Sporting Nation

After World War II, Australia had one of the great golden runs in the history of sport, largely in swimming, tennis, cricket, running and golf. This reflected well on the nation and its healthy lifestyle. We thought it would last forever.

Failure at the 1976 Olympics forced a rebuild and while we attempted an international comeback, domestic sport became big business. As the Sydney Olympics approached, we hoped for great things.

Cathy Freeman stops the nation at the Sydney Olympics. Since then we've had Cadel and other champions but we now watch more sport than we play. Where are we? Has anyone got a map? What's this got to do with sport?