Gerry Ryan OAM was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2024 as a General Member for his contribution to Sports Administration.

One of Australia’s most successful and generous businessmen, Gerry Ryan turned his lifelong passion for sport into a commitment to giving sportsmen and sportswomen the chance to live out their dreams.
Across more than three decades, he invested a considerable amount of his time – and his money – to supporting a range of sports, including track and road cycling, basketball, horse racing, Australian football and rugby league.
His first foray into the cycling world came when he helped to finance cyclist Kathy Watt in her quest to win an Olympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992.
He went on to form Australia’s first professional cycling team, fostered the next generation of cyclists in this country with VIS and AIS programs, and was team owner and chairman of GreenEdge Cycling Team, which launched on the world stage in 2012.
Ryan was a major sponsor and advocate of women’s basketball, served as vice-president of his beloved St Kilda Football Club, is a part-owner of Melbourne Storm in the NRL, and was a long-time sponsor of the National Jockeys’ Trust.
He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 for his services to the community and sporting organisations, and was inducted into Cycling Australia’s Hall of Fame in 2015.

If it wasn’t for the generosity, mentorship and guidance of leading businessman and administrator Gerry Ryan, the sporting landscape in Australia might look very different today.
The one-time boy from Bendigo went on to establish one of the country’s most successful companies, Jayco Caravans,  but has also spent more than 30 years – and multiple millions of dollars – investing in the pathway of Australian men and women in a variety of sports.
Importantly, Ryan’s contribution went far beyond the mainstream. He championed women’s sports at a time when it needed a powerful voice and extra funding. He pushed for greater athlete safety in a number of underfunded sports, and he raised important funds and sponsorship dollars for initiatives, including the National Jockeys’ Trust.
Ryan’s connection to cycling started when Kathy Watt approached him to sponsor her endeavours to make the 1992 Australian Olympic team for the Barcelona Games.
He provided her with funding, and Watt returned from the Olympics with a gold medal in the road race and a silver medal in pursuit.
On her return, she penned him a letter of appreciation, saying: I owe all of this to you”.
As Ryan once said in the Australian Financial Review: “She (Watt) came back with a gold medal and I thought that was a pretty good return. It’s about giving the athletes financial help to achieve their best. It’s something I really enjoy doing.”
He went on to form Australia’s first professional cycling team, including gold medallists Dean Woods and Scott McGrory.
By 1995 he formed the Jayco VIS team which produced world class cyclists such as 2007 World number 1 Road Cyclist and 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans, and Jayco would also link with the AIS to help bring through Australia’s next generation of cyclists.
Ryan’s biggest investment came when he helped to fund and establish the GreenEdge Cycling Team, which commenced racing in World Tour events in 2012.
He has been a major sponsor of Cycling Australia and stepped in for a period as Cycling Australia president when the organisation faced a desperate financial crisis in 2013 that he helped to correct.
His commitment to the sport played a role in the success of cycling both in Australia and on the world stage.
When he was one of Cycling Australia’s inaugural Hall of Fame inductees in 2015, the organisation said of him: “Gerry has been a cornerstone of the sport for the past 20-years, (including) as the creator of two world class teams, the women’s Orica-AIS team and the Orica-GreenEDGE men’s team.”
The Australian Olympic Committee awarded him with an Order of Merit in 2013 for his contribution. He was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to the community, sporting and charitable organisations and to youth.
Ryan was a benefactor and supporter of women’s basketball long before it became the juggernaut of today. He was the first major sponsor of Dandenong Rangers in 1997 and later took over ownership of the club.
In 2009 Jayco first partnered with the Australian Women’s basketball team, the Opals.
He became a life member of the St Kilda Football Club after serving as vice-president on the board, and took over a part-owners stake in NRL club Melbourne Storm and is a life member of the club.
Ryan’s passion for horse racing saw him achieve his dream of winning a Melbourne Cup, being a part-owner of Americain, who won the 150th edition of the race that stops a nation. He has since had further wins with Rekindling and Twilight Payment.
But his impact on the sport went way beyond his own interests, as a long-time sponsor of the National Jockeys’ Trust, a charitable organisation that supports injured and ill jockeys throughout Australia.
Ryan was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2000 for services to the community and to sporting organisations and charities.
It has been said that there have been few Australian champions across the past 30 years – regardless of the sport – who hadn’t been mentored or supported in some way by Ryan.

Honours & Achievements

• 1998: Made a Life Member of the St Kilda Football Club
• 2000: Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
• 2013: Awarded the Australian Olympic Committee Order of Merit
• 2015: Inducted into the Cycling Australia (AusCycling) Hall of Fame
• 2022: Made a Life Member of Melbourne Storm

Photo courtesy Hamish Blair Photography.