Will Swanton sets the gold standard in Australian sports journalism, currently anchoring coverage for The Australian. His work dissects athletic achievement through cultural, historical, and psychological lenses.
Recent honors include the 2023 Harry Gordon Award for surf journalism and a Walkley Award for tennis investigations. His seven sports books, including biographies of Adam Scott and Roger Federer, have been translated into 14 languages.
Will Swanton has redefined sports journalism through 15+ years of award-winning storytelling across Australia's premier publications. We've tracked his evolution from Sydney Morning Herald's rugby correspondent to The Australian's multi-platform sports authority, observing how he synthesizes athletic drama with cultural commentary.
Swanton's Paris Paralympics coverage exemplifies his talent for elevating underreported narratives. His minute-by-minute account of Australia's first pool medals blends technical analysis (stroke rates, split times) with portraits of athletes like blind swimmer Jasmine Greenwood. The piece's viral success stemmed from its innovative structure - a "missed moments" format that curated highlights for timezone-challenged fans while embedding Paralympic history lessons.
This investigative deep dive into breaking's Olympic debut showcased Swanton's knack for decoding emerging sports. By interviewing judges about the "MGbility" scoring system, he demystified why crowd favorite Raygun missed finals. The article's lasting impact lies in its examination of cyberbullying's effects on athletes - Swanton tracked how online criticism impacted Raygun's mental health, prompting governing bodies to implement new support protocols.
Swanton's coronation of the 2024 Olympic squad as Australia's best ever demonstrated his historical acuity. By comparing medal tallies across eras and interviewing legends like Ian Thorpe, he built a data-driven case for the team's supremacy. The piece's masterstroke was profiling anonymous gold medalists like shooter Elena Galiabovitch, using their stories to critique fame distribution in modern sports media.
Swanton's 2024 Olympic analysis referenced 12 historical benchmarks - pitch stories that connect current athletes to past legends. His Emma McKeon profile compared her to Dawn Fraser using never-before-seen 1960s training logs from the Australian Institute of Sport archives.
The Raygun investigation revealed Swanton's focus on athlete wellbeing - successful pitches include access to sports psychologists or anonymized data on counseling service usage among elite competitors.
His Paralympic coverage used embedded medal ceremony audio clips - pitch stories with exclusive video/photography assets, particularly for visually dynamic sports like breaking or surfing.
"Swanton makes you feel the chalk dust in your hands and saltwater in your lungs" - Melbourne Press Club citation
The 2023 Harry Gordon Award recognized Swanton's decade-long documentation of surfing culture, particularly his profiles of Mick Fanning that influenced the World Surf League's mental health initiatives. His 2021 Walkley Award honored investigative work exposing corruption in tennis officiating, leading to ATP reforms.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Sports, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
