The Guardian has been honoured seven times at the prestigious Sports Journalists’ Association (SJA) awards.
Chief football writer, Daniel Taylor was recognised twice, winning both sports writer of the year and football journalist of the year awards. The wins are testament to a stand-out body of work which included Taylor’s revelatory coverage of the Eni Aluko affair and his interview with Rhian Brewster in which the Liverpool player revealed he had experienced racial abuse. SJA President Patrick Collins commented “Daniel Taylor is one of the truly distinguished journalists of his generation. His courage, persistence and flair make him a worthy winner of the highest honour that British sports journalism has to offer. And to win a second trophy in the hotly contested category of Football Journalist is further testimony to Taylor’s brilliance.”
Donald McRae won the sports feature writer of the year award with judges commenting that his work shows “a rare sensitivity as well as writing style across areas as diverse as MMA, being gay in sport and mental health issues” and that he is “an incredibly warm and empathetic interviewer who writes with verve and bite.”
The scoop of the year award was given to Martha Kelner and Sean Ingle for revealing Chris Froome’s failed drug test. The judges said it was “one of the stories the rest of the media were scrambling to catch up with. It was unearthed from a quagmire of confidentiality.” Sean Ingle was also honored with the specialist correspondent of the year award, with judges commenting that he “captured huge moments and took the reader there with descriptive, emotional writing.”
The full list of winners can be found here.
