OSCAR PIASTRI AND LAYNE BEACHLEY WIN THE DON AND DAWN AWARDS
AUSTRALIA’S MOST PRESTIGOUS SPORTING HONOURS
Nine-time Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri was the recipient of The Don Award at Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala Dinner at Crown Melbourne tonight (Monday, November 17), while seven-time World Surfing Champion Layne Beachley AO was honoured with The Dawn Award. The Don Award, introduced in 1998 and named after Sir Donald Bradman AC, honours an Australian athlete or team whose achievements over the past year have most inspired the nation.
Oscar Piastri’s stellar 2025 season has launched him into Formula 1’s elite, igniting national pride and fuelling Australia’s motorsport renaissance.
Piastri, from Melbourne, drives for the championship-winning McLaren team and is one of only 15 Australians to compete in Formula 1. This year Piastri claimed victories in China, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain, Belgium and Netherlands. His childhood dream of becoming Australia’s third F1 world champion after Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, is now within reach.
Like Sir Donald Bradman, Piastri is carving out his own legacy, transforming Australia’s Formula 1 aspirations into reality and inspiring the next generation of champions.
Piastri is the 33rd recipient of The Don Award, joining luminaries including Cathy Freeman OAM, Ashleigh Barty AO, Patty Mills AM and the Fox Sisters (Noemie Fox OAM and Jessica Fox OAM).
“Winning an award in the name of Sir Donald Bradman is a massive privilege,” Piastri said.
“Everyone in Australia knows exactly what he represented and the legacy he has in Australian sport, so it’s not lost on me how major this award is. It’s always an amazing feeling to represent our country on the world stage and do well for ourselves.
“Thank you to everyone that waves the flag and cheers me on at all the Grand Prix races around the world. To be a recipient of The Don Award is a great honour, and I look forward to representing our country for many years to come.”
Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair Bruce McAvaney OAM said:
“Every year we experience remarkable sporting moments and stories and the most compelling in 2025 has been 24-year-old Oscar Piastri. His rise across the past 12 months to become one of the most formidable and exciting drivers in F1, is nothing short of outstanding.
“It’s an elite and foreign world to most of us but we feel linked to this young man’s challenges and triumphs lived out in a spotlight that very few sports attract. His superb skill and sportsmanship are matched with a rare maturity and poise in an adrenaline-fuelled arena.” The Dawn Award, established in 2021 and named after Dawn Fraser AC MBE, recognises an individual, team or organisation who demonstrates courage and bravery and has changed sport for the better.
Layne Beachley’s story is one of extraordinary courage, resilience, and determination that transformed women’s surfing forever. Born into challenging circumstances, Beachley channelled her pain into passion, claiming her first world championship at 26 before dominating the sport from 1998 to 2003 with six consecutive world titles – a feat unmatched in surfing history.
Like Dawn Fraser, Beachley challenged the status quo, displayed a never-say-never attitude, and inspired others through her actions. Her bravery in confronting personal demons and physical challenges, combined with her commitment to empowering others, proved that women could dominate their sport, inspire nations, and overcome any obstacle to achieve greatness.
Beachley is just the fifth recipient of The Dawn Award, following Evonne Goolagong-Cawley AC MBE, the late Peter Norman, the Sydney 2000 Olympics Women’s Water Polo champions and basketballer Lauren Jackson AO.
“I was pleasantly surprised and a little overwhelmed to be quite honest. Dawn is one of my absolute heroes, so to receive this award in her name fills me with immense pride and joy,” Beachley said.
“I refer to her as the matriarch of sport in this country and I’m very proud to be receiving this award in her honour.
“When I joined the pro tour in 1990, I was shocked by the state of women’s surfing and committed to changing the sport’s trajectory. Through compromises, sacrifices and battles, we achieved pay equity in 2018. Now women can truly aspire to be seen and respected in what was once a male-dominated environment. It’s incredibly satisfying.”
Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair Bruce McAvaney OAM said:
“Layne is the living epitomy of what the Dawn Award stands for. The obstacles she has overcome on her journey to the pinnacle of surfing have added a new chapter to the history of the sport – and left a profound legacy for all who’ve followed, including this year’s world champion, Molly Picklum.”
Layne’s courage and perseverance kept her at the top of world rankings over two decades and I can’t think of a more deserving recipient for an award that recognises strength of character, drive and ability”
The 2025 Induction and Awards Gala Dinner also celebrated the elevation of cricket trailblazer Belinda Clark AO and basketball champion Andrew Gaze AM to Legend status, as well as seven new inductees: two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt AM; four-time AFL premiership winner Jason Dunstall; Commonwealth Games and Netball World Cup winner Laura Geitz; three-time NRL premiership winner Cameron Smith AM; Australia’s most capped Socceroo Mark Schwarzer OAM; Olympic and X-Games Snowboard gold medallist Torah Bright OAM; and renowned sports medicine practitioner Dr Peter Harcourt AM.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame has launched a new award celebrating Sport’s Unsung Heroes as part of its 40th Anniversary celebrations, in partnership with Code Sports and sponsored by Sportscover.This national initiative invited Australians to nominate volunteers, coaches, officials and community champions who make sport possible. The winner received $10,000 and attended the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Gala Dinner.
A broadcast special, Heroes & Legends – Sports Australia Hall of Fame 2025, will air on Seven on Saturday, December 6, following Day 3 of the Brisbane Test. This TV special features in-depth interviews with the 2025 Inductees, Legends and Award Winners.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards program is proudly supported by the Australian Sports Commission incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport, and supported by Crown, Harvey Norman, Sportscover and Deakin University.
