FOX SISTERS, LAUREN JACKSON WIN THE DON AND THE DAWN AWARDS
CHAMPION TRIO COMPLETE 2024 SPORT AUSTRALIA HALL OF FAME HONOUR ROLL
Olympic gold-medal winning sisters Jessica Fox OAM and Noemie Fox have shared The Don Award at Monday night’s Sport Australia Hall of Fame Inductions & Awards Gala Dinner at Crown Melbourne, where basketball legend Lauren Jackson AO was honoured with The Dawn Award.
For the second consecutive year, women have swept the Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s two most prestigious gongs, after recognition in 2023 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 CommBank Matildas and following on from the recognition of the 2000 Sydney Olympics Women’s Water Polo Team.
The Don Award, introduced in 1998 and named for the Sport Australia Hall of Fame’s inaugural Inductee, Sir Donald Bradman AC, honours an Australian athlete or team whose achievements and example over the past 12 months have most inspired the nation.
The Dawn Award, introduced in 2021 and named after swimming great and SAHOF’s first female Inductee and Legend Dawn Fraser AC MBE, recognises an individual, team or organisation – from this or a previous generation – who show courage and bravery and have changed sport for the better.
The fabulous Foxes became the first Australian siblings to claim individual Olympic golds, with Jess prevailing in the K1 and C1 slalom events at the Paris Games and Noemie then adding to the remarkable family tally with success on debut in a new event, the kayak cross.
The incomparable Jackson, 43, competed at her fifth and final Olympics in Paris and became the first Australian athlete to win a medal in five Games. The former WNBA superstar leaves an enduring legacy at international level as well as in the WNBL, from which she retired in 2024 as a seven-time champion and four-time MVP.
THE DON AWARD
Jessica Fox won her second and third Olympic gold medals on the whitewater at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium, adding the precious K1 crown that had narrowly eluded her at three previous Games to the successful defence of her C1 title from Tokyo.
Expanding her career haul to three gold, one silver and two bronze medals, the 30-year-old Australian flag-bearer cemented her status as the most decorated Olympic paddler to date.
Yet it was the final race in Paris that added the surprise element to this extraordinary family story. Enter younger sister Noemie.
A decade after first competing internationally, Noemie did not so much emerge from her sister’s long shadow as burst triumphantly into the spotlight with success in the new knockout event, the kayak cross, on her hard-won Olympic debut.
The 27-year-old, who had never been the confident Fox, became the conquering kind after eliminating Jess in the round stage, and overtaking then world champion Kimberley Woods in the final to achieve what she had scarcely dared to dream was possible.
The touching sight of an emotional Jess jumping into the water to celebrate her sibling’s unexpected golden moment, combined with the unique nature of what had collectively been achieved by the popular western Sydney sisters, provided some of the most memorable and heartwarming scenes of the Games.
Mum Myriam Fox-Jerusalmi, herself an Olympic bronze medallist for France, coaches both athletes. Dad Richard Fox, a former world champion, was commentating for Australian TV.
Quotes from Jess Fox on sharing The Don Award: “It’s so special and I know when I received the call, and then when I called (Noemie) afterwards, I said, ‘Do you realise what this means?’ It’s massive and a huge honour.’’
On winning the K1: “This was my fourth opportunity for the kayak and I didn’t want to let it go. When I got into the start line of the semi-final, I was super-nervous, but I just needed to be top 12. When I crossed the finish line, and I was eight, I was like, ‘That’s fine, you’re in. That was the race you needed to get out of your system. Now you can be free. Now you can be relaxed and go and set the bar high for the other girls to chase’… I want to cross that finish line knowing I left it all out there. It was a good run and I’m proud of myself.’’
On Noemie’s gold medal: “I think we were both in shock. I’m so grateful that we got to do that together and that so many people helped us in that moment because there was so much hard work, so much joy and so much inspiration that came from that moment. And it’s so special now to see the impact that it had on so many people back home in Australia. Those who woke up at 3am to cheer at their TVs and all that energy really helped us as well.’’
Quotes from Noemie Fox: “That’s just a symbolic representation of all your hard work paying off at the right time. Those are the ups you train for, and you just need to start executing it when it happens, and to do so at the end of such a long day of racing, and to do it better than in training. I don’t know if I had just this adrenaline rush, but for me that’s, I think, what I’m most proud of in my whole Olympic campaign is that moment. Handling pressure, crossing the line and just being in shock.’’
On sharing The Don Award: “It’s still really hard to find the right words to think of my name next to all those previous award winners that are not only icons of Australian history, but also just sporting heroes for us growing up – especially Ian Thorpe, Cathy Freeman around that Sydney 2000 Olympics. For me, I just can’t think that my name is going to be on that same page with them. It’s an amazing, amazing feeling and recognition.’’
