Best sport coverage by an individual - written

This award recognises an individual who has delivered exceptional written coverage of sport in print or online media during the nomination period.

2020 Winner

Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail

The fall of the Brisbane Broncos NRL team in 2020 will go down as one of the most dramatic collapses of any club in any code in Australian sport. In 30 days, Peter Badel’s series of exclusive stories, opens in a new tab on the Broncos' collapse covered COVID-related booze breaches, a club record fine from the NRL, a social media scandal and, finally, the resignation of head coach Anthony Seibold.

Finalists

Julian Linden, The Daily Telegraph

Julian Linden focuses on sports and issues often neglected in mainstream sports reporting, writing breaking news in athlete wellbeing, funding, doping and Olympic sports. His investigations into Chinese swimmer Sun Yang’s ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, opens in a new tab; reports of the cancellation, opens in a new tab and rescheduling of the Olympic Games; and an investigation with Jessica Halloran from The Australian into the suicide of Russian-Australian ice skater Katia Alexandrovskaya, opens in a new tab all led to global headlines.

Will Swanton, The Australian

Will Swanton’s writing in 2020 covered a variety of sports and writing styles: from the biggest sports story of 2020, the fact that sport actually stopped, opens in a new tab; the death of Kobe Bryant, opens in a new tab and why events such as these affect us; a profile of Ash Barty during her high-profile Australian Open campaign, opens in a new tab; an interview with Michelle Payne, opens in a new tab; and pieces marking the 20th anniversary, opens in a new tab of Catherine Freeman winning gold, opens in a new tab at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Adrian Proszenko, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald

Adrian Proszenko, opens in a new tab covered what has been one of the most dramatic seasons in the history of the NRL, expertly switching between writing hard news, match reporting and in-depth features and analysis. The COVID-19 outbreak threatened the very existence of the NRL and Proszenko provided unique insights into the game’s response. He also produced outstanding feature and analysis pieces throughout an unforgettable year.

Tracey Holmes, ABC Online

Complementing her podcast and regular radio program, Tracey Holmes’ written content for The Ticket, opens in a new tab covers the biggest issues and events in global sport. Taking a closer look at topics such as doping, funding, racism, protest, or winning the right to host a FIFA World Cup, The Ticket online seeks to understand the complexities and shades of grey confronted by those who run sport and the impact they have on those who play it.