Sporting greats Susie O'Neill, Patrick Rafter, Jana Pittman, Kurt Fearnley, Steve Bradbury and Cheryl Salisbury will guide the exceptional group of emerging athletes accepted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame's 2025 Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
The Olympic gold medallists, world number ones and trailblazers will work individually with the six Tier 1 Scholarship holders in the program, which is backed by the Australian Sports Commission, incorporating the Australian Institute of Sport.
The Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program provides invaluable financial and broader support, guidance and advice to outstanding young athletes aged 15-21 on their path to fulfilling their potential and achieving excellence on the global stage.
The latest cohort includes three 2024 Paris Olympic Games representatives: diver Ellie Cole and sprinter Sebastian Sultana, both from NSW, and table tennis player Finn Luu, from Victoria. It also includes 2024 Paris Paralympic Games swimmer Callum Simpson, who won two gold and a silver medal in Paris.
A total of 32 athletes from 30 different sports will share $150,000 in funding, spread across three levels.
In addition to the one-on-one mentoring from a past Australian champion, who is typically from a different sport but a current Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Tier 1 Scholarship holders receive a $10,000 grant to contribute to training and competition costs.
The 2025 mentors are:
- Swimming great Susie O'Neill AM, who won two golds among eight Olympic medals and 67 medals at all major international competitions and was elevated from SAHOF Athlete Member to Legend in 2012.
- Dual US Open tennis champion and Wimbledon finalist and former world No.1 Patrick Rafter, the 2002 Australian of the Year and winner of The Don Award from SAHOF in 2001.
- Jana Pittman, the world champion 400m hurdler-turned-bobsledder who was the first Australian female - and second athlete overall - to compete at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
- Wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley AO, the three-time Paralympic gold medallist and four-time world champion who, in 2018, was the first athlete with a disability to win The Don Award.
- Australia's first ever Winter Olympics gold medallist, Steven Bradbury OAM, The Don award winner for his short-track speed skating heroics at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
- Football pioneer Cheryl Salisbury, who retired as Australia's most capped player and has been credited with contributing to the rise of the Matildas, as captain from 2003-09 and a veteran of two Olympics and four FIFA World Cups.
2025 Sport Australia Hall of Fame:
Tier 1 Scholarship Holders & Mentors:
- Australian Diving star and Paris Olympics 10-metre platform seventh placegetter Ellie Cole, 18, NSW (Mentor: Susie O'Neill AM).
- 2024 Australian Athletics Championships 100-metre sprint champion and Paris Olympic relay squad member Sebastian Sultana, 18 (Mentor: Pat Rafter).
- 2024 Australian Athletics Championships long jump winner and 400m junior silver medallist Mason McGroder, 15, NSW (Mentor: Jana Pittman).
- 2023 Junior Track Cycling World Championships and Trinbago Commonwealth Youth Games champion Tayte Ryan,18, NSW (Mentor: Steven Bradbury OAM).
- Tennis and Cricket medallist at the 2023 International Blind Sports World Games, Courtney Webeck, 20, NSW (Mentor: Kurt Fearnley AO).
- Freestyle Skiing silver medallist at the 2024 Youth Winter Olympic Games, Daisy Thomas, 17, NSW (Mentor: Cheryl Salisbury).
Tier 2 Scholarship Holders:
The 2025 Tier 2 scholarship holders are Paris Paralympics swimming dual gold and silver medallist Callum Simpson, a 17-year-old Queenslander who will be joined by Jacob Cassar (boxing), Kali-yah Taoso (water polo), Noah Bradford (biathlon), Isaac Beacroft (athletics), Danielle McDonald (motorcycling and enduro), Jemma Holt(lifesaving), Molly Bretag (shooting), Sarah Marriott (rowing) and Madison Lyon(squash).
Tier 3 Scholarship Holders:
The 2025 Tier 3 scholarship holders are Christopher Jackson (archery), Samara Dulvin (cricket), Joshua Jolly (BMX), Kate Kyros (equestrian), Sophia Glasson(fencing), Sasha Grove (football), Annabelle Burrows (gymnastics), Gemma Buckett(handball), Kelsea Lawson (lacrosse), Finn Luu (table tennis), Hannah Kiefer(taekwondo), Luke Ryan (volleyball), Noah Milford (weightlifting), Sesha Nadimpalli(golf), Carstens Beyers (judo) and Daniel Frey (athletics).
