Australian track cyclists Matt Richardson and Matt Glaetzer secured their country’s final medals at the Olympic Games with silver and bronze respectively in Paris.
Richardson was unable to get past Dutch great Harrie Lavreysen in the final straight after Glaetzer had gone first in the final, and the other three riders crashed out on the final lap.
It is Richardson’s third medal at the Paris Olympics, having also finished second behind Lavreysen in the sprint.
After a string of fourth-place finishes at her previous three Olympics, Glaetzer won an individual medal for the first time at her farewell Games.
Glaetzer and Richardson also won bronze in the team sprint.
Lavreysen swept the men’s sprint events, while the Netherlands also dominated the team sprint.
Also on the final day of Olympic competition, the Australian Opals won bronze in women’s basketball.
As the Olympics draw to a close, Australia’s boss in Paris is savouring a French feast of record proportions.
Matt Richardson and Matt Glaetzer claimed Australia’s latest Olympic medals
But mission chief Anna Meares warns that similar success in the future is not guaranteed.
The Paris Olympics are the most successful Games ever held by Australia in the 128-year history of this sporting extravaganza.
Australia’s reputation as a sporting powerhouse that consistently exceeds expectations is confirmed.
The nation finished fourth in the medal table with 18 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze medals.
The glittering 18 gold medals eclipse the 17 golds previously won by Australia at the 2004 Athens Games and in Tokyo three years ago.
Paris’ total haul of 53 medals is a record for an away Games and is only surpassed by the feats achieved on home soil at Sydney 2000, with 58 medals.
Australia won medals in 14 sports in the French capital.
Five Australians – sailor Matt Wearn, paddler Jessica Fox, skater Keegan Palmer and swimmers Kaylee McKeown (twice) and Ariarne Titmus – defended their Olympic crowns.
Swimmer Mollie O’Callaghan was the country’s most successful athlete, with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.
Swimmers McKeown, Titmus and Shayna Jack (whose dream feats followed a nightmare two-year doping ban) and peerless paddler Fox leave Paris as double gold medallists.
Anna Meares toasted the best Olympic campaign in the country’s history
Australia’s decorated dolphin Emma McKeon has added to her unrivalled medal haul: the swimming ace retires with six golds and 14 medals in total, both national records.
Australia’s 467-strong squad included skater Arisa Trew: she won the women’s park event, aged 14 years and 86 days, to become the country’s youngest Olympic gold medallist.
The astonishing success came at a cost: $25 million, to be precise.
And Meares warns that unless that funding can at least be maintained, tougher times could lie ahead in 2028 in Los Angeles, before Australia hosts the Olympics for a third time in 2032 in Brisbane.
“This campaign has cost around $25 million,” Meares said.
‘Take time to celebrate… this is a great achievement.
‘This obviously creates higher expectations for the future.
‘We know that a Games before a Games at home for Brisbane is really crucial.
‘What I’ve really enjoyed here is the breadth of sports that have been successful.
‘The support we need, the funding for sports, is essential in the next eight-year cycle.
“But there is no guarantee.”
Australia’s achievements were buoyed by a golden (and silver and bronze) era of female athletes.
The Australians finished fourth in the medal table, taking 18 gold medals.
Some 57 Australian women have carried a Paris Olympic medal in their hand luggage, either individually or as part of a team.
“The sheer visibility of women in sport is having an impact and we’re seeing that impact,” said Meares, a four-time Olympic cyclist and mother of two children, Evelyn, four, and Bill, two.
‘My daughter has asked me, ‘Mom, can I play this sport? ‘ And it’s great that as a father I can sit there and say, ‘Yes, honey, you can. ‘
“That hasn’t always been the case for women who have emerged in the decades and years before. ‘As a female athlete and a woman, we know what it’s like to feel excluded… it’s undeniable that our women have been exceptional at these Games.’
Meares also praised the exploits of the boys: 32 Australian men won medals, individually or as a team, in Paris.
And he praised the wisdom of Australian coaches, describing them as the best in the world.
Which brings up another concern: how will Australia be able to retain its coaching core in its home country when other nations with deep pockets come knocking on its door?
In Paris, a handful of Australians coached their rivals, including the legendary Dennis Cotterell (swimming, China), Alyson Annan and Ric Charlesworth (both hockey, China), Gary Sutton (cycling, USA) and Cameron Meyer (cycling, Great Britain).
“It’s one thing to have talent, and we have some incredibly talented athletes,” Meares said.
“Then you have to be able to support the staff around them. We need good coaches and good support staff.
‘And we can often lose them to opportunities in other countries where they are offered better salaries and better conditions.
But Meares has warned against expecting the same incredible haul in Los Angeles.
‘That’s why we have to take care of the staff that support the athletes… it’s not just about providing infrastructure, it’s not just about funding the athletes and the sports.
“What the world really expects from us is to keep our Australian coaches and our Australian staff, because we are capable of executing amazingly.”
Australia’s campaign, and Meares’s in her first Games as chef de mission, was not always easy.
There were initially transport problems with Australian athletes sitting on the floor of overcrowded buses.
Michael Palfrey, assistant coach of the Australian swimming team, was lucky not to be sent home after supporting Korean swimmers in an interview with Korean media.
Men’s hockey player Tom Craig was arrested for trying to buy cocaine on a street in Paris. The Kookaburra spent a night in custody before being released without charge.
Nineteen Australian Olympians tested positive for COVID during the Games; some competed anyway.
The contentious points failed to take any of the shine off Australia’s golden Games.
“I knew that if Paris could pull this off, it would be a picture-perfect Games, a spectacular Games, and haven’t they been spectacular Games?” Meares said.