The Sport Australia Hall of Fame will come to life for 2021 in a television special featuring the presentation of the new award in honour of Australia’s greatest ever swimmer, Dawn Fraser AC MBE.
Australia’s Sporting Heroes and Legends – A Celebration of the 2021 Sport Australia Hall of Fame will go to air on the Seven Network on Thursday, December 2.
The honour roll of induction into the Hall of Fame includes our nation’s biggest sporting names and champions, such as Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AC MBE, Cathy Freeman OAM, Ian Thorpe AM, E.J “Ted” Whitten OAM, Raelene Boyle AM MBE, Wally Lewis AM, Shane Gould OAM MBE, Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Greg Norman AO, Lauren Jackson AO, John Eales AM, Susie O’Neill AM, Rod Laver AC MBE, Bart Cummings AM, Louise Sauvage OAM and Layne Beachley AO, among other luminaries.
This year marks the inauguration of an award in honour of Hall of Fame Legend, Dawn Fraser. The Dawn Award will be presented to a courageous groundbreaker who has demonstrated achievement against the odds and challenged the status quo. The recipient could hail from this generation or the past, and be either an individual, team or an organisation.
“It is a great honour to have this award in my name,” Dawn Fraser said.
“I was quite teary when JB (John Bertrand) asked me. I am so grateful to have the award while I am still here, this has fulfilled my lifetime dream.
“It makes it even more special that Sir Donald Bradman and I were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 together and now we both have awards in our honour.”
This year’s Sport Australia Hall of Fame celebration will feature special interviews with some of sport’s biggest and most beloved names, including the 2021 Hall of Fame inductees and the winners of The Don Award and The Dawn Award.
Eight greats will be honoured and inducted as the newest members of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, while two existing Hall of Fame members will be elevated to Legend status, the highest honour in Australian sport.
Bruce McAvaney OAM, Hamish McLachlan and Abbey Gelmi will host the special broadcast on Seven, which features sport’s most prestigious award, The Don Award, named in recognition of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural inductee, Sir Donald Bradman.
The Don Award is considered Australian sport’s highest honour, awarded to an athlete or team who has most inspired the nation through performance and example over the past year. Previous winners include Ash Barty, the Australian Women’s T20 Cricket Team, Cathy Freeman OAM, Jeff Horn, Michelle Payne OAM, Kurt Fearnley AO and Cadel Evans AM.
“It is the absolute highest honour in this country to be a Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame,” said John Bertrand AO, Sport Australia Hall of Fame chair.
“It is therefore with great pleasure that we welcome eight new Australian sporting greats. We will also elevate two existing members to Legend status, celebrate a new Don Award winner and launch our inaugural Dawn Award. Within the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, one can go no higher.
“We are thrilled once again to celebrate with all Australians these sporting superstars on the screens of Channel Seven for the second year.”
Seven hosts Hamish McLachlan and Abbey Gelmi during Tokyo 2020
This year the public can get involved in the celebrations by voting for the News Corp Magic Moment. The most significant Sport Australia Hall of Fame moment will be won by an athlete or team from a shortlist of 20 outstanding Australian sporting moments throughout the past 60 years.
Voting will be exclusively through News Corp mastheads, including the Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, Adelaide Advertiser, Courier Mail, The Australian, Hobart Mercury, Geelong Advertiser, Cairns Post, Gold Coast Bulletin, Townsville Bulletin and NT News.
A News Corp Magic Moment reader prize and further details will be announced through the newspapers and websites in early November.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame is supported by Sport Australia and the Australian Institute of Sport.
See also: Dennis Cometti inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame