Tennis star Nick Kyrgios, Olympic freestyle skier gold medalist Lydia Lassila (Ierodiaconou), and eight-time Kickboxing World Champion and member of Sport Australia Hall of Fame Stan Longinidis, were the Greek-Australian athletes nominated for the Don Award by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Committee.
Sport Australia Hall of Fame includes 382 athlete members and 143 general members, all of them individuals who have contributed to sports through various roles (coaches, agents, doctors etc.)
In a spectacular event in Melbourne, the 30th Sport Australia Hall of Fame honored athletes who excelled over the last year and rewarded those who managed to set example for other athletes through their work.
Nineteen-year-old Kyrgios has made an impression with his recent achievements in tennis. He was born in Canberra to a Greek father and Malaysian mother and has two older siblings, Christos and Halimah. Kyrgios was nominated along with other six athletes for the Don Award, which was established by the lifelong president of Sport Australia Hall of Fame and awarded to athletes who are considered to have had the capacity to inspire the nation the most. Kyrgios said it was “a great honor to participate in this event with so many great athletes. This is the first year that I am nominated and I think it is a great achievement.”
Greek-Australian gold medalist Lassila was also nominated for the Don Award, along with Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, marathon runner Michael Shelley, track and field athlete Sally Pearson, basketball player Patrick Mills and cricket athlete Mitchell Johnson. The award eventually went to Pearson.
(Ioanna Zikakou contributed to this report)