For the first time Australians will be asked to vote for the Aussie sporting superstar they would most like to see immortalised in wax at Madame Tussauds Sydney, and with a little help from the rugby loving public, John Eales could be the that star.
As a nation, Australia has produced some of the biggest sporting heroes the world has ever seen and now Madame Tussauds Sydney would like to give one of those stars a platform for the adoration they deserve.
The winner will stand amongst sporting greats that already have pride of place in Madame Tussauds such as Rod Laver, Cathy Freeman and Ian Thorpe.
Typical of the breadth of sporting talent in Australia, the shortlist of sporting heroes in the public vote spans rugby union and league, swimming, cricket, basketball and surfing.
So who has made the list?
1. Mick Fanning: NSW born, Fanning is two times ASP World Champion and six times Australian male surfer of the year.
2. Wally Lewis: aka The King – Wally Lewis is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time.
3. Jacqueline Freney: Only 21 years of age and eight Paralympic Gold medals to her name, Jacqueline was also recently named Paralympian of the year.
4. Glenn McGrath: One of the most dangerous fast bowlers of his time, Glenn holds the world record for the highest number of Test wickets by a fast bowler.
5. Lauren Jackson: Jackson was awarded the honor of leading the Australian Olympic team at the opening ceremony in London this year where her team went on to win Bronze. Lauren is also a five time All Star for the WNBA.
6. John Eales: Eales is regarded as the most successful captains in the history of Australian rugby. In 2001, he was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sport 'Best of the Best'
“I visited Madame Tussauds on my first trip to London 22 years ago and loved it so I’m thrilled to potentially be recognised for this honour," said Eales after hearing of his nomination.
"Australians love sport and some of our best sportspeople already have their spot in the Sydney attraction as well as around the world. It would be pretty special to have a spot next to some of these guys.
"I’m excited to see how the whole process rolls out from here.”
Whilst all the figures in Madame Tussauds are selected by guest research and feedback, this is the first time that the Australian public can vote on which sporting hero they would like to see immortalised in wax in Sydney.
Voting is available via the Madame Tussauds facebook page - www.facebook.com/madametussaudssydney
“Australians are passionate about sport and their sporting heroes. The six people on this list are all legendary in their own field as well as in the hearts and minds of Australians. We are thrilled to be in a position to give one of them a very deserving place at Madame Tussauds Sydney” said Hywel Mathias, General Manager, Madame Tussauds Sydney.
“We are really excited to see the outcome of the vote and given the calibre of our shortlist, we can expect this to be quite a tight result.”
Voting will close on Friday 18 January and the winner will be announced early February.
The successful athlete will then have over 250 different measurements taken by the Madame Tussauds team. Following this, a dedicated team of over 60 artists and sculptors will take approximately 800 hours to create the figure; including colouring the figure with special oil based paints, which takes several days to complete.
To find out more about Madame Tussauds and the great Australian and international figures it is already home to, visit www.madametussauds.com/sydney.