Finalists announced for 2021 Sport Australia Media Awards

15 December 2021

Finalists for the 2021 Sport Australia Media Awards have been announced.

The Sport Australia Media Awards have been running since 2002 and recognise excellence in Australian sports journalism, broadcasting, production and photography. They are the only dedicated sports media awards in Australia.

Sport Australia Acting CEO Rob Dalton said: “It was fantastic to once again see the awards attract such high-quality entries, particularly as we enter our 20^th year.

“Australian sports media play an important role in sharing inspiring, insightful and sometimes heartbreaking sport stories. It has been another challenging year for all and so we are proud to provide this opportunity to thank and highlight the world-class coverage and incredible depth of talent within our sports media industry.”

More than 300 entries were received across the 12 award categories with the highly competitive Best sport profile – written and Best sports photography category receiving the most entries.

Finalists will be invited to an awards presentation in Sydney on 2 March 2022, pending COVID travel restrictions. Sport Australia will also announce a new recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement award – last year awarded to ABC commentator Jim Maxwell AM.

Congratulations to the 2021 finalists.

2021 finalists

* links may be to a sample of the work and not necessarily the complete entry

Best sport profile – broadcast

• Head Above Water, opens in a new tab, McAvoy Media / Amazon Prime Video, opens in a new tab
• Making Their Mark, opens in a new tab, JamTV Australia / Amazon Prime Video, opens in a new tab
• Kai and Saya, opens in a new tab, Matt Carmichael, Seven Network
• Luc Longley: One Giant Leap, opens in a new tab, Australian Story, ABC TV

Innovation in sports media

• Making the Call, opens in a new tab, Emma Race, Lucy Race
• Fox Cricket Saves the Day (And Series), Australia v India 4th Test, Fox Sports
• Live VR Aerial Analysis, Stan Sport / Channel Nine
• Social Media Innovation, UEFA EURO 2020, Optus Sport

Best coverage of sport for people with disability

• Julian Linden, The Daily Telegraph, ‘Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, opens in a new tab’
• Nick McArdle, Channel Nine, ‘Abdullah Karim: Powerchair Footballer, opens in a new tab’, Sports Sunday
• Kieran Pender and Mike Bowers, Guardian Australia, ‘Innovation and inner strength: the stories behind Australia’s Paralympians, opens in a new tab’
• Seven Network, ‘Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, opens in a new tab’
• Tom Decent, The Sydney Morning Herald / The Age, ‘The power of the Paralympics, opens in a new tab’

Best depiction of inclusive sport

• Peter Dickson, ‘The Ripple Effect, opens in a new tab’, Dickson Films
• Amanda Shalala,ABC Sport ‘Getting Back on Track, opens in a new tab’
• Bowls Australia, ‘The Bowls Show, opens in a new tab’ & ‘The Right Line, opens in a new tab podcast' and website, opens in a new tab’
• Megan Maurice, Guardian Australia ‘Tackling homophobic attitudes: the straight men who play for gay rugby clubs, opens in a new tab’
• Mary Konstantopoulos, NRL.com ‘Holly’s story: Coming out helps Raiders reporter realise importance of being yourself, opens in a new tab’

Best coverage of a community sport issue – rural & regional media

• Donna Page,Newcastle Herald ‘Newcastle cricket's turf war, opens in a new tab’
• Kristy Williams, Parkes Champion Post ‘You cannot be what you cannot see, opens in a new tab’
• Steve Tervet,The Border Mail ‘Behind the Scenes, opens in a new tab’
• Nicholas Wright,The Townsville Bulletin ‘Beneath the Surface, opens in a new tab’

Best sports photography

• David Gray,Agence France-Presse ‘Unusual, opens in a new tabscenes, opens in a new tab at the Australian Open, opens in a new tab’
• Daniel Pockett,Getty Images ‘To the moon and back, opens in a new tab’
• Phil Hillyard,AFL ‘Buddy is Back, opens in a new tab’
• Jay Town,Tennis Australia ‘Eye on the ball, opens in a new tab’

Best reporting of an issue in sport

• Selina Steele, Michael Cain, Julian Linden,The Daily Telegraph ‘Tackling abuse in football, opens in a new tab’
• Eddie Betts,AFL 360, Fox Footy ‘The Fight Against Racism, opens in a new tab’
• Adrian Arciuli, Anna Henderson and Abdullah Alikhil, SBS ‘The Taliban Takeover - the end of women's sport in Afghanistan, opens in a new tab’
• David Mark, ABC News ‘Revelations of abuse in gymnastics, opens in a new tab’
• Russell Jackson, ABC Sport ‘Childhood sexual abuse in the AFL, opens in a new tab’

Best sport coverage by an individual – video

• Matt Carmichael, Seven Network
• Brenton Speed, Fox Sports and Seven Network
• David Culbert, Seven Network
• Bruce McAvaney, Seven Network

Best sport coverage by an individual – written

• Emma Kemp, Guardian Australia
• Julian Linden, The Daily Telegraph
• Phil Lutton, The Sydney Morning Herald
• Jonathan Howcroft, Guardian Australia
• Will Swanton, The Australian

Best sport coverage by an individual – audio

• Liam Flanagan, 'The Scorecard with Liam Flanagan, opens in a new tab’, LiSTNR
• Neroli Meadows,Ordineroli Speaking, opens in a new tab
• Gerard Whateley,SEN, opens in a new tab
• Mel McLaughlin, ‘No Turning Back, opens in a new tab’, Seven News

Best coverage of a sporting event

• Seven Network, ‘Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games’
• Optus Sport, ‘UEFA EURO 2020’
• Network 10, ‘Melbourne Cup Carnival 2020’
• The Age / The Sydney Morning Herald, ‘Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games’

Best sport profile – written

• David Mark, ABC Online 'Tony Daly: I was walking into an ambush, opens in a new tab'
• Phil Lutton, The Sydney Morning Herald ‘The letters that saved Cate Campbell, opens in a new tab’
• Konrad Marshall,Good Weekend ‘Patty Mills: All the right moves, opens in a new tab’
• Will Swanton, The Weekend Australian ‘The Truth About Tim Tszyu, opens in a new tab’

For more information on the awards and categories, visit our Media Awards page, or see a list of previous winners.