Seven shortlisted for ‘The Don’ Award honours

Seven of Australia’s greatest sport performers over the past twelve months have been recognised and rewarded as shortlist nominees for the coveted ‘The Don’ Award presented to the athlete who has ‘most inspired a nation’.

The winner will be unveiled at The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Dinner, proudly presented by Etihad Airways on Thursday, 10 October at Palladium at Crown Melbourne.

Amongst the nominees is golfer Adam Scott who joined Australia’s sporting greats when, showing nerves of steel, he won a sudden-death playoff to become the first Australian in history to win the prestigious US Masters.

Scott is joined by Casey Stoner AM, who closed the curtain on an exceptional Moto GP career with a special victory at the 2012 Australian Grand Prix – his sixth consecutive win in Phillip Island and cricketer Michael Clarke whose double-century in the second test against South Africa in November, his fourth in the one season, saw him become the first batsmen to achieve this and score more than 1,200 runs in a calendar year.

The inspirational Kurt Fearnley OAM continued his feats in wheelchair marathons, recovering from the disappointment of the cancellation of the New York marathon due to super-storm Sandy and a difficult fifth place at Boston to produce a powerful sprint finish to take out the London Marathon.

Overcoming years of injuries and illness, swimmer Cate Campbell won her first major championship in the 100m freestyle event at the world championships in Barcelona.  The feat would be an emotional one, exiting the pool in tears having finally overcome the setbacks that kept her out of the 100m freestyle at the London Olympics.

Olympians Kimberley Crow (rowing) and Jessica Fox (canoeing/kayaking) complete the shortlist, having each gone on to deliver major international results following their London 2012 Olympic performances last year.

Crow became the first Australian woman to win the single sculls world championships in South Korea in August whilst Fox also created history by becoming the first female to win gold in both C1 and K1 events at the same World Cup and just this weekend won the C1 world championships in the Czech Republic.

 

‘The Don’ Award – 2013 Shortlist Nominees
Athlete	Sport
Cate Campbell	Swimming
Michael Clarke	Cricket
Kimberley Crow	Rowing
Kurt Fearnley OAM	Athletics/Wheelchair Marathons
Jessica Fox	Canoeing/Kayaking
Adam Scott	Golf
Casey Stoner AM	Moto GP

 

The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Chairman John Bertrand AM congratulated the shortlist of nominees acknowledging their feats over the past twelve months.

“The Don Award seeks to recognise and celebrate the individual who has ‘most inspired the nation’ through his or her performance,” Bertrand said.

“At the core of this award is the values set out by our first Sport Australia Hall of Fame Inductee and who this award is created to honour, Sir Donald Bradman, which include dignity, integrity, courage and modesty in compatibility with pride, ambition and competitiveness.

“All seven of these superb athletes have not only demonstrated athletic excellence but also demonstrates these vital values and I have no doubt the decision will be a tough one for the selection committee meeting.”

‘The Don’ Award is an important component of The Sport Australian Hall of Fame Gala Dinner and Chairman of the selection committee Robert de Castella MBE said that the winner was always a difficult one to select.

“It is easy to be bedazzled by phenomenal athleticism and amazing sporting excellence, and there is nothing wrong with this. Indeed it is one of the greatest things about sport.  But, maybe something that is less tangible than the scoreboard, less obvious than the highest mark, less clear than the fastest runner, the strongest lifter, or the highest jumper, might be even more important to recognise and foster,” de Castella said.

 

PREVIOUS ‘THE DON’ AWARD WINNERS
Athlete	Sport	Year
Ms. Sally Pearson	Athletics	2012
Mr. Cadel Evans AM	Cycling	2011
Mrs. Lydia Lassila OAM	Aerial Skiing	2010
Mr. Steven Hooker OAM	Athletics	2009
Mr. Steven Hooker OAM	Athletics	2008
Mr. Matthew Mitcham OAM	Diving	2008
Mr. Shane Warne	Cricket	2007
Mr. Glenn McGrath AM	Cricket	2007
The 2006 Socceroos	Soccer	2006
Ms. Kerryn McCann	Athletics	2006
Mr. Grant Hackett OAM	Swimming	2005
Ms. Petria Thomas OAM	Swimming	2004
Mr. Damien Oliver	Horse Racing	2003
Ms. Alisa Camplin OAM	Aerial Skiing	2002
Mr. Steven Bradbury OAM	Speed Skating	2002
Mr. Patrick Rafter	Tennis	2001
Ms. Catherine Freeman OAM	Athletics	2000
Mr. Ian Thorpe OAM	Swimming	1999
Mr. Mark Taylor AO	Cricket	1998
Ms. Heather Turland	Athletics	1998

 

Established in 1985, The Sport Australia Hall of Fame aims to preserve and celebrate the history of Australian Sport and excite the next generation of Australians to achieve their potential both in sport and in life.

With a vision and values built around the words of the first Inductee and Legend, Sir Donald Bradman AC, The Sport Australia Hall of Fame is determined to carry to all Australians everywhere the symbol of excellence, as represented by its 518 Members across all sports and genders.

For more information about The Sport Australia Hall of Fame, visit http://www.sahof.org.au.

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