Australian Aboriginal athlete and political figure Nova Peris
© Tony Feder, Getty Images

Australia is famous for its unique culture, metropolitan cities, and unusual wildlife, among other things. Each week, this seasonal feature will spotlight one of Australia’s many wonders.

The Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, are still fresh in our memories. But Australia made history at another Olympics, when an Aboriginal athlete first won Olympic gold.

Nova Peris is an Australian Aboriginal athlete and political figure. As a member of the winning Australian women’s field hockey team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Peris was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal.

In 1997, Peris was named Young Australian of the Year. This annual award is given to a young Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a government organization. Also in 1997, she received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), awarded by the government for service worthy of particular recognition.

Nova Maree Peris was born on Feb. 25, 1971, in Darwin, Northern Territory. She played on the Australian field hockey team that won the Champions Trophy in 1993 and 1995. The Champions Trophy is awarded to the winning team in a major international field hockey tournament. She also played on the Australian team that won the 1994 World Cup, an international tournament held every four years.

After the 1996 Olympic victory, Peris switched to track and field. She won the 200-meter race and was a member of the winning 4×100-meter relay at the Commonwealth Games in 1998. At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, Peris competed in the 400-meter run, reaching the semifinals. She also ran on the Australian 4×400 meter relay team that finished fifth in the finals.

In 2013, Peris became the first Aboriginal Australian woman elected to the federal Parliament. She was elected as a member of the Australian Labor Party to represent the Northern Territory. She served until 2016. Peris’s autobiography, Nova: My Story, was published in 2003.

April 8, 2020

Today, April 8, Behind the Headlines was originally scheduled to cover this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball championships in the United States. However, the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments were canceled in March because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The tournaments were not alone: nearly all sports leagues and sporting events have been suspended or canceled because of COVID-19, putting sports on hold in all corners of the globe. COVID-19 is a pneumonia-like disease caused by a coronavirus, a type of virus that also causes the common cold and other diseases of the upper respiratory system. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 80,000 people among nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases.

Dodger Stadium sits empty in Los Angeles, California. Baseball stadiums, usually teeming with people at this time of year, are going unused throughout the world as leagues have been suspended or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: John McCoy/Getty Images

All collegiate and high schools sports in the United States were suspended or canceled because of COVID-19 (the schools were then closed), and Little League Baseball, too, had to put off the start of its season. In professional sports, Major League Baseball, which had begun its annual spring training, canceled all exhibition games on March 12 and indefinitely delayed the start of the regular season. Minor League Baseball shut down, as did baseball leagues in Japan, Mexico, South Korea, and other countries. The National Basketball Association suspended its season on March 11, and basketball leagues in other countries were also shut down. The recently launched XFL football league suspended its first season on March 12, and the fledgling Basketball Africa League also lost its inaugural season, which had been scheduled to start on March 13.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo until 2021. Credit: Pakpoom Phummee/Shutterstock

Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League suspended their seasons in March, and other hockey and soccer leagues around the world were forced to do the same. Rugby and cricket leagues and tournaments were suspended, as were the upcoming Masters Tournament, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, and British Open golf competitions. In tennis, Wimbledon was canceled for the first time since World War II (1939-1945), and the French Open was postponed. The Kentucky Derby horse race and the Indianapolis 500 auto race were postponed, and the Monaco Gran Prix auto race was canceled. (All three races are usually run in May.) Marathons around the world have been canceled or postponed, and athletes of all types will have to wait for the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, which were postponed a year until July 2021.

This illustration of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) shows the spikes on the outer surface of the virus that appear as a corona, giving the virus its name. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of sports continued to be played without fans in attendance, but fears for the safety of athletes quickly led to the canceling of the competitions themselves. Suspended and postponed sports leagues and events have issued optimistic timelines about when they will resume or take place. All timelines, however, depend on the containment or continued spread of COVID-19.

