Swimming Australia is delighted to announce Hancock Prospecting and the Georgina Hope Swimmers Foundation have extended their Principal Partnership with Swimming Australia for a further four years.
Mrs Gina Rinehart, chair of Hancock Prospecting, has been involved with the sport of swimming since 1992, however more recently the Georgina Hope Foundation and Hancock Prospecting came on board as major partners of Swimming Australia with vital support in late 2012.
As five-time Olympic gold medallist Ian Thorpe said in his key note address at the recent
Swimming Australia Gala Dinner, Mrs Rinehart was there for the sport when others had wavered.
“Swimming in Australia has such a rich history; it is of national importance” Swimming Australia President John Bertrand AO said.
“Mrs Rinehart is a very proud Australian and an incredibly successful business woman. She recognises the importance of swimming to the Australian psyche and her unwavering support has been key as we built the team and developed a world class culture over the last four years.
“Swimming Australia, the Board, the Australian Swimmers Association and the wider swimming community are extremely grateful to have the support from Mrs Rinehart and her company, Hancock Prospecting,” Bertrand said.
Mrs Rinehart said she is proud of what the team has achieved and the respect they have earned in and out of the pool around the world.
“Hancock Prospecting along with the Georgina Hope Foundation want to ensure Australian swimmers have the best opportunities to train and compete on the world stage. I am very pleased to repeatedly hear that the Australian Dolphins Swim Team are again on the up and up, they are on an exciting journey. I am proud to be their patron and a minor part of it. ” Mrs Rinehart said.
At the recent Swimming Australia Gala Dinner on Sunday November 6, Mrs Rinehart presented the inaugural Patron Awards to four swimmers that reflected and represented her company’s core values of leadership, respect and excellence.
The Awards, widely acclaimed, went to Olympians Cate and Bronte Campbell, Mack Horton and Paralympian Tanya Huber.
“It gave me great pleasure to present these Patron Awards. To have an Award that recognises these young men and women who have taken the opportunities given to them and have led by example is something I admire very much. With their hard work, dedication and resilience they are outstanding role models for many Australians.” Mrs Rinehart said.
“The support from Mrs Rinehart for the next four years will be key in developing our high performance athletes who can achieve success on the world stage both at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” Bertrand said.
