Swimming Australia Inaugural Hall Of Fame Inductees To Be Unveiled In Sydney Next Month
The biggest names in Australian swimming including Dawn Fraser, Murray Rose, Shane Gould and Ian Thorpe are expected to join golden pioneers Freddie Lane and Sarah “Fanny Durack” amongst the first inductees into the newly created Swimming Australia Hall Of Fame next month.
The inaugural class of inductees will be unveiled at the 2022 Swimming Australia Awards in Sydney, to be held at the Sofitel Wentworth on Sunday August 28.
PIONEER: Freddie Lane won Australia’s first Olympic swimming gold medals in the River Seine in 1900. Photo Courtesy: Olympic Gold (Robin Poke & Kevin Berry).
It will be a celebration of Australia’s rich and storied history in the country’s most successful of all Olympic sports with the likes of Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett and Susie O’Neill also on top of a who’s who of Australia’s greatest swimmers.
Swimming Australia officially launched its Hall of Fame today – to both recognise and celebrate those athletes and coaches who have left an indelible mark on the sport at the international level.
Swimming’s rich history in the Australian sporting landscape is set to be immortalised – a sport with a legacy spanning more than a century back to Lane at the Paris Olympics in 1900, when the Mona Vale lifesaver twice conquered the River Seine to become Australia’s first swimming gold medallist.
Lane was inducted into the International Swimming Hall Of Fame in 1969 and was an inaugural inductee into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985, while Durack was amongst the early female trailblazers – the first female Olympic swimming gold medallist and the first Australian woman to win an Olympic honour – inducted into the ISHOF in 1967 and also amongst those inaugural inductees into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
TRAILBLAZERS: 1912 Olympic medallists women’s 100m freestyle, Gold Australia’s Fanny Durack (centre) Silver Australia’s Mina Wylie (right) and Bronze GBR’s Jennie Fletcher. Photo Courtesy: Swimming NSW archives (Lanes Of Gold).
The Swimming Australia Hall of Fame has been established to both recognise and celebrate those athletes and coaches who have left an indelible mark on the sport at an international level.
An inaugural class of Dolphins will be inducted this year, before the nomination process opens up to the broader swimming community from 2023 to identify those athletes and coaches deemed worthy of elevation to the Hall of Fame.
To be eligible for induction, an athlete must have been retired from international competition for at least five years and won at least one individual Olympic or Paralympic Gold Medal, or multiple FINA or Para World Championships, or Commonwealth Games Gold Medals.
For coaches, elevation to the Hall of Fame can happen at anytime where a coach has provided long and dedicated service to the Dolphins team, has coached an athlete to at least one individual Olympic or Paralympic Gold Medal, or multiple FINA or Para World Championships, or Commonwealth Games Gold Medals, and is highly regarded amongst their peers.
Both athletes and coaches must also have brought significant international standing to swimming in Australia through their achievements and service.
Swimming Australia CEO, Eugénie Buckley, welcomed the establishment of the Hall of Fame, saying it would provide just reward and recognition for some of Australia’s most celebrated athletes.
“From Freddie Lane in the River Seine through to Emma McKeon’s historic feats in Tokyo, our Dolphins have continued to deliver generation defining moments and memories for more than a century,” Buckley said.
“More than 1100 athletes and over 150 coaches have represented Australia with pride on the international stage, with many writing their own chapters in the successful legacy now synonymous with the Dolphins.
“Induction into the Hall of Fame will represent the highest honour and recognition that an individual can achieve within swimming in Australia and it is only appropriate we establish such an avenue for celebration of those athletes and coaches whose performances have and continue to inspire the nation.”
F*ck yeah? brilliant idea