The Mail on Sunday scores at the British Sports Journalism Awards

The Mail on Sunday scooped a total of seven awards and commendations at the 2009 British Sports Journalism Awards, more than any other newspaper. Our success was in the face of some pretty stiff competition, as this year’s awards saw record entries in both the journalism and photography categories.

Our chief sports writer Patrick Collins was named Sports Writer of the Year for the fifth time: one judge commented that Patrick remains ‘the best sports writer of his generation’, while another said he ‘never once talks down to the reader, preferring the gentle nudge and polite smile as he informs and entertains’.

   

Noted for his ‘superb catalogue of outstanding stories from the big brother Beijing Olympics to Andrey Arshavin’s transfer to Arsenal’, Rob Draper took home the Sports Reporter of the Year trophy and in conjunction with Daniel King,  won the accolade for Sports Story of the Year.  ‘Olympic Kow Tow’ which made the front page of The Mail on Sunday, was the judges’ overwhelming choice: one called it a ‘coup for forensic attention to detail’, another said it was ‘genuine, high-class investigative journalism’. This story forced the British Olympic Association to change the wording of athletes’ contracts after it was revealed that British participants in the Beijing Olympics were to be handed contracts banning them from criticising the Chinese regime.

Runners-up included Mail on Sunday staff photographer Mark Pain who was commended in both the individual Sports Picture and Sports Picture Portfolio categories and in-house cartoonist Steve O’Brien in the Sports Cartoonist section. Sports reporter, Ian Stafford, received the only commendation in the Sports Interviewer category.

Read more at the SJA site