The Most Famous

ATHLETES from Australia

This page contains a list of the greatest Australian Athletes. The pantheon dataset contains 6,025 Athletes, 360 of which were born in Australia. This makes Australia the birth place of the 8th most number of Athletes behind Italy, and Canada.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Australian Athletes of all time. This list of famous Australian Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Australian Athletes.

1. Mara (b. )

With an HPI of 68.37, Mara is the most famous Australian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 44 different languages on wikipedia.

Mara or MARA may refer to:

2. Ron Clarke (1937 - 2015)

With an HPI of 60.56, Ron Clarke is the 2nd most famous Australian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Ronald William Clarke, AO, MBE (21 February 1937 – 17 June 2015) was an Australian athlete, writer, and the Mayor of the Gold Coast from 2004 to 2012. He was one of the best-known middle- and long-distance runners in the 1960s, notable for setting seventeen world records.

3. Peter Norman (1942 - 2006)

With an HPI of 58.68, Peter Norman is the 3rd most famous Australian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Peter George Norman (15 June 1942 – 3 October 2006) was an Australian track athlete. He won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, with a time of 20.06 seconds, which remained the Oceania 200 m record for more than 56 years. He was a five-time national 200-metre champion. Norman was one of the three athletes in the 1968 Olympics protest salute photograph taken during the medal ceremony for the 200-metre event. He knew the salute was to occur and wore a badge of the Olympic Project for Human Rights in support of fellow athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith.

4. William Jones (b. )

With an HPI of 57.21, William Jones is the 4th most famous Australian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

William Jones may refer to:

5. Camila (b. )

With an HPI of 57.15, Camila is the 5th most famous Australian Athlete. Their biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Camila is the Portuguese and Spanish form of the given name Camilla and may refer to:

6. John Winter (1924 - 2007)

With an HPI of 56.85, John Winter is the 6th most famous Australian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

John Arthur "Jack" Winter (3 December 1924 – 5 December 2007) was an Australian high jumper who won that event at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London with a jump of 1.98 metres (6 ft. 6 in.). A 23-year-old bank teller, Winter is Australia's only Olympic high jump gold medalist.

7. Betty Cuthbert (1938 - 2017)

With an HPI of 56.20, Betty Cuthbert is the 7th most famous Australian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Elizabeth Alyse Cuthbert (20 April 1938 – 6 August 2017), was an Australian athlete and a four-time Olympic champion. She was nicknamed Australia's "Golden Girl". During her career, she set world records for 60 metres, 100 yards, 200 metres, 220 yards and 440 yards. Cuthbert also contributed to Australian relay teams completing a win in the 4 × 100 metres, 4 × 110 yards, 4 × 200 metres and 4 × 220 yards. Cuthbert had a distinctive running style, with a high knee lift and mouth wide open. She was named in 1998 an Australian National Treasure and was inducted as a Legend in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame in 2000.

8. Stan Rowley (1876 - 1924)

With an HPI of 55.36, Stan Rowley is the 8th most famous Australian Athlete. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Stanley Rupert Rowley (11 September 1876 – 1 April 1924) was an Australian sprinter who won four medals at the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was born in Young, New South Wales and died in Manly, New South Wales.

9. Norma Croker (1934 - 2019)

With an HPI of 54.91, Norma Croker is the 9th most famous Australian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Norma Croker Fleming (11 September 1934 – 21 August 2019) was an Australian sprinter. Croker was educated at Brisbane State High School. At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, she placed 4th in the individual 200 metres race, but won the gold medal in 4 x 100 metres relay, together with Shirley Strickland, Fleur Mellor and Betty Cuthbert. At the 1960 Summer Olympics she was a member of the Australian relay team which was disqualified in the heats and also finished 15th in the long jump. Croker was the first Olympic gold medal winner to hail from the Australian state of Queensland.< In the 1956 Australian championships she placed 4th in 100 yards and 3rd in 220 yards. In 1960 she placed 6th in 100 yards, 3rd in 220 yards, 3rd in long jump and 4th in 4 × 100 m relay. In 2009 Croker was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

10. Shirley Strickland (1925 - 2004)

With an HPI of 54.89, Shirley Strickland is the 10th most famous Australian Athlete. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Shirley Barbara de la Hunty AO, MBE (née Strickland; 18 July 1925 – 11 February 2004), known as Shirley Strickland during her early career, was an Australian athlete. She won more Olympic medals than any other Australian in running sports.

People

Pantheon has 360 people classified as Australian athletes born between 1876 and 2010. Of these 360, 332 (92.22%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Australian athletes include Mara, William Jones, and Camila. The most famous deceased Australian athletes include Ron Clarke, Peter Norman, and John Winter. As of April 2024, 275 new Australian athletes have been added to Pantheon including Mara, William Jones, and Camila.