Australian Sporting Highlights in 2014
The year 2014 was another successful year in sports for Australian athletes. Australia's team at the Winter Olympics consisted of 60 athletes competing in 11 sports, which represented the largest Winter Olympics team the country had ever sent. It was not the most successful for Australia, no gold medals this time.
Australia played England in cricket over the summer, winning the series 5–0, and regained the Ashes for the first time since 2006–07. It was the third 5–0 Ashes clean sweep in history.
At the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Australia was beaten by England on the medal tally for the first time in nearly 30 years. Interest in the international competition is waning, but the next one scheduled to be held on the Gold Coast in 2018 should hold some interest for Australians.
While Australia did not go too well in the FIFA soccer World Cup, at the men's Hockey World Cup Australia defended their title and won for the third time after defeating the Netherlands 6–1. The Netherlands won the women's tournament for a record 7th time, defeating Australia 2–0 in the final.
Australian basketballers performed well on the world stage. The NBA winning team the San Antonio Spurs included two Australians, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, who became the 3rd and 4th Aussies to ever win an NBA championship ring. The future for Australian tennis also has some hopefuls, with Australian teenager and unseeded wildcard Nick Kyrgios shocking world no.1 and 2nd seed Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon to make the quarter finals.
US based basketballer Andrew Bogut was the highest paid Australian athlete for 2014 with earnings of $16.2m.
The 2014 Don Award, which recognises the sporting achievement of the year which has inspired the people of Australia, was awarded to hurdler Sally Pearson (she also won in 2012).
Below is a timeline of some significant results in Australian sport for the year 2014.
| Date(s) | Sport | Event | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 13-26 | Tennis | Australia Open | Melbourne | The winners were Li Na of China and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland |
| Feb 7-23 | Multi-sports | Winter Olympics | Sochi, Russia | Australia finished 24th on the medal tally, with 2 silvers and one bronze medal. |
| Feb 26-Mar 2 | Cycling | World Track Championships | Velódromo Alcides Nieto Patiño, Cali, Colombia | Australia finished 3rd on the medal tally behind Germany and France |
| Mar 7-16 | Multi-sports | Winter Paralympics | Sochi, Russia | Australia finished 19th on the medal tally with 2 bronze medals |
| Mar 16-Apr 6 | Cricket | ICC World Twenty20 | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka beat India by 6 wickets in the final. Australia made the super 10 stage and finished 8th. |
| Apr 10-13 | Golf | Masters | Augusta, USA | The highest placed Australian was John Senden finishing equal 8th. |
| Apr 19-May 5 | Snooker | World Championship | the Crucible in Sheffield | World number one, Australian Neil Robertson, made the semi finals. The tournament was won by English player Mark Selby. |
| May 31-15 | Field Hockey | World Cup (men and women) | The Hague, Netherlands | The Netherlands won the women's tournament for a record 7th time, defeating Australia 2–0 in the final. In the men's tournament, defending champions Australia won for the third time after defeating the Netherlands 6–1. |
| Jun 5-15 | Basketball | NBA Finals | USA | Winning team San Antonio Spurs included two Australians, Patty Mills and Aron Baynes, the third and 4th Aussies to ever win an NBA championship ring. |
| Jun 12-15 | Golf | US Open | Pinehurst, North Carolina | The highest placed Aussie was Jason Day who tied for 4th. |
| Jun 12-Jul 13 | Soccer/Football | FIFA World Cup | Brazil | Australia, who drew the 'group of death', did not win a game but performed creditably by international standards. |
| Jun 23-July 6 | Tennis | Wimbledon | London, England | Australian teenager and unseeded wildcard Nick Kyrgios shocked world no.1 and 2nd seed Rafael Nadal to make the quarter finals. Samantha Stosur paired with Serbian Nenad Zimonjić to win the mixed doubles. |
| Jul 5- 27 | Cycling | Tour de France | France 2014 | Australian Richie Porte, leading Team Sky after Froome pulled out, was in contention for the lead at one stage but illness ruined his chances. He finished 23rd in the general classification, with Michael Rogers a few places behind. |
| Jul 17-20 | Golf | The Open Championship | Royal Liverpool Golf Club | Two Australians, Marc Leishman and Adam Scott, tied for 5th at 12 under. |
| Jul 23-Aug 3 | Multi-sports | Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, Scotland | Australia failed to finish top of the medal table for the first time since the 1986 Games. |
| Aug 16-28 | Multisports | Summer Youth Olympics | Nanjing, China | Australia sent 89 athletes, and finished with 5 gold medals |
| Aug 25-Sep 8 | Tennis | US Open | New York | No Aussie made the finals, the best placed were Nick Kyrgios - 3rd round, Cassy Dellacqua 4th round. |
| Sept 21-28 | Cycling | UCI Road World Championships | Ponferrada, Spain | Germany won the most gold medals (3) though Australia had the most medals overall (8). |
| Sep 27 | AFL | Grand Final | Melbourne | won by Hawthorn, defeating the Sydney Swans by 63 points |
| Oc 4 | Rugby League | Grand Final | Sydney | South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 30-6 their 21st premiership, the last one 43 years ago. |
| Nov 4 | Horse Racing | Melbourne Cup | Victoria | won by Protectionist, the first German horse to win |
| Nov 29-Dec 7 | Field Hockey | FIH Champions Trophy - women | Argentina | Germany defeated Pakistan 2–0 in the final, with Australia finishing 3rd. |
| Dec 3-7 | Swimming | FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) | Doha, Qatar | Australia finished 11th on the medal tally. |
| Dec 13–21 | Field Hockey | FIH Champions Trophy - men | India | Argentina won for the 6th time, defeating Australia 3–1 on a penalty shoot-out after the game finished with a 1–1 draw |
If you have a correction or know of events that should be included here, please let me know.
Related Pages
- Australian Sport Timeline
- Highlights of world sport in 2014
- Timeline (all years) in the world of sport
- For sporting events in 2014 and other future events, see the Calendar of Major Sporting Events
- More about the World of Sport
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
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