ABC’s Tracey Holmes wins AIPS Sports Media Award for The Ticket
ABC journalist Tracey Holmes has won first place in the Audio category at the prestigious AIPS Sport Media Awards 2021 in Doha for her life-changing reporting on Afghanistan’s women athletes for podcast The Ticket.
After the Allied forces withdrew from Kabul in August 2021 and it fell to the Taliban, Afghanistan’s women athletes were left in immediate danger. Their interviews and pleas for help on The Ticket prompted a group of Australians, led by former athletes, to mount a hugely difficult international rescue mission.
While still in hotel quarantine in Sydney after returning from the Tokyo Olympics Holmes followed the rescue mission through the night.
Listen to the podcast here: Afghanistan rescue mission, Australia steps up
As a result of The Ticket‘s coverage, Afghanistan’s two Paralympic athletes were rescued and made it to Tokyo in time to compete.
Said the AIPS: “Holmes created not just a stunning audio piece for her podcast The Ticket, but also managed to set up the rescue mission that saved more than 100 Afghan athletes and their families from the Taliban regime, and she did it all while being in hotel quarantine after coming back from the Tokyo Olympics.”
Tracey Holmes: “It is a tremendous honour to be recognised amongst some of the world’s leading journalists who see the politics, cultural and societal challenges of the globe through the lens of sport and whose passion makes a difference.
“The Ticket was only one winner in Doha last night, others included stories about the war in Ukraine, the war in Afghanistan, human rights in China and Africa, the creation of a baseball team in Fukushima to heal the community after the nuclear disaster and so many more.
“This is not about reporting a result or a match injury, this is about the times we live in and how sport helps explain it.”
Director, News Justin Stevens said: “This award is well-deserved international recognition of Tracey’s talent and dedication and, particularly, her expertise in the the area of sports reporting.
“Tracey is one of Australia’s finest and most accomplished journalists and what she achieved with this reporting is testament to that. It is simply a great piece of storytelling.”
Earlier this year Holmes became the first journalist to be awarded the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sports Award for Oceania, recognising her contribution to reporting on women’s sport and mentorship for the next generation of women sports journalists.
Media contact:
Sally Jackson, ABC Communications
jackson.sally@abc.net.au
