiff, Wales. A New Vote awarded Perth with a 9 to 7 vote.
Brisbane 1982 was awarded after Lagos, Nigeria; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Birmingham, England all withdrew prior to the Bid vote that took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada during the 1976 Summer Olympics.
Melbourne 2006 was awarded to the city after Wellington, New Zealand withdrew their bid prior to the Bid Lodgement Deadline.
Positions are calculated by the number of gold medals earned, then the number of silvers is taken into consideration and then the number of bronze.
Figures from Commonwealth Games Foundation website.[2] Those represented in bold are the highest scoring medal tally for each individual medal.
The 2006 Games saw the highest overall medal tally, including the highest number of silver and bronze medals. The 1994 Games remains the Games with the highest number of gold medals won for Australia.
Note - 1911 Games includes medals won by all Australasia athletes
Numbers of athletes and sports
This list shows the total number of athletes, male and female, and the total sports they were selected to compete in.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
Year
Athletes
Male
Female
Sports
2006
426
220
206
18
2002
371
1998
320
1994
250
1990
248
1986
235
1982
210
1978
148
1974
1970
1966
1962
1958
1954
1950
1938
1934
1930
Team & Individual Competitor Achievements
Notable Achievements
Represented at most Games
Arthur Tunstall has represented Australia as an official at 8 Commonwealth Games (1962, 66, 70, 74, 78, 86, 90, 94).
Runner Steve Moneghetti has represented Australia as an athlete in four Games (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) and an official at four Games (2002, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Donald Stockins has represented Australia as an official at 8 Commonwealth Games (1974, 78, 82, 86, 90, 94, 98, 2002).
Badminton player Rhonda Cator has represented Australia as an athlete in five Games (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002) and an official at three Games (2004, 2010, 2014)
Shooter Bruce Quick has represented in 7 Commonwealth Games (1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018)
Shooter Phillip Adams has represented in 6 Commonwealth Games (1982, 86, 90, 94, 98, 2002).
Shooter Russell Mark has represented in 6 Commonwealth Games (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Shooter James Corbett has represented in 6 Commonwealth Games (1986, 1990, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014)
Squash player David Palmer has represented in 6 Commonwealth Games (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Best Individual Medal Achievements
Most gold medals won
Swimmer Emma McKeon won 14 gold medals at three successive Games (2014, 18, 22).
Swimmer Susie O'Neill won 10 gold medals at three successive Games (1990, 94, 98).
Swimmer Ian Thorpe won 10 gold medals at two successive Games (1998, 2002).
Swimmer Leisel Jones won 10 gold medals at three successive Games (2002, 06, 10).
Most gold medals won at a single Games
Swimmer Susie O'Neill won 6 gold medals at the 1998 Games.
Swimmer Ian Thorpe won 6 gold medals at the 2002 Games.
Swimmer Emma McKeon won 6 gold medals at the 2022 Games.
Most medals won by a competitor
Swimmer Emma McKeon won 20 medals (14 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze) at three Games (2014, 18, 22).
Shooter Phillip Adams has won 18 medals (7 gold, 9 silver, 2 bronze) at five Games (1982, 86, 90, 94, 2002).
Swimmer Susie O'Neill has won 15 medals (10 gold, 5 silver) at three Games (1990, 94, 98).
Swimmer Emily Seebohm has won 15 medals (7 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze) at three Games (2010, 14, 18)
Shooter Bruce Quick has won 14 medals (1 Gold, 9 Silver and 4 Bronze) at 6 games (1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014).
Oldest gold medal winner
Dorothy Roche, was 61 years and 10 months old when she won a gold medal in the women's fours in Bowls at the 1990 Games.
Youngest gold medal winner
Jenny Turrall, was 13 years, 8 months old when she won a gold medal in the 400m freestyle at Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974.[7] Jenny Turrall also won Silver medals in the 200m Freestyle, 800m Freestyle and the women's 4x100 Freestyle Relay at the 1974 Christchurch Games.[8]
Winning Streaks
Australia has won gold in the following events for each consecutive Games since the beginning of each individual streak.
This list shows a summary of known Australian records and totals for each year and overall. A world record also covers all other records (Commonwealth, Australian and Games) but is not included in each individual tally. This also goes for each other section overlapping. The hierarchy is defined by the record key.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
Year
WR
CR
AR
GR
Total
2006
104
109
214
2002
6
44
50
1998
20
20
1994
29
29
1990
7
7
1986
6
6
1982
2
2
1978
1
1
1974
1
1
1970
3
3
1966
14
14
1962
5
5
1958
0
0
1954
3
3
1950
2
2
1938
0
0
1934
2
2
1930
0
0
Total
6
139
145
2002
6 World Records were set during these Games.
44 Commonwealth Games Records were set in the 2002 Games.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
2 Commonwealth Games Records were set in the 1950 Games.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
Type
Sport
Discipline
Athlete/Team
Record
Margin
GR
Athletics
Women's 440 yard relay
Australia
47.9 (seconds)
GR
Athletics
Women's 660 Yard Relay
Australia
1:13.4 (mins)
1934
2 Commonwealth Games Records were set in the 1934 Games.
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
Type
Sport
Discipline
Athlete/Team
Record
Margin
GR
Swimming
Men's 1500 Yards Freestyle
Noel Ryan
18:25.4 (mins)
GR
Swimming
Women's 200 Yards Breaststroke
Clare Dennis
2:50.2 (mins)
Notes
^ a bAustralia won 1 silver and 1 bronze medal in Powerlifting started from 2006 to 2014 when medals in Powerlifting were awarded under Weightlifting sport category. From 2018, Medals in Powerlifting were awarded separately under individual category name.
^"COMMONWEALTH GAMES 36 golds, two records to Australia". The Canberra Times. Vol. 44, no. 12, 684. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 July 1970. p. 12. Retrieved 11 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Wickham to carry flag at closing ceremony". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 15, 666. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 August 1978. p. 27. Retrieved 11 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"A closing honour to 'our Gael'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 568. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 August 1986. p. 23. Retrieved 11 February 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^ a b"Annual Report 2017" (PDF). Commonwealth Games Australia. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
^"Jenny Wetton". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
1911 London
Swimming 
Athletics 
Cycling 
Shooting 
Weightlifting 
Gymnastics 
Diving 
Boxing 
Rowing 
Wrestling [n 1]
Lawn bowls 
Squash 
Hockey 
Basketball 
Fencing 
Triathlon 
Tennis 
Netball 
Ten-pin bowling 
Judo 
Badminton 
Table tennis 
Beach volleyball 
Archery 
Water polo 
Synchronised swimming 
Rugby sevens
Cricket 
Powerlifting [n 1]
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