Two sporting heroes join Hall of Fame honour roll of immortals
The late, great Shane Warne and distance running icon Ron Clarke have received the highest honour from the nation’s most prestigious sporting club, making their legendary status official
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Spin king Shane Warne and iconic* distance runner Ron Clarke are set to be officially recognised as two legends of Australian sport.
Cricket great Warne and champion runner Clarke will be elevated* to legend status in the nation’s most prestigious* sporting club, the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
The late Victorian-born greats who thrilled fans in extraordinary* careers representing Australia will join an elite* group of just 44 people handed the honour.
Warne’s proud children Jackson, Summer and Brooke said their dad would have been thrilled to join a list of Aussie sporting immortals* such as Don Bradman, Cathy Freeman, Rod Laver and Dawn Fraser.
“He would be very happy to be in that group,” Warne’s son Jackson said.
“No matter how many awards he received, trophies he got or records he broke, he was always the same person to us, which was just Dad.
“So we are always going to be proud of him, no matter what status he gets, but it’s awesome because this type of recognition is the highest degree of awards, you can’t get higher than this in the Hall of Fame.
“It’s just a shame he wasn’t here to see it because I know he would have been very grateful.”
Daughter Brooke said: “It’s a bit weird he’s not here to accept the award but it’s just awesome and very well deserved.
“He was always himself and I think that is what made people feel like they knew him, everyone felt like he was their mate.”
Warne, the first player to break the 700-wicket barrier in a superb 15-year Test career, was one of Australia’s most loved and recognisable sporting heroes.
But his daughter Summer said he was much more than a cricketer.
‘‘I’m so proud of him and I’m so proud to call him my dad,” she said. “We should all be proud of him, we loved him so much and just wish he was here.”
She said the outpouring of love and admiration for their famous father after Warne’s sudden passing in Thailand earlier this year had helped the family deal with the grief of losing “the best dad”.
“In March that made it that little bit easier, that outpouring of grief and outpour of love,” she said.
“Everyone had so much respect for him and there wasn’t one bad thing that anyone had to say.
“Everyone has just been so lovely and we’re so grateful and appreciative of all the love that has come out. Everyone loved Dad and it’s so great to see that.”
She said legend status was “so special”.
“He may not be here but his legacy* will live on for years to come and people will remember and hear about the great Shane Warne, the king of spin,” she said.
Hall of Fame legend and chair John Bertrand said Warne and Clarke “symbolise* everything that is great about sport in Australia”.
“Shane Warne and Ron Clarke are the true definition of legends – inspirations to all Australians,” he said.
Warne is Australia’s greatest Test wicket-taker, claiming 708 wickets from 145 starts at an average of 25.41 and another 293 in one-day internationals.
Clarke was among his era’s greatest distance runners, breaking 17 world records and holding every world record from two miles to the one-hour run in a career defined by fierce determination, grace and humility*.
He carried the flame and lit the cauldron at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and was one of 120 inaugural* members inducted* to the Hall of Fame in 1985.
GLOSSARY
- iconic: very famous or popular, considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time
- elevated: raised to or being at a higher level, lifted up, promoted
- prestigious: deeply respected and admired, being important or of high quality
- extraordinary: very special, unusual, going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary
- elite: selected or regarded as the finest, best, most distinguished, most powerful
- immortals: living or lasting forever, so famous as to be remembered for a very long time
- legacy: something lasting left to others by someone who has died
- symbolise: to represent or express something
- humility: attitude that you have no special importance and are not better than anyone else
- inaugural: the first of something, marking the opening or the beginning
- inducted: formally introduced someone in a special ceremony to an organisation or group
EXTRA READING
A farewell Warnie would have loved
Warne takes his place beside the great Bradman
Tributes flow for cricket great Warnie
Australia’s Olympic Games leave their mark
QUICK QUIZ
- How many other elite sportspeople have been honoured with legend status?
- Which sporting legends are among those to get the Hall of Fame’s highest honour?
- How many wickets from how many starts did Shane Warne claim?
- How many world records did distance runner Ron Clarke break?
- At which Olympics and in what year did Clarke carry the flame and light the cauldron?
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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Design a logo
Design a special 2022 logo for the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Your logo should express the achievements and qualities that make sportspeople like Shane Warne and Ron Clarke so special.
Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Visual Communication Design; Health and Physical Education
2. Extension
Do you know anyone who is involved in sport in your school or community who deserves to be honoured for their contribution to sport? Imagine that a Local Legend Hall of Fame has been set up by Sport Australia. Write a description of your person and an explanation of why they deserve to be included.
Time: allow 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Health and Physical Education; Personal and Social Capability
VCOP ACTIVITY
Adjectives
An adjective is a describing word. They are often found describing a noun. Start by looking at the words before the nouns.
Search for all the adjectives you can find in the article.
Did you find any repeat adjectives or are they all different?
Extension:
Pick three of your favourite adjectives from the text and put them in your own sentences to show other ways to use them.
Have you used any in your writing?