Alexander Parygin, who won Olympic gold in Atlanta while competing for
Kazakhstan, was initially due to be Australia's only male competitor in the modern pentathlon. His qualification was overturned "on technical grounds" by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, when the Modern Pentathlon Association of Great Britain argued that he had failed to meet "eligibility criteria of 5,100 points at the relevant international competition, during the Olympic qualification period". Specifically, Parygin qualified for Beijing during a competition which lacked the equestrian event. There being no avenue of appeal, Parygin will not compete in Beijing.
Angie Darby made her Olympic debut as the only Australian female in the competition. Darby, having qualified in the same conditions as Parygin, had her participation in the Games open to question, but she eventually competed. ==Rowing==