The nation’s most prestigious sporting organisation has eight new members, with the Sport Australia Hall of Fame today proudly announcing a stellar group of Inductees for 2024.
Among the diverse list of newcomers are Olympic and Paralympic gold medallists, champions of both team and individual sports, and celebrated administrators. The Inductees’ exceptional achievements and contributions are matched by exemplary reputations both nationally and internationally.
The new Athlete Members are three-time world surfing champion Mick Fanning AO; former Kookaburras’ captain Mark Knowles OAM; lawn bowls trailblazer Karen Murphy AM; Olympic hurdles gold medallist Sally Pearson OAM; motor sport superstar Mark Skaife OAM; and dual-sport Paralympics champion Liesl Tesch AM.
Entering SAHOF as General Members are Gerry Ryan OAM, whose impact and philanthropy has extended from cycling across multiple sports, and visionary basketball administrator, the late Betty Watson OAM.
The Inductees will be honoured at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Gala Dinner, which returns from a four-year hiatus to the Crown Palladium, Melbourne, on November 18.
The honour roll of Inductees 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, Layne Beachley AO and Tim Cahill AO, among other luminaries.
Those in this elite and newly expanded group are our most revered and respected sporting champions; individuals whose collective results on the greatest sporting stages and across the spectrum may not always have attracted headlines but share a common dignity, integrity, courage and humility.
Each member of the class of 2024 has made a significant impact on Australian sport, not just through personal excellence but as a role model for future generations and by helping to foster a strong sporting culture in a nation so proud of its rich sporting history.
Membership as an Athlete Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame belongs exclusively to the top echelon of Australian athletes who have achieved the highest honours at the peak level of competition. General Members are recognised for their outstanding achievements in roles that support sports participants.
Mark Knowles OAM – Hockey, QLD
Hailing from Rockhampton in regional Queensland, four-time Olympian Mark Knowles OAM graduated from being one of hockey’s brightest prospects to Australia’s decorated and inspirational captain. In 2004, he was the youngest member of the Kookaburras team that ended decades of Olympic heartache by winning gold in Athens.
Mark would also earn bronze medals in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, along with two World Cups, four Champions Trophies and four Commonwealth Games gold medals before his retirement in 2018 after more than 300 international caps. He was named World Young Player of the Year in 2007 and World Player of the Year in 2014, his first as Australian captain.
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“It’s just an amazing honour for me. I was certainly in a little bit of shock early. I kind of went back to ‘how does a boy from Rockhampton get an honour like this?’. It is the highest accolade that I could possibly achieve as a sportsperson.
“You’re striving for greatness on the field and you’re trying to always represent yourself and your family in the right way, and I guess this is a reward for all that hard work. It’s a bit of a reward for the sport of hockey as well. I kind of always reflect on myself as a team player and as a team person, and if I’m honest, if you don’t play in great teams and have some success I don’t think I would have got these honours.
“So for me it’s also a thanks to the sport that’s given me so much.”
Sally Pearson OAM – Athletics, QLD
As one of just nine Australian women ever to win an Olympic track and field gold medal, Sally Pearson (nee McLellan) combined a near-flawless technique with supreme resilience to overcome multiple injury obstacles during her decorated 100m hurdles career.
In achieving Olympic greatness (gold in 2012 and silver in 2008) and World Championship success (gold medals in 2011 and 2017 and a silver in 2013), as well as two Commonwealth Games titles, Sally was the first Australian to be named World Athlete of the Year (2011) and was twice awarded SAHOF’s “The Don” Award, in 2012 and 2014. Her two World Championship triumphs came six years apart in very different circumstances.
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For the first, she produced a personal best time of 12.28 seconds in a blistering performance in Daegu, South Korea. The second victory, returning self-coached from a four-year absence that denied her the opportunity to defend her Olympic title in Rio in 2016, counts as her proudest individual achievement.
“I don’t think it really has sunk in. It’s so surreal. It feels like it just happens to people you see on TV. I still feel like that little kid watching these amazing athletes on TV. I still feel like I’m watching the Sydney Olympics and watching Cathy Freeman run.
“When Steve Hooker won gold in Beijing I was sitting on the sidelines. Even though I won silver I was thinking this is really cool, I’m watching this person, this athlete, just doing amazing things. It’s a bizarre feeling that I’m one of those people now.”
Sport Australia Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair, Bruce McAvaney OAM, said: “The eight new inductees into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame are a diverse group representing team and individual sports at the highest level.”
“They’ve inspired generations of Australians and provided our country with so much joy. Nothing is obvious when choosing between champions from so many different sports but we know the class of 2024 sits comfortably alongside those who’ve already been recognised in the most prestigious hall of fame in this country.”
The 2024 Inductees will be celebrated and formally inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame at the Induction and Awards Gala Dinner on Monday 18 November at Crown Palladium in Melbourne. Two existing Members will be elevated to Legends of Australian Sport on the evening, and the winners of the 2024 The Don and The Dawn Awards will be announced.
Sport Australia Hall of Fame
