Australia at the 1932 Summer Olympics
# Australia at the 1932 Summer Olympics

Australia competed at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States. Due to the Great Depression, Australia could only afford to send 13 athletes to the Games.

An innovation was the daily one-hour radio report on the Olympics for New Zealand and Australia by the film actress from New Zealand, Nola Luxford.

## Medalists

### Gold

* Dunc Gray – cycling, men's 1000 m time trial
* Bobby Pearce – rowing, men's single sculls
* Clare Dennis – swimming, women's 200 m breaststroke

### Silver

* Bonnie Mealing – swimming, women's 100 m backstroke

### Bronze

* Eddie Scarf – wrestling, men's freestyle light heavyweight

## Athletics

### Key

* Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
* Q = Qualified for the next round
* q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
* NR = National record
* N/A = Round not applicable for the event
* Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round
* NP = Not placed

### Track & road events

| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Quarterfinal | Quarterfinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| George Golding | 400 m | 49.0 | 3 Q | 48.6 | 3 Q | 48.0 | 3 Q | 48.8 | 6 |
| George Golding | 400 m hurdles | 55.2 | 3 Q | — | — | 53.1 | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Bill Barwick | 1500 m | 4:03.5 | 7 | — | — | — | — | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Alex Hillhouse | 5000 m | 15:14.0 | 6 Q | — | — | — | — | 15:15.0 | 10 |
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Heat | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final |
| Athlete | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Eileen Wearne | 100 m | 12.5 | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |

## Cycling

### Track cycling

Ranks given are within the heat.

| Cyclist | Event | First round | First round | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cyclist | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Dunc Gray | Sprint | 13.2 | 1 Q | 12.9 | 1 Q | | 2 | | 4 |
| Dunc Gray | Time trial | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1:13.0 OR | |

## Rowing

| Rower | Event | First round | First round | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rower | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Bobby Pearce | Single sculls | 7:27.0 | 1 Q | 7:44.4 | |

## Swimming

### Men

Ranks given are within the heat.

| Swimmer | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Swimmer | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Noel Ryan | 100 m freestyle | 1:02.9 | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Boy Charlton | 400 m freestyle | 4:59.8 | 1 Q | 5:02.1 | 3 Q | 4:58.6 | 6 |
| Noel Ryan | 400 m freestyle | 5:01.9 | 1 Q | 4:59.7 | 5 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Boy Charlton | 1500 m freestyle | 20:09.5 | 3 Q | 19:53.1 | 4 | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Noel Ryan | 1500 m freestyle | 20:12.6 | 2 Q | 19:52.5 | 3 Q | 19:45.1 | 4 |

### Women

Ranks given are within the heat.

| Swimmer | Event | Heats | Heats | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Swimmer | Event | Result | Rank | Result | Rank | Result | Rank |
| Frances Bult | 100 m freestyle | 1:11.4 | 3 q | 1:10.2 | 2 Q | 1:09.9 | 5 |
| Frances Bult | 400 m freestyle | 6:03.0 | 3 | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance | Did not advance |
| Bonnie Mealing | 100 m backstroke | 1:21.6 | 2 Q | — | — | 1:21.3 | |
| Clare Dennis | 200 m breaststroke | 3:08.2 | 1 Q OR | — | — | 3:06.3 | OR |

## Wrestling

### Men's

| Athlete | Event | Round 1 | Round 2 | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Athlete | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| Eddie Scarf | Light heavyweight | Madison (CAN) W | Sjöstedt (SWE) L | Mehringer (USA) L | |

## Art competitions

James Quinn competed in the mixed paintings category.