The sports cancellations are part of social distancing, also known as physical distancing, an effort to slow or stop the spread of a contagious disease by limiting contact between people. Social distancing is most effective against illnesses that can be transmitted by coughing or sneezing, direct or indirect physical contact, or through the air. Typical social distancing measures call for the closing of such public places as sports arenas, schools, restaurants, museums, and many offices and stores. They may also call for people to maintain a distance of around 6 feet (2 meters) between them in public places.

Aug. 7, 2012

A lanky swimmer and a tiny gymnast from the United States have grabbed headlines as well as gold at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Michael Phelps, at age 27, solidified his position as the greatest swimmer and, arguably, the greatest individual athlete in Olympic history. At the same time, 16-year old Gabby Douglas won the hearts of fans by doing what no other American gymnast had ever accomplished in the Olympics.

Michael Phelps (© Cameron Spencer, Getty Images)

Phelps ended the Summer Games with a career total of 22 medals, 18 of them gold. Phelps built his medal count over three Olympics, in 2004, 2008, and 2012. He started slowly at the 2012 games in London, failing to collect a medal in his first race and finishing second in the next two races. But he earned gold medals in his final four events. He won the 100-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley, his third consecutive victories in both events dating back to the 2004 Olympics, an unprecedented accomplishment.  After Phelps helped the U.S. team win the 4×100-meter relay, the final event on the swimming program, he announced his retirement as a competitive swimmer.

Gabby Douglas built her own legacy in the 2012 games with a pair of impressive firsts. The 16-year-old, who stands only 4 feet 11 inches (1.5 meters) tall, won gold medals in both the individual and team all-around competition. With her twin triumphs, Douglas became the first African American in Olympic history to win the individual all-around championship. She was also the first American gymnast to win a gold medal in both the all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. Her bubbly personality combined with her grace and athleticism made her an instant darling of the crowds.

Usain Bolt (© Kyodo/Landov)

The third headline grabber at the Summer Games was Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt. The flamboyant Bolt was out to defend his Olympic 100-meter dash title and status as the world’s premiere sprinter. With the rise of a group of young world-class athletes ready to challenge Bolt’s supremacy, the 100-meter race was perhaps the most anticipated event of the 2012 games. Bolt did not disappoint. He won the sprint in 9.63 seconds, the second-fastest time in track history. Only one person has run the event in a faster time–Bolt himself. Bolt is also the defending Olympic champion in the 200-meter sprint, scheduled for later in the week.

Additional World Book articles:

• International Olympic Committee
• Special Olympics
• The Winning Edge (a Special Report)

July 30, 2012

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London boast some impressive numbers. About 10,500 athletes from 205 countries are competing in 300 events spread over 26 sports, from aquatics to wrestling. The action will entertain the hundreds of thousands of visitors to London, plus billions more on worldwide television, from July 27 through August 12.

The games had its preopening glitches, notably the discovery, a few days before the opening, that the private firm contracted to supply security for the Olympics had failed to recruit and train enough staff. To make up the shortfall, the British government deployed 3,500 members of the armed forces to fill the gap.

The Olympic flame is lit during the Opening Ceremony. The fire is ignited in Olympia, Greece, and transported by relay to the site of the games. The flame symbolizes the light of spirit, knowledge, and life, and it is a herald of peace. Here, torchbearer Cathy Freeman stands triumphant after lighting the flame at the 27th Olympiad in Sydney, Australia. (AP/Wide World)

But any pre-Games embarrassments were swept away by the dazzling opening ceremonies at Olympic Stadium the night of July 27. The 80,000 people in attendance, plus billions more watching on TV around the world, saw a stunning celebration of British pop culture, from Lord Voldemort and the Sex Pistols to Mary Poppins. Skydivers dressed as Queen Elizabeth II and James Bond parachuted into the stadium. British football star David Beckham piloted a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame down the River Thames to the stadium where the flame ignited a giant cauldron of fire. Fireworks illuminated the sky for miles. It was all a glorious introduction to the two weeks of world-class athletic competition to follow.

Additional World Book Article:

• The Winning Edge (a special report)