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Australians take great pride in watching their compatriots perform at the Olympics, but less than a third are motivated enough by the Games to exercise.
A survey conducted in the week after the Beijing Games reported that 63 per cent of respondents thought good performances at the Olympics are important for Australia’s sense of optimism.
But only 30 per cent said they were motivated to exercise because of the Games – 45 per cent were indifferent and a quarter said they were not.
The Sweeney Report also found 49 per cent of the respondents would support more government funding of Olympic sports if it meant more gold medals.
There is growing unease in elite Australian sport about funding in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
Athletes and officials fear that Australia is lagging behind other countries, while the British in particular are surging ahead in performance.
But opinion was mixed in the survey about supporting more government money if it meant winning more medals than the British.
Only 39 per cent agreed, 34 per cent sat on the fence and 27 per cent disagreed.
Great Britain finished fourth in the Beijing Games medal tally with 19 gold medals, while Australia was sixth with 14 golds.
The difference between the two countries was most pronounced in cycling, where the British completely dominated track cycling.
They won eight cycling gold medals, while Australia only won a silver.