Rachael Sporn

Rachael Sporn
OAM
Personal information
Full name Rachael Pamela Sporn
Born (1968-05-26) 26 May 1968
Murrayville, Victoria[1]
Height 187 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb)
Medal record
Women's Basketball
Competitor for  Australia
Olympic Games
2004 Athens National team
2000 Sydney National team
1996 Atlanta National team
World Championships
1998 Germany Team Competition

Rachael Pamela Sporn OAM (born 26 May 1968) is an Australian former basketball player and three time Olympian. Sporn is the present Development Executive for the Australian Melanoma Research Foundation.[2]

Career

Born in Murrayville, Victoria, Sporn played for Adelaide Lightning in Australia's Women's National Basketball League where she was twice league MVP and seven times selected in the WNBL All-Star Five. She heads the all-time points scoring and rebound list for the WNBL.[3] The Women's National Basketball Association club Detroit Shock recruited Sporn for the 1998 season.[3] Sporn played 304 games for the national basketball team, the Opals, including three Olympic Games—two silver medals (2000 and 2004) and a bronze (1996)—and three World Championships (1990, 1994 and 1998).[4][1]

Sporn is a member of the Australian Sports Hall of Fame and the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame.[3][4] She was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and the Centenary Medal in 2001.[5][6] Rachael Sporn is currently the only Adelaide Lightning player to have her number retired by the team, having begun her stellar career when the club commenced in the 1993 season.[7] Her #14 singlet hangs on the western wall of the Adelaide Arena alongside the Lightning's 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2008 WNBL championship banners.

Personal

In 2015, Sporn was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.[8] Sporn is married to Maurie Ranger with whom she has two children.[9][10] She has remained active in promoting the Adelaide Lightning, recently campaigning to secure vital funding for the team.[11] In May 2015, the club secured a one-year agreement with the Motor Accident Commission as key sponsor.[12]

Her older brother Kieran Sporn (born 28 August 1966) was also a top level athlete who played Australian rules football.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Rachael Sporn". Olympic Sports. Sports Reference. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  2. ↑ http://www.melanomaresearch.com.au/about-us/our-people.html
  3. 1 2 3 "Rachael Sporn". Australian Basketball Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Rachael Sporn". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Search Australian honours". It's an honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Search Australian honurs". It's an Honour. Australian Government. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  7. ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/hall-of-fame-honour-spoils-rachael-sporn/story-e6frf9if-1226509462112
  8. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-26/australia-day-honours-for-rosemary-crowley-rachael-sporn/6045118
  9. ↑ http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/photos/photos-fncvs823-1226522794234?page=12
  10. ↑ http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/photos/photos-fncvs823-1226522794234?page=26
  11. ↑ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/basketball/adelaide-lightning-crisis-deadline-looms-for-150000-in-operating-costs/story-fni2u9cl-1227349605420
  12. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/adelaide-lightning-secure-new-sponsor-will-continue-in-wnbl-20150522-gh7boi.html
  13. ↑ "Past Player Profiles: SPORN, Kieran". Essendon Football Club. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
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