Australian Olympic Committee pays tribute to "superb" athletes at Tokyo Games

Gold medalists of Australia pose during the awarding ceremony after the women's 4X100m medley relay final of swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)

Australian Olympic Committee praised athletes for their "superb" performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

CANBERRA, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has thanked the nation's athletes for their "superb" performance at the Tokyo Games.

The 486 Australian athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics won 46 medals - the third-best tally in the country's history - in 15 sports and 20 disciplines.

The tally included an equal-best 17 gold medals achieved in Athens 2004, a record nine of which were won in swimming in Tokyo.

Gold medalists Mathew Belcher (L)/Will Ryan of Australia pose during the awarding ceremony for the sailing men's two person dinghy 470 event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Kanagawa, Japan, Aug. 4, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

With the postponed Games coming to a close on Sunday night, Australia's Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman paid tribute to Australia's athletes.

"Australians will remember this Team for decades to come," he said in a media release.

"Their performances and the way they conducted themselves on and off the field of play has been superb. I am very proud of this group of young people. We talk about resilience and determination. These Olympic athletes have those qualities in spades."

The Tokyo Olympics took place with about half the Australian population in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland in coronavirus lockdowns.

Chesterman said that Australia's performance "gave great joy to so many at home enduring a difficult time."

Gold medalist Jessica Fox of Australia reacts on the awarding ceremony of women's canoe of canoe slalom at Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, July 29, 2021. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

"Even though these Games were so different from any other, the way athletes from all sports supported each other made this Olympics a memorable experience for everyone in the Australian Olympic Team," he said.

Australia's Olympic campaign shattered viewing records for broadcaster Channel Seven on both its main channel and 7Plus.

Up until the final session on Friday, August 6, Australians had watched more than 4.3 billion minutes on 7Plus, making it the biggest digital event in Australian history, according to AOC.

Across the first 14 days, the average full-day Olympic broadcast audience is up 76% in the capital cities on Rio 2016 and up 67% nationally, and for the first time ever the audience share grew in the second week, said AOC.