5 NEW MEMBERS INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME

Date: 11th April 2021

Five Stawell greats have been selected to be inducted into the Powercor Stawell Gift Hall of Fame for 2020/21 and a formal ceremony will take place later this year.

Darren Arthur, Steve Hore, Peter O’Dwyer, Paul Singleton and Bill Sutton will have their names etched into the history books alongside some 70 other athletes who have made their mark at Central Park.

Darren Arthur won the Jack Donaldson 200m in 2000, the Hank Neil Sportsman’s Handicap in 2005, the Central Park 400m in 2007 and the Veterans 300m in 2009.

The impressive distance runner Steve Hore won several 1600m and 3200m races in the 1990’s including the Dalgety Insurance 3200 metres in 1992 and the

Herb Hedemann Invitation 1600m in 1996. The following year he ran 2ndin the Hedemann and took out the 3200 metres Gatorade Grampians Handicap.

Peter O’Dwyer has a long and distinguished athletics career and has qualified for the Gift semi finals 14 times, making the finals twice. As a coach he has enjoyed success with Matthew Wiltshire winning the Stawell Gift in 2012, and Holly Dobbyn in 2014, his own daughter Grace in 2015 and Talia Martin in 2016 all winning the Strickland Family Women’s Gift.

Paul Singleton was a two times Australian beach sprint champion who also enjoyed considerable success at Stawell winning both the Gift and the Arthur Postle 70m in 1984. Singleton, along with Chris Perry and John Dinan, was one of the first three professional athletes to be reinstated back into the amateur ranks.

Bill Sutton first ran at Stawell as an 18 year old in 1961 and the following year ran 3rd. In 1963 Bill took out the Backmarker’s Invitation from 0.75 yards and also the 220 yards from his mark of 5 yards. At the NSW Centenary celebrations he was voted the Professional Athlete of the Sixties. Billy Sutton remains one of the great characters of professional athletics and has continued to serve his sport as Head Steward for five years and as a respected Victorian Athletic League Starter for more than two decades.

For more details and the full list of the Hall of Fame inductees see here >>

Posted by Hopwood Wendy

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