Dawn Fraser

Dawn Fraser is Australia's greatest Olympian. In November 1999, she was awarded World Athlete of the Century at the World Sport Awards in Vienna. The same year she was awarded Athlete of the Century by the Australian Sports Hall of Fame. 

In 1964, she was named Australian of the Year in 1964 and just a few years later, in 1967, Dawn was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and then appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1998 for service to the community, notably in the areas of sport and her work with organisations for people with disabilities and for the environment. In 1998, she was voted Australia’s greatest female athlete in history. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, she was honoured as one of seven greatest athletes of all time and  had the honour of carrying the Olympic torch on its way to the main stadium.

Dawn is an international phenomenon: a multi-Olympic and Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winner whose success stretched over 15 years, during which she broke and held 41 World records. Her sporting accomplishments are unlikely to be repeated—in swimming or any other sport.