Chair John Bertrand AO congratulates all Sport Australia Hall of Fame Olympian Scholarship Holders and Members

First and foremost, thank you and congratulations to Sport Australia Hall of Fame Member, Australian Olympic Committee President and IOC Vice President, John Coates AC, and his team for putting together one of the most memorable Olympic Games in recent history. Our country, and indeed the world, needed these Games to remind us that we are all in this together and that we need to stand as one to succeed. Our Aussie athletes certainly showed us the importance of teamwork; their success was a team effort, fuelled by mateship, integrity, modesty, pride and ambition.

Deputy Chef de Mission and Sport Australia Hall of Fame Legend Susie O’Neill AM planted just one of many seeds of success for these Games over 20 years ago and continues to support the team today:
“When I was 26 I gave my Australian team swimmers from the 1999 Pan Pacs to a 5 year old girl. That little girl turned out to be @emmamckeon. 22 years later she became The GOAT 🐐 What a pleasure it has been to watch her journey!!!” 

Tokyo 2020 has undoubtedly been one of Australia’s most successful Olympiads – our team’s tally of 17 gold medals equals the previous high mark achieved in Athens (2004) and the total medal tally of 46 is the third highest of all time behind Sydney (2000) and Melbourne (1956).

The Hall of Fame, and our country as a whole, are so proud of our 23 Scholarship Holders, two Members and, 2019 The Don Award Winner, for the way they conducted themselves. They represented our country with courage, determination, humility, and honour and showed undeniable sportsmanship during a difficult time, providing many people at home with a reason to smile and be proud of what they achieved.

Another mention to our eight Members who participated off-field and the countless others who came together to make these games one of the most successful and safe in the face of adversity.

Host broadcaster and SAHOF Partner, Channel 7 shattered viewing records throughout their coverage. Through their free-to-air channels and 7Plus, they gave us the best seat in the house and provided a level of expert commentary and analysis to be proud of. Up until the final session on Friday, August 6, Australians had watched more than 4.3 billion minutes of Olympic coverage on 7plus, making it the biggest digital event in Australian history. The Opening Ceremony was the most-watched TV program of 2021, with a total audience of 3.85 million viewers nationally, including time-shift and BVOD audiences. Incredible.

As our Olympians start their rest and recovery and prepare for what comes next, we turn our focus to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. The Australian Paralympic Team features SAHOF Scholarship Holders and Members involved in the biggest Para sports event in the world, as it returns to Japan 57 years after hosting Tokyo 1964. They are sure to capture the hearts of the nation.

Go Australia!

John Bertrand AO
Chair – Sport Australia Hall of Fame

Andrew Hoy OAM
Eventing
Team Silver
Individual Bronze

Stuart Tinney OAM
Eventing
Team Silver

Ashlee Ankudinoff
2011 Scholarship Holder
Cycling
Team Pursuit – 5th

Tom Green
2020 Scholarship Holder
Canoe/Kayak
K2 – Gold, K1 – 7th

Patrick Mills
2008 Scholarship Holder
Basketball
Bronze

Maeve Plouffe
2021 T2 Scholarship Holder
Cycling
Team Pursuit – Bronze

Brendon Smith
2021 T3 Scholarship Holder
Swimming
400m IM – Bronze

Brooke Stratton
2012 Scholarship Holder
Athletics
Long Jump – 7th

Jake Birtwhistle
2016 Scholarship Holder
Triathlon
Solo -16th, Mixed – 9th

Alex Hoberg
2021 T3 Scholarship Holder
Shooting, Air Rifle
10m – 21st, Mixed – 19th

Caitlin Parker
2015 Scholarship Holder
Boxing
69-75kg – 9th

Nick Purnell
2011 Scholarship Holder
Rowing
M8 – 6th

Cassiel Rousseau
2019 Scholarship Holder
Diving
10m Platform – 8th

James Willett
2016 Scholarship Holder
Shooting
Trap – 21st , Mixed – 7th

Riley Day
2018 Scholarship Holder
Athletics
Women’s 200m – 12th

Joe Ingles
2008 Scholarship Holder
Basketball
Bronze

Giorgia Patten
2019 Scholarship Holder
Rowing
W8 – 5th

Luke Plapp
2020 Scholarship Holder
Cycling
Team Pursuit – Bronze

Reba Stewart
2021 T2 Scholarship Holder
Taekwondo
+67kg – 11th

Hayley Wilson
2020 Scholarship Holder
Skateboarding
Street – 16th

Ashleigh Gentle
2012 Scholarship Holder
Triathlon
Solo – LAP, Mixed – 9th

Nia Jerwood
2018 Scholarship Holder
Sailing
470 – 16th

Poppy Starr Olsen
2018 Scholarship Holder
Skateboarding
Park – 5th

Anabelle Smith
2009 Scholarship Holder
Diving
3m Platform – 14th

Dani Stevens
2007 Scholarship Holder
Athletics
Discuss – 14th

Ash Barty
2019 The Don Award
Tennis
Mixed Doubles – Bronze

Bruce McAvaney OAM
Commentator – Athletics

Liesel Jones OAM &
Ian Thorpe AM
Commentators – Swimming

Andrew Gaze AM
Commentator – Basketball

Kerri Pottharst OAM
Commentator –
Beach Volleyball

Nick Green OAM
Commentator – Rowing

Russell Mark OAM
Commentator – Shooting

John Coates AC
AOC President & IOC VP

Debbie Watson OAM
Commentator – Water Polo

Images: Getty Images, Peter Nixon, John Veage, AAP, Kirsty Wigglesworth, AP, Stephen Gosling, MBAE, Eric Gay, Caitlin Parker (Instagram), Giorgia Patten (Instagram), Poppy Starr Olsen (Instagram), Maeve Plouffe (Instagram), Luke Plapp (Instagram), Anabelle Smith (Instagram), 7 Olympics (Instagram), Alex Cooper, Tennis Australia, Channel 7 (Instagram), Andrew Hoy (Instagram), Ian Thorpe (Instagram), Rowing Australia, Alchetron, Kerri Pottharst (Instagram), Sydney University Water Polo (Twitter).