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.

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

Best sport profile – broadcast

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

Innovation in sports media

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

Best depiction of inclusive sport

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

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

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

Best sports photography

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

Best reporting of an issue in sport

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

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’, LiSTNR
• Neroli Meadows, Ordineroli Speaking
• Gerard Whateley, SEN
• Mel McLaughlin, ‘No Turning Back’, 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'
• Phil Lutton, The Sydney Morning Herald ‘The letters that saved Cate Campbell’
• Konrad Marshall, Good Weekend ‘Patty Mills: All the right moves’
• Will Swanton, The Weekend Australian ‘The Truth About Tim Tszyu’

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