19 awards handed out in Victorian Sports Awards

International athletes and a doctor who has been in sport for more than five decades have been honoured at the latest Victoria Sport Awards. Check out the winners here.

Dr Peter Brukner won a major award at the Victoria Sports Awards.

Melbourne doctor Peter Brukner has been recognised for his contribution to sport, winning the major honour at the 2024 Victorian Sports Awards.

Brukner on Wednesday night won the Outstanding Contribution to Victorian Sports Award which is presented to the person deemed to have contributed the most to the Victorian sport landscape.

A specialised doctor in the field of sport, Brukner has done it all in the past 50 years.

He has been a team doctor in some of Australia’s elite teams including swimming, hockey, athletics, football and cricket.

At the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games he served as the team doctor for Athletics Australia.

Brukner has also been to the FIFA World Cup (2010), the World University Games (1983, 1985, 1987), the World Swimming Championships (1986) and the ICC World Cup (2015) as part as team doctor.

Domestically, he’s also been a doctor at Melbourne and Collingwood in the AFL and has led the way with sporting medicine.

He’s been vital in setting up the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre and was recognised for his services to medicine with an Order of Australia merit.

“(It’s) a privilege to acknowledge the achievements of Dr Peter Brukner whose outstanding service to sport over 50 years, from community level to the Olympics, has made a significant contribution to the development of safe sport and leading medical care in Australia,” Vicsport chair Ritchie Hinton said.

The 2024 Victorian Sport Awards also recognised 18 other recipients.

Mogul Skiing star Jakara Anthony won gold recently at the World Cup in Valmalenco, Italy. Picture: Chris Hocking

Winter sports stars Scott James and Jakara Anthony claimed the Frank Wilkes award and the Kitty McEwan award respectively as the best male and female athletes of the year.

Anthony ended the year as the best moguls skier in the world with James winning more X-Games and World Cup trophies to become one of the best ever male snowboard halfpipe riders.

Scotty James with his silver medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2022. Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images

This is James’ third Frank Wilkes award and his second in a row.

Anthony’s coach, Peter McNeil, won the coach of the year with Victorian Tennis Academy director Tina Keown winning the community coach of the year award.

Team of the year went to the Victorian Lawn Bowls team who won their first Australian championship since 2004.

The young team of the year went to Ballarat rowers Katie Jackson and Lucy Richardson who won bronze at the under-19 rowing championships as a duo.

Finally, Nadene Gole won the masters athlete of the year for her year in golf with Geelong BMX rising star Cameron Gatt winning the young athlete of the year.

The full results of the award winners can be found here.