National Athletics Series & Qantas Australian Athletics Tour » Fan Zone » Hall of Fame

 Hall of Fame 

Herb Elliott at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games Betty Cuthbert at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games John Landy at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games

Australian athletics has a rich history of success dating back over 100 years. In 2000, the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame was established to recognise the outstanding achievements of Australia's truly great athletes.

At the discretion of Athletics Australia's Special Awards Committee, an induction into the Hall of Fame takes place to recognise the greats of the sport.

Currently, the following athletes have been inducted as members of the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame:


Edwin Flack (2000)

Shirley Strickland (2000)

Marjorie Jackson (2000)

Betty Cuthbert (2000)

Herb Elliott (2000)

Ron Clarke (2000)

Anthony 'Nick' Winter (2004)

John Landy (2004)

Raelene Boyle (2004)

Ralph Doubell (2004)

(Francois) Robert De Castella (2008)

Debbie Flintoff-King (2008)

Decima Norman (2008)

John Winter (2008)

Pam (Kilborn) Ryan (2008)

 A large portion of the Hall of Fame profiles have been collated by Harry Gordon CMG AGM, the official historian of the Australian Olympic Committee.

As a journalist, editor and author (of 13 books), he has won many awards, including the National Book Council first prize for Australian literature. As well as being editor-in-chief of two of Australia’s major newspaper groups, he was chairman of Australian Associated Press. He has served on the council of the Australian War Memorial, the Australia-China Council and the Australia-Japan Foundation. His introduction to the Olympics came in 1952, when he covered the Games in Helsinki, fresh from serving as a young war correspondent in Korea (1950-51). He has been involved with the Games ever since.

Harry helped plan media facilities for the Melbourne 1956 Olympics Games. He was a member of the organising committee for the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, and chairman of the media division. He played a significant role in the planning of the 2000 Olympic torch relay, and had the task of naming streets and boulevards around the main Olympic areas, throughout the Olympic Village and at all venues used in the Sydney Games. He was awarded the Australian Olympic Committee’s highest award, the Order of Merit, in 1999 and the IOC’s Olympic Order in 2001. In 2006 the International Society of Olympic Historians honoured him with its Lifetime Achievement Award - only the second such award ever given. He is a member of the selection committees of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, the Australian Football Hall of Fame and the Athletics Australia Hall of Fame - www.olympics.com.au

 Further Information  

  • Betty Cuthbert AM MBE
    Betty was dubbed the 'Golden Girl' at the Melbourne Olympics when she won the sprint double and anchored the winning 4x100 metres relay team to a world record.
  • Anthony 'Nick' Winter
    Nick Winter was an Olympic gold medallist in the triple jump.
  • Edwin Flack
    Edwin Flack was Australia's first ever Olympic champion.
  • Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AO MBE
    During her career Marjorie Jackson was known as the 'Lithgow Flash' and won six national titles.
  • Shirley de la Hunty AO MBE
    Shirley de la Hunty won seven Olympic and five Commonwealth medals and set three individual world records during her career.
  • Ron Clarke MBE
    Ron Clarke became one of Australia's most prolific world record breakers and in the process revolutionised long distance running in the world.
  • Herb Elliott AC MBE
    Herb had a short but brilliant career during which time he was never defeated over 1500 metres or 1 mile.
  • John Landy AC MBE
    Once the fastest miler in the world, Landy was the second man to break the four-minute barrier.
  • Raelene Boyle MBE
    Though Olympic gold eluded Raelene Boyle, her three Olympic silver and seven Commonwealth Games gold say enough.
  • Ralph Doubell AM
    Ralph Doubell's 800m Australian record has stood since his gold medal-winning efforts in Mexico in 1968.
  • (Francois) Robert De Castella MBE
    Rob de Castella, 'Deek' as he is affectionately known, put marathon running on the map during his athletics career.
  • Debbie Flintoff-King OAM
    Debbie Flintoff was born in Melbourne and started athletics as a hurdler, long jumper and pentathlete.
  • Decima Norman MBE
    The star of the 1938 British Empire Games (now Commonwealth Games) was Decima Norman.
  • John Winter
    One of the major surprises of the 1948 Olympic Games was the gold medal won by Western Australian high jumper John Winter.
  • Pam (Kilborn) Ryan AM, MBE
    Pam began her athletic career in the late 1950's and exhibited her great talents early.