Four-time Paralympic gold medallist Dylan Alcott has been selected for induction as an Athlete Member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame, becoming only the 11th Paralympian to receive the honour.
The selection was announced by Hall of Fame Chair Steve Hooker and Selection Committee Chair Malcolm Page ahead of the official induction ceremony, which will be held in Melbourne on November 24, 2026.
Alcott will be inducted alongside Olympic moguls gold medallist Dale Begg-Smith, three-time Olympic basketball medallist Sandy Brondello, record eight-time Australian Ironman champion Shannon Eckstein, four-time World Cup-winning cricketer Lisa Sthalekar and four-time Olympic softball medallist Natalie Ward as new Athlete Members.
He joins a list of Paralympians that includes Kurt Fearnley, Louise Sauvage, Liesl Tesch, Libby Kosmala, Troy Sachs, Priya Cooper, Frank Ponta, Matt Cowdrey, David Hall and Michael Milton.
Alcott's career began in wheelchair basketball, where he was a member of the Rollers, Australia's men's team, winning gold at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics and silver at London 2012. The Rollers also won the World Championship in 2010.
He had played wheelchair tennis earlier in his career and returned to the sport in 2014. By the end of 2015 he was ranked world No.1, having won eight titles that year including two grand slam singles titles.
At the Rio 2016 Paralympics, Alcott won gold in the quad singles and teamed with Heath Davidson to win the quad doubles title. He defended his singles crown at Tokyo 2020 and won silver in the doubles with Davidson.
Alcott retired from wheelchair tennis after the Australian Open in January 2022. Later that year he was named Australian of the Year.
He has established the universally accessible music festival Ability Fest and serves as Patron for International Day of People with Disability. His appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia cited "distinguished service to Paralympic sport, particularly to tennis, and as a role model for people with disability, and to the community through a range of organisations."
Cameron Murray, Paralympics Australia Chief Executive, said Alcott had used his profile for more than sporting success.
"Dylan was a leading and highly successful athlete in Australian Paralympic sport before building and using his profile to put the rights of people with a disability front and centre of the national conversation," Murray said.
"Throughout the years he has become a well-respected and much-admired advocate and personality, who has spoken up for many in our society who have felt unheard," he said.
Murray thanked the Hall of Fame for the recognition.
"On behalf of Paralympics Australia, I'd like to thank the Sport Australia Hall of Fame for recognising and rewarding Dylan's exceptional contribution to Australian sport," he said.
Alcott said the news had come as a surprise.
"It's one of, if not the highest honour in Australian sport, and I'm still in shock. Sport saved my life. It helped me find my community and gave me a passion and purpose, so to be recognised at this level is really incredible," Alcott said.
He said he had long attended the Hall of Fame's induction gala as a guest.
"Getting the call was surreal. I've been going to the Sport Australia Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala for many years now and it's always such an incredible experience to be surrounded by so many sporting legends," he said.
"To be inducted alongside sportspeople I've looked up to my whole life, if you could tell a younger Dylan this was happening, I don't think he'd believe you," Alcott said.
The induction will take place at the gala in Melbourne on November 24, 2026.