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The good news is here. The reason for this is that Dylan Alcott, the country’s foremost Paralympian, disability speaker, and tennis champion has received the coveted “Australian of the Year” award in what was a unanimous decision for the judges. Dylan is a humble man, and this was evident in his acceptance speech where his humour and charisma stole the show.
After the initial round of jokes, the speaker turned serious, telling the audience about how he managed to negotiate through life with the tag of a paraplegic hanging around his neck. He said that he first accepted his situation and thereby saw life and the circumstances present in it as his golden ticket.
Multi-Edged Person
The honours that lie with Dylan are many. He was first named as Australian of the year for 2022 alongside being awarded an Officer of the Order, present in the Australia Day Honours list for his unwavering and clear focus on his choice of sport, Paralympic tennis. He is a fitting role model for all people who live difficult life because of disabilities. Dylan has also helped out the paraplegic community with the assistance of a number of well-known organisations who had the necessary reach and influence to air Dylan’s thoughts and suggestions to the community as a motivational speaker. He is also known as an inspirational speaker, with his profound experiences touching lives all over the country and beyond.
Dylan’s Early Life
Born in 1990, Dylan had a tumour that was wrapped all around his spine and this was operated on in the first couple of weeks after his birth. The tumour removal was successful but it left Dylan in a wheelchair, as a lifelong paraplegic. In Brighton Grammar school, he swam for Victoria and also represented his country in both wheelchair tennis and basketball. However, Dylan’s true calling lay in tennis and he has represented Australia innumerable times by the time he was 16, had reached a ranking of 100.
Alcott was a member of the Rollers, the Australia national team for wheelchair basketball, and he won the bronze medal in the Wheelchair basketball World Championship back in 2006. Dylan was also a part of an all-star team selection made in 2008. In the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Dylan won gold with his team. He was prolific in his game and was also an integral part of the Roller’s gold medal gang at the 2010 wheelchair basketball world championship.
After these successes, Alcott turned his attention to tennis, being an integral part of the 2012 Australian men’s wheelchair tennis team at the Summer Paralympics where they won the silver medal. After this, there was no looking back for Dylan, who chose tennis as his calling in life. It was a wise choice, for he is a talented man. Named the Australian of the year in 2022, Dylan is also the only man to have won the Golden Slam- wins in the Wimbledon, Australian Open, French open and also the US Open championships, besides his gold medal from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic games.
When it came to the 201 Rio Paralympics, Alcott was one of a handful who had won two gold medals in two different sports. Besides these laurels, Dylan was also the winner of the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic games. This makes him the indubitable wheelchair tennis player of all time.
Apart from his incredible achievements at Rio, Dylan has also won 15 Grand slam singles titles, which include 2 consecutive French Opens and Wimbledon opens, besides the last 7 Australian Open wins and titles.
Humanitarian Work
Dylan, from close personal experience, knew that many young Australians with disabilities do not have focus and drive like the rest of the people. To this end, in 2017, Alcott launched the Dylan Alcott Foundation that nurtures talent and gives it a pedestal. Dylan can hold his own amongst celebrity speakers, himself being one. And he is undoubtedly well versed in athletics, offers the world to hear him as one among actual athlete speakers.
Dylan is closely tied to the media in Australia where he appears on episodes of The Project by Channel Ten. He also endorses Channel 7 Sports besides being a Triple J Radio host back in the day. In this capacity, Dylan turns into a leadership speaker where he shares his thoughts and experiences with his audience about the role of leadership and how to transform oneself through the power of positive thoughts and the manifestation of desires.
Australian Of The Year
In 2022, Dylan was crowned Australian of the Year and also awarded with the Officer of the Order (AO), featuring in the Australian’s Day Honours List for his unwavering and immeasurable contribution to Paralympic sports. People across all spectrums of sport and life have hailed this as a suitable accolade for Dylan. His weapons are a wonderful sense of humour, an amazing work ethic, and a sharp intellect that he uses to advocate the rights of disabled people in his country.
Speaking from the heart, many people in prominent posts have singled out Dylan as the man who can change the very world in which we live, showing us by example that disability is not crippling but a slight hindrance to success that can be overcome with time, patience and practice.
