Indigenous Athletes

The positive contributions from Indigenous athletes to the Australian sporting culture were investigated in this report. Three particular athletes – Nova Peris, Adam Goodes and Evonne Goolagong Cawley feature in this report as Aboriginal sporting heroes that helped shape the nation. The purpose of this report was to find significant contributions Indigenous athletes have, in the past and present, made to sport in Australia, and to gain appreciation for these achievements. The findings of this report were sourced from websites. Previously in Australia’s history, Indigenous athletes were made to feel as outsiders because of their race, and continuously experienced horrifying acts of discrimination and racism.

Introduction

In Australia’s …show more content…
Her professional sporting career began as part of the Australian Hockeyroos women’s field hockey team in 1992. She continued in this team, and just before leaving the team in 1996, represented Australia in the Summer Olympics, Atlanta and won gold, making her the first Indigenous Australian to win an Olympic gold medal. In January 1997, Peris won the Young Australian of the Year award and the Medal of the Order of Australia, the latter as nominated by the community. She transferred to the Australian athletics team from 1997 to 2001 and in the 1998 Commonwealth games, Kuala Lumpar, Peris won gold in 200m and 4 x 100m relay. She also returned to the 2000 Sydney Olympics as part of the 4 x 100m relay team which placed 5th, and reached the semi-finals in 400m. Peris was one of 18,000 to win an Australian Sports Medal for her contributions to Australia in the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. After her highly successful career in Hockey and Athletics, Peris was elected as Senator for the Northern Territory in November 2013, making her Australia’s first indigenous woman to be elected to federal parliament. After under a month of her election, she took part in a referendum on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. All of Peris’ …show more content…
Born on the 8th of January, 1980, AFL Rising Star, duel Brownlow medallist (2003, 2006) and 3-time premiership winner, Adam Goodes proved himself to be incredibly valuable to the Sydney Swans, and the Indigenous community. Not only was he a 3-time club best and fairest and the co-captain for 4 years, he was also a role model for all Indigenous athletes. In 2013, Goodes was racially vilified by being called an ‘ape’ during a game. What made it worse was that the comment came from a 13-year-old girl. He took this opportunity to stand against racism by pointing at the girl and alerting her to security. In an interview after the incident, Goodes says it’s not the first time on the field that someone has referred to him as an ape or monkey, but he claimed he’d never been more hurt. He hoped that the stance he took again the racial abuse would encourage others to stand up for themselves if they ever experience racism. In 2014, Goodes was names ‘Australian of the year’ for his community involvement and encouraging the recognition of Indigenous achievement. His pride in his race was evident in 2015, when, after kicking a goal he performed a celebratory spear-throwing dance, which sparked controversy in the opposing fans, who booed him. This racist reaction was the

Show More

Australian Pop Culture

Australia's Indigenous Identity

Cathy Whitman Research Paper

Cathy Freeman's Influence On Australian Popular Culture

PDHPE Trial Revision: Factors Affecting Performance

Pdhpe Notes Essays

Adam Goodes Ape Case Study

Essay on Current Australian Flag Persuasive Argument

Pdhpe Notes Hsc Essay

PDHPE trial Essay