Swimming greats Leisel Jones and Priya Cooper to join Hall of Fame elite
Swimming Australia, October 21, 2015: The Sydney 2000 Games saw the finale of one great swimming career and the beginning of another, but tonight in Melbourne Priya Cooper OAM and Leisel Jones OAM will come together amongst Australia’s sporting royalty when they are inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in Melbourne.
Three-time Paralympian Cooper and four-time Olympian Jones will become the 52nd and 53rd swimmers and the 21st and the 22nd female swimmers inducted into Australia’s hallowed hall of sporting greats.
Joining Cooper and Jones at the awards night will be Australia’s double World Champion from Kazan this year, Emily Seebohm who is nominated up for the Sport Australia’s ‘The Don Award’ for 2015.
The award is aimed at recognizing those current Australian athletes whose achievements and leadership over the past year have been seen to ‘inspire the nation.’
Values of courage, sportsmanship, integrity, persistence and excellence are key traits Sport Australia looks for when considering candidates. For Seebohm’s part, she overcame both an abrupt coaching change and kneecap injury this year en route to winning both the 100m and 200m individual backstroke titles at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Cooper claimed a total of nine Paralympic gold medals, three silver and four bronze with five world records and becomes the first Paralympic swimmer to receive the Hall of Fame recognition.
She was twice co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team, was named Australian Paralympian of the Year in 1995, Young Australian of the Year for Sport in 1999 and was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia medal for her services to sport in 1993.
Born with cerebral palsy, Priya Cooper OAM chose to never let herself be identified by her limitations – and through a near decade long career as a three-time Paralympian, her success led a movement which proved to the rest of the world that no one need define her or any other disabled athlete by what they couldn’t do.
In the first Paralympic Games of her career, the then 17-year-old Cooper claimed gold in the 50m freestyle S8, the 100m freestyle S8 and the 200m individual medley SM6-7, with a world record and three Paralympic records along the way.
She continued on to Atlanta 1996 – this time as co-captain of the Australian team – and dominated the pool to earn five gold medals, one silver and one bronze. She broke world records in the 400m freestyle S8, the 100m backstroke S8 and 100m freestyle S8.
By 1998 and the World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand, three more gold medals and a further two world records solidified what had been an extraordinary run of success for Cooper since Barcelona 1992, as she continued to grow with each race and major event.
Her attention turned to Sydney 2000 and what would ultimately be her final Paralympic Games. It was a methodical preparation as she moved to the host city some 18 months prior and undertook a hands on role with the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.
Even a severe shoulder injury could not dampen her hopes of winning gold on home soil. She picked up bronze in the 100m freestyle S8 as well as the 4x100m medley relay, and achieved her ultimate goal by winning the 400m freestyle S8 in front of a Sydney International Aquatic Centre packed with adoring Australian fans.
Whilst Sydney 2000 saw the curtain fall on her extraordinary career, it was just the start for Jones, who qualified for the Sydney at just 14, a youngster Australians watched grow before their eyes to become one of our most successful female swimmers.
Jones won individual silvers in 2000 and 2004 and individual bronze in 2004 and it was not until Beijing 2008 and the 100m breaststroke final that she would break through for her maiden individual Olympic triumph, in a moment the four-time Olympian considers the defining point in her career.
“I don’t really remember a lot about the race, but I just know the sheer amount of work that went into achieving that one small moment in life,” said Jones.
“It was just a sliver in time, and it took eight years of really pure hard work.”
“I think that’s the moment where everything I had worked for really came true. All I wanted was Olympic gold, that was all I wanted out of my career, and I finally achieved it.
“It is pretty incredible looking back. It was 12 years of really, really hard work.”
“I was so lucky I had the opportunity to do that because so many people don’t get the chance to realise their dreams like that … I am so grateful when I look back on my career, and so glad I realised my dreams.”
“I didn’t give up. I just kept going.”
Jones career came to a close following her fourth and final Olympic Games at London 2012, as ‘Lethal’ Leisel left swimming with a staggering 21 gold (including three Olympic gold), 15 silver and six bronze medals across major championships. She twice broke the 100m and 200m breaststroke world records.
She will now sit alongside the likes of childhood idol Susie O’Neill OAM – who will welcome Jones to the fold as part of the official Induction presentation.
Presented by Etihad Airways, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala Dinner is the largest gathering of Australian sporting greats in the one room for the one night each year, in celebration of Australia’s finest.
FULL LIST OF SWIMMERS INDUCTED INTO SAHOF
The 31st Sport Australia Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Gala Dinner
What: Australia’s most prestigious sporting awards ceremony
Date: Wednesday 21st October, 2015
Time: 5:45pm – VIP & Member’s Reception & Red Carpet Arrival
6:30 for 7pm – dinner
Where: Palladium at Crown, Melbourne
Who: The largest collective gathering of Australian sporting greats and luminaries
Awards:
- The Induction of eight new Australian sporting greats into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame
- Announcement of the 37th Legend of Australian Sport
- Naming of ‘The Don’ winner
- Celebration of the Spirit of Sport Award
- Recognition of The Great Sporting Moments and Team Sport Australia Awards
- Presentation to the recipients of the annual Scholarship and Mentoring Program
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Issued on behalf of Swimming Australia by
Ian Hanson| Media Manager
Ian Hanson| Media Manager Triathlon Australia Managing Director
Hanson Media Group | P O Box 299 | West Burleigh Qld 4219
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