History

Established in May 1991, the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) welcomed 35 young athletes across 11 sports to become inaugural scholarship holders, including Susie O'Neill AM, Kieren Perkins OAM and Steven Bradbury OAM.

The QAS's first official headquarters and administrative hub was at South Bank, Brisbane and initially included a sports science laboratory and later a gymnasium. In 1997, a North Queensland branch opened and supported regional elite athletes in netball, basketball, hockey, soccer, swimming and softball.

By 2001, after the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the QAS had built a strong reputation as one of the country's largest and most successful state sporting institutes. It provided support to more than 580 Queensland elite athletes across 24 sports, including rugby league, rugby union and golf.

In 2004, the Academy moved to its current home, the Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre (QSAC) at Nathan, Brisbane. The centre was constructed for the 1982 Commonwealth Games and became Australia's most advanced training facility.

QAS-supported athletes have participated in Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games events since the Academy's inception. The QAS's most successful Olympic Games was the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympics, with 52 QAS athletes bringing home 28 out of Australia's 46 medals.

Our sights are now set on preparing our athletes for Brisbane's 2032 Olympics. Learn more about the QAS 2032 Strategy.

Our Olympic game performances

Year	Performance
1992	The first QAS athletes competed in the Barcelona Olympic Games and brought home 1 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals
1996	42 QAS athletes competed and 11 won Olympic medals for Australia in Atlanta.
2000	68 QAS athletes competed and won 20 medals in Sydney.
2004	68 QAS athletes competed for Australia at the Athens Olympic and Paralympic Games, bringing home 17 medals.
2008	68 QAS athletes competed in Beijing and brought home a total of 25 medals.
2012	68 QAS athletes competed and brought home 17 medals from London.
2016	108 QLD athletes competed and brought home 14 medals from Rio.
2021	128 QLD athletes competed and brought home 28 medals from Tokyo.

Our Paralympic game performances

Year	Performance
1992	The first QAS athletes competed in the Barcelona Olympic Games and brought home 1 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze medals.
1996	16 QAS athletes competed and won 8 medals for Australia in Atlanta.
2000	28 QAS athletes competed and won 23 medals in Sydney.
2004	23 QAS athletes competed and won 25 medals in Athens.
2008	21 QAS athletes competed and won 14 medals in Beijing.
2012	11 QAS athletes competed and won 14 medals in London.
2016	41 QLD athletes competed and won 25 medals in Rio.
2021	40 QLD athletes competed and won 28 medals from Tokyo.