SAHOF Selection Committee chair Bruce McAvaney OAM said: “It’s always difficult to isolate the most inspiring sporting performance in any year but even more so in an Olympic and Paralympic year – and especially when you’ve come off the best performance yet by an Australian team.
“But whichever way we looked at it, the Fox sisters – and indeed the entire family – were the most remarkable. Jess, already a legend, confirmed her greatness in Paris and for Noemie to compete against her and then join her as a gold medallist at the same games is what Hollywood script writers dream about.’’
THE DAWN AWARD
This more recent honour recognises athletes, teams or administrators whose stories are less well-known; Lauren Jackson’s, however, is a famous tale of unparalleled excellence and achievement in Australian women’s basketball.
Starting as a gangly 16-year-old WNBL rookie from Albury, NSW, Jackson has only now, 24 years after her national team debut as the youngest-ever Opal, signed off permanently from an international career that spanned not just five Olympic Games (for three silver and two bronze medals) but podium finishes at four World Cups, including a famous triumph in Brazil in 2006.
Having broken her left ankle in early 2023, Jackson had not intended to go to the Paris Games following that bronze send-off at the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney, when she returned from her injury-enforced 2016 retirement to complete an improbable comeback, aged 40, and dominate the bronze medal play-off against Canada.
Yet with young sons Harry and Lennon in the crowd at Bercy Arena and a reduced role in terms of minutes played (just 20 over the tournament, for six points), Jackson’s leadership and experience as part of the Opals squad again proved vital as the Australians maintained their record of a podium finish at each of the Olympics their power forward/centre has contested since her debut in Sydney in 2000.
Described in her prime as the world’s best female basketballer, and a franchise player for the WNBA’s Seattle Storm over 12 seasons for two championships and three MVP crowns, Jackson extended her fame from the US through Europe and Asia despite the multiple injuries that led to her initial retirement in 2016.
She has now settled back home in Australia, where she continues to represent the Albury West Bandits in NBL1 East, winning the league MVP and helping her local club to the championship in 2024.
Since 2001 Jackson has also worked in a strategic role for Basketball Australia focusing on its Women and Girls Strategy to deliver outcomes in gender equality in basketball.
Jackson is just the fourth recipient of The Dawn Award, following Evonne Goolagong Cawley AC MBE, the late Peter Norman and the Sydney 2000 Olympics Women’s Water Polo champions.
Quotes from Lauren Jackson:
“It’s incredible. Dawn is someone that I’ve looked up to for many years. She’s become a friend of mine, and I’m really honoured and humbled in the same breath. It’s really special. And I’m super proud.’’
On stage two of her career: “The last three years have been wild and epic and I never thought that I’d get back into a situation where I was competing at that level again. And I think when you’ve got great team-mates you feel supported, you feel like you’re part of something special. And I felt like I was part of something really special (in Paris). And yeah, I’ll be thankful to them for the rest of my life.’’
On staying involved in basketball: “We’ve got such a beautiful sport that should be enjoyed and loved by all and be accessible to all. And I think that representation and that visibility and then also pathways and just mentoring opportunities and things like that … I’ll always have a role to play there. And it’s been awesome.’’
McAvaney said: “The Dawn Award is based on inspiration and legacy and Lauren epitomises both of those elements. As a player, she remains unparalleled in this country, and her pioneering efforts in the US have set an example for all those who followed.
“We think about the courage of her comeback – the sacrifice, doubt, uncertainty – and the triumph. She’s truly an Australian sporting legend.’’
The Don Award and The Dawn Award are awarded annually by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The 2024 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Gala Dinner also hosted tributes to the newly Elevated Legends Geoff Hunt AM MBE and Michael Milton OAM and the eight Inductees for 2024.
The new Athlete Members are three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning AO; former Kookaburras’ captain Mark Knowles OAM; lawn bowls trailblazer Karen Murphy AM; Olympic hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson OAM; motor sport superstar Mark Skaife OAM; and dual-sport Paralympics champion Liesl Tesch AM.
Entering SAHOF as General Members are Gerry Ryan OAM, whose impact and philanthropy has extended from cycling to many sports, and visionary basketball administrator the late Betty Watson OAM.
A broadcast special, Heroes & Legends: Sport Australia Hall of Fame, will air on the Seven Network on Friday, December 6, following the cricket at approximately 10.15pm ADST.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction & Awards program is proudly sponsored by the Australian Sports Commission incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport, and partners Ampol, Crown, Sportscover and Deakin University.
For further information, please contact:
Linda Pearce – Stamping Ground
linda@stampingground.com.au
0419 539 357
Rebeka Powell – Stamping Ground
rebeka@stampingground.com.au
0459 900 045
Photos courtesy of NewsCorp.
