Australian double World Champion, Emily Seebohm, is up for Sport Australia’s ‘The Don Award’ for 2015. The swimmer is one of 12 nominees for the annual award, which is named after legendary cricket player Sir Donald Bradman.
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.’ The 31st edition of the award will be given out at a Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala Dinner to take place in October, but the list will be narrowed down to four candidates prior to that time.
Seebohm joins champion surfers Sally Fitzgibbons and Mick Fanning who are also on the list of potential award winners, the latter of which survived an in-competition shark attack caught on live video. World number one golfer Jason Day and Ironman athletes Shannon Eckstein and Mirinda Carfae, are among some of the other notable candidates in the running for the award.
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.
Said John Bertrand, Australia Hall of Fame chairman, “As an Australian, I am exceptionally proud of the contributions made by these 12 athletes and teams, and feel privileged as chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame to be able to recognise their achievements in such an esteemed fashion.”
