Sport Australia Hall of Fame: Ash Barty wins The Don Award
After an amazing year on the tennis court capped with victory in the French Open, Ash Barty has beaten a crack field to take out the Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Don Award.
Other Sports
Don't miss out on the headlines from Other Sports. Followed categories will be added to My News.
From “fan-girl” to acknowledgement as Australia’s finest performer on the international sporting stage, world No 1 Ashleigh Barty is celebrating another epic milestone after winning The Don.
Barty, 23, was awarded The Don on Thursday night – the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame trophy named in honour of Sir Donald Bradman – after a year crammed with highlights.
The first Australian in 46 years to win the French Open, the Queenslander was overwhelmed after edging a field including Dylan Alcott, Cooper Cronk, Steph Gilmore, Craig Lowndes, Ariarne Titmus, Tim Paine and Ellyse Perry.
Stream over 50 sports Live & On-Demand with KAYO SPORTS on your TV, computer, mobile or tablet. Just $25/month, no lock-in contract. Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming instantly >
LOUISE SAUVAGE NAMED HALL OF FAME LEGEND - SEE BELOW
“It’s incredibly humbling,” Barty said.
“I don’t feel like I deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as many of the legends here.
“It’s a really good celebration and appreciation of our sport all across the country and for me to be such a small part of that is amazing.”
Admitting to experiencing “fan-girl moments where I see athletes in the room that I’ve looked up for what they’ve achieved in their career”, Barty credited her support team for her success.
“It’s really special to have a few different members of my team here because it’s a celebration for all of us,” she said.
“I may be the only one out on the court playing the matches, but there’s a lot of people behind the scenes helping me in my day to day life.
“They invest so much time and energy into my career and make so many sacrifices to help me achieve my dream so I’m very fortunate knowing that I have such an enthusiastic team around me.
“They encourage me and also criticise me to drive me to be best I can be.”
Fresh from a trip alongside idol Evonne Goolagong Cawley to Edmonton Tennis Club near Cairns to surprise 25 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, Barty hopes to add further lustre to a phenomenal year.
23-year-old Barty receives #TheDon trophy from John Bradman, son of the great Sir Don Bradman
— Sport Aus HallofFame (@SportAusHoF) October 10, 2019
#SAHOF pic.twitter.com/Je53I7V2Wy
She will contest the $20million WTA Finals in Shenzhen from October 27 before leading Australia’s charge in the Fed Cup final in Perth against France from November 9.
Champion Sauvage named Hall of Fame Legend
Louise Sauvage has been knocking down doors for her sport for decades but admits she didn’t see the latest accolade coming.
“A legend … pretty bloody awesome isn’t it,” was her reaction to the news that she was the first Paralympian to be elevatedto legend status within the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
“It’s fantastic, it’s insane. It’s not only good for me but for all athletes with disabilities.
“To be seen as much as we can as equal is fantastic and it doesn’t really happen as much as we would like.
“Things hopefully are getting better and better, it’s a very slow moving process but it’s a step closer. It’s fantastic thatI have had the opportunity to do that and be recognised at that level is just phenomenal.”
The nine-time Paralympic gold medallist became the 41st Legend of Australian sport at a Gala Dinner at Crown Casino on Thursday night. She had been the first Paralympian to be inducted as a Hall of Fame member in 2007.
Sauvage, 46, was the dominant force in women’s wheelchair racing for over 14 years after making her debut at the age of 16 at the 1990 world championships.
She retired after the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004 with a CV bulging with gold medals and records.
At four Paralympic Games she won nine gold medals and four sliver while twice winning gold in the 800m wheelchair demonstrationraces at the Olympic Games in 1996 and 2000. She also won 12 world championships gold medals.
When she looks over her stellar career, Sauvage says there are two events which are close to her heart — the Sydney 2000 Games and the Boston Marathon.
I was determined, pretty stubborn... and I liked going fast! - Louise Sauvage pic.twitter.com/4qyc5wqYZf
— Sport Aus HallofFame (@SportAusHoF) October 10, 2019
“I feel like the Sydney Paralympics was a turning point in terms of how we presented the Games and how inclusive it was and the education that was put around it to make it as big as what it was,” she said.
“The way Australia and the world embraced the Paralympics. It was a really big turning point and I was so proud to be Australian,that we did it and we made that change.
”To have so many people enjoy it, understand it and see what our sports was all about for the first time it was just insane. It was just great that they did such a good job.
“I’d been in Atlanta four years earlier and the Paralympics there were not very great at all. What Sydney did was set us onthis trajectory and the Paralympics have just got better and better with each Games.
“And London 2012 was at another level again. It is becoming bigger and bigger.”
On the track most of her success came over 800m and 1500m but she won medals at every distance from 100m to the marathon.
She won a number of major city marathons by the end of her career but Boston was her favourite event which she won four times.
“The Boston Marathon was special as I just went back for it again and again and again,” she said. “That was one of the biggest challenges of my career.”
She now rates coaching as an even bigger challenge with her star athlete Madison de Rozario contesting the Chicago Marathonthis weekend.
“I’ve been coaching for 15 years now and initially it was quite daunting,” Sauvage said. “Being on the other side I can nowsay it’s a lot easier being an athlete to be honest.
“Coaching is very challenging and very rewarding in the same boat. I obviously had a lot of success as an athlete but to bepart of someone else’s journey and help them achieve things is just fantastic.
“I get more of a buzz out of that than anything.”
- Scott Gullan
Originally published as Sport Australia Hall of Fame: Ash Barty wins The Don Award
‘Legacy lives on’: Skier dies while training
A man in his 20s is being remembered by the global community of his sport after a fatal training incident.
Meet the Australian rugby league schoolgirls, NRLW’s next generation
Meet the next generation NRLW stars, the Australian schoolgirls who were on a collision course to clash with Papua New Guinea on Sunday.