Four Commonwealth Games gold medallists are among the new inductees into the nation’s most prestigious sporting club, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
The four Commonwealth Games gold medallists feature amongst the 2021 class of eight inductees into the nation’s most prestigious sporting club, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF).
The Commonwealth Sport inductees are five-time Cycling gold medallist Anna Meares OAM; four-time Athletics gold medallist Jana Pittman OAM; three-time Hockey gold medallist Jamie Dwyer OAM; four-time Commonwealth Games medallist and three-time Australian Team Chef de Mission Steve Moneghetti AM.
The foursome join former Australian soccer captain and two-time Olympian – part of the Olyroos team at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics – Mark Viduka; 12-time Paralympian and winner of nine gold medals, Libby Kosmala; former Australian women’s cricket captain and ICC Player of the Year, Karen Rolton; and eight-time Olympic water polo player and coach, Tom Hoad.
Anna Meares OAM
Widely regarded as one of the greatest track cyclists Australia has ever produced, Meares carried the Australian flag at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Competing in four editions of the Commonwealth Games, Meares finished her career with eight medals, five of them gold, becoming Australia’s most successful Commonwealth Games cyclist. A winner of 11 world titles and two Olympic titles, Anna and sister Kerrie grew up in a small coal mining town in Queensland and were inspired to take up cycling by the exploits of Kathy Watt at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. Making her international debut at the 2002 Games in Manchester, Anna won bronze in the 500m time trial behind Kerrie who won gold. Four years later in Melbourne, Anna won the gold medal in the same event. In Delhi in 2010, Meares won three gold medals – in the 500m time trial, the sprint and team sprint events. At the 2015 UCI Track Cycling World Championships she took the gold in the keirin, claiming her 11th world title in the process, which made her the most decorated female track cyclist of all time. The flag-bearer and captain for the Australian team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Meares won a bronze medal in keirin making her the first Australian to win individual medals in four consecutive Olympics. The venue for cycling at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games was named the Anna Meares Velodrome in her honour. Anna is imparting her wisdom and experience to the next generation of Commonwealth Games stars serving as one of the General Managers for the Australian Teams at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Steve Moneghetti AM
Winning of four Commonwealth Games medals, including gold in the 1994 marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada. ‘Mona’ made his Games debut in Edinburgh in 1986 where he ran the 10,000m before deciding to also run the marathon, winning the bronze medal, he went one better winning silver at the Auckland 1990 Games before claiming the gold four years later. His swansong at the Commonwealth Games came in Kuala Lumpur in 1998 where he won another bronze in the 10,000m. Mona raced at four Olympics for three top-ten finishes in the marathon and claimed the world championships bronze in Athens in 2007 on a race that was run from Marathon to Athens. Mayor of the Commonwealth Games Village in 2006, a popular appointment, Moneghetti was named as the Australian team’s Chef de Mission in Delhi, Glasgow and the Gold Coast. Regarded as one of Australia’s best distance runners, the running track around the lake in his local town of Ballarat is named in his honour. Post-athletics career, Moneghetti has served on numerous boards including Commonwealth Games Australia and Sport Australia and was chair of the Victorian Institute of Sport.
Jamie Dwyer OAM
One of Australia’s greatest ever Hockey players, Jamie Dwyer OAM represented Australia at the three Commonwealth Games, Manchester 2002, Melbourne 2006 and Delhi 2010, winning gold medals in each. He captained the team in Delhi and scored a goal in the final, where Australia defeated India 8-0. He has played over 365 matches for Australia and scored over 243 goals. Dwyer played at the 2004 Olympics where he won a gold medal, and the 2008 Olympics and 2012 Summer Olympics where Australia won bronze medals. When he retired in 2016, he had been named FIH World Player of the Year on five occasions. His sister Kelly married former Kookaburras teammate and 2018 team flagbearer Mark Knowles.
Jana Pittman OAM
Jana Pittman jumped on the international stage at the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games winning the gold medal in the women’s 400m hurdles when she was 19-years-old. She would also claim gold as part of Australia’s victorious 4x400m relay team. Pittman would use the experience and success in Manchester to win the 400m hurdles world championship in 2003, at just 20-years-old making her the youngest world champion in history. Sadly, injuries disrupted her Athens 2004 Olympics campaign, but Pittman would return a week after knee surgery to finish fifth in the Olympic final. She returned to peak form at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games to defend both her titles, finishing her Commonwealth Games career with four gold medals. She would win her second world title in 2007, just eight months after giving birth to her first child, but injuries would force her out of competition at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics. Seeking a new challenge, Pittman switched to bobsleigh at competed for Australia at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, becoming only the second Australian to compete at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The inductees will be honoured in a television special on the Seven Network on December 2, Australia’s Sporting Heroes and Legends – a Celebration of the 2021 Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
The honour roll of induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame features our nation’s biggest sporting names and champions.
Those who join this elite group have not only excelled in their chosen field but done so with dignity, integrity, courage, modesty, pride and ambition.
In 2021, six former sporting greats are being inducted as athlete members and the other two are being inducted as general members for their incredible contribution to sports administration.
With thanks Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
