Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallists Kurt Fearnley AO and Nova Peris OAM have joined illustrious sporting company, inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame (SAHOF) today.
Fearnley, also a three-time Commonwealth Games representative and three-time Paralympic gold medallist, closed out his illustrious career as flagbearer at the Closing Ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Peris, the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal as a Hockeyroo and the only person to make back-to-back Summer Olympic Games finals in two different sports, transitioned to athletics in time to claim gold at the Kuala Lumpur 1998 Commonwealth Games.
They join five other inductees for 2023, which include Olympic gold medallists, one of the country’s greatest footballers, a rugby league superstar, and a coaching visionary, with their outstanding accomplishments having left an indelible mark on the sporting world.
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This includes Kim Brennan AM, a rowing icon with Olympic gold and multiple medals; Tim Cahill AO, the only Socceroo to play at four FIFA World Cups; aerial skiing Olympic champion Lydia Lassila OAM; Dally M winner and former North Queensland Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston AM; and Tim McLaren OAM, one of the most renowned rowing coaches in the world, who has successfully coached crews at every Olympic Games since 1992.
The inductees will be honoured at a Sport Australia Hall of Fame event to be held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney on October 16.
The honour roll of induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame features the nation’s biggest sporting names and champions, including Sir Donald Bradman AC, Dawn Fraser AC MBE, Cathy Freeman OAM, Ian Thorpe AM, E.J. “Ted” Whitten OAM, Raelene Boyle AM MBE, Wally Lewis AM, Shane Gould OAM MBE, Sir Jack Brabham AO OBE, Greg Norman AO, Lauren Jackson AO, John Eales AM, Susie O’Neill AM, Rod Laver AC MBE, Bart Cummings AM, Louise Sauvage OAM and Layne Beachley AO, among other luminaries.
Those who are inducted into this elite group are our nation’s leading champions. They have not only excelled in their chosen field, but have done so with dignity, integrity, courage, modesty, pride and ambition.
Membership as an Athlete Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame is limited exclusively to the top echelon of Australian athletes who have all achieved the highest honours at the peak level of competition. General Members are recognised for their outstanding achievements in roles that support sports participants.
