SA’s favourite sporting heroes named in new poll
A new poll is revealing the sports stars South Australians most admire, with the nation listing female athletes as among their favourites.
A new DemosAU poll of more than 5000 Australians has found that Cathy Freeman, Ash Barty and Sam Kerr are the three Australian sporting figures most admired by the public.
Cathy Freeman was named the most admired figure by 10 per cent of Australians, followed closely by Ash Barty and Sam Kerr on nine per cent.
In South Australia, Taylor Walker topped the leader board, with 11 per cent of South Australians picking the former Crows captain as an athlete they admired.
Like other Australians, nine per cent of South Australians said they admire Freeman, while eight per cent said they admire Kerr and South Australian cricketer Travis Head. Seven per cent of South Australian respondents said they admire test cricketer Pat Cummins.
“South Australia produces one of the most locally distinctive results, with Taylor Walker leading and Travis Head also featuring prominently,” DemosAU Head of Research George Hasanakos said.
“It reinforces the strength of AFL culture in the state, while also showing that national figures such as Cathy Freeman and Sam Kerr retain broad appeal.”
According to DemosAU, the research reveals substantial regional differences, with rugby league identities prominent in New South Wales and Queensland, while AFL figures appear strongly in Victoria and South Australia.
Overall, Hasanakos said the results demonstrated how Australia had embraced women’s sport over recent decades.
“It really shows Australians will revere sporting heroes regardless of their gender. It’s the achievements and the sportsperson’s character that matters,” he said.
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“Nothing brings Australians together like major sporting occasions, and millions of us watched Cathy Freeman’s Olympic gold medal, Ash Barty’s Australian Open win and the Matildas’ 2023 World Cup campaign.”
The DemosAU research was conducted online among 5361 Australians aged 18 and over between May 28 and June 18, 2026, with an effective margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points.
Respondents were asked to name up to three Australian sportspeople they admired via an open-ended question.
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