Peter Wilkins

Peter ‘Wilko’ Wilkins is a multi-award-winning sports broadcaster whose 37-year career at the national broadcaster, the ABC, was a front-row seat to the ever-changing Australian sporting landscape. A definitive all-rounder, Wilko has built a reputation as one of Australia’s most trusted and versatile sports media figures across radio, television and journalism.

During his ABC career, Wilko hosted two FIFA World Cup football tournaments on ABC Television in the 1980s and anchored ABC Radio’s rugby league coverage throughout the turbulent ARL/Super League era of the 1990s. He was also a central figure on The Fat, a top-rating ABC television sports panel show that earned multiple Logie Award nominations, with Wilko himself nominated for Best New Talent in 2001.

In 2008, Wilko won a prestigious Walkley Award for Australian Story: She’s Not There, based entirely on his acclaimed book Don’t Rock the Boat—the powerful account of the 2004 Australian Women’s Eight Olympic rowing crew and a rare exploration of failure at the elite level. In 2012, he joined an elite group of Australian sports media figures when he received the Australian Sports Commission’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Services to Sporting Journalism.

Despite countless career highlights, Wilko regards his most memorable moment as commentating the Socceroos’ historic qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, punctuated by his unforgettable and passionate radio call of Australia v Uruguay.

Over his career—predominantly with ABC Radio and ABC Television—Wilko worked as a commentator and presenter across both mediums, a journalist and reporter for ABC News and Current Affairs, and a regular contributor to 7.30 and Lateline. He anchored the sports segment of the ABC’s nightly 7pm television news bulletin for seven years and later hosted Grandstand on ABC TV News 24. He was also a regular analyst on Richard Glover’s 702 Drive program and wrote a weekly sports column for the Illawarra Mercury for nine years.

Wilko has commentated or reported on an extraordinary range of sports including cricket, tennis, rugby league, rugby union, football, hockey, golf and archery—most notably calling Simon Fairweather’s gold-medal performance at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. His major event experience includes two Olympic Games, four Paralympic Games, four World Cups and three Kangaroo rugby league tours of England and France, all for the ABC.

Today, Wilko is a highly sought-after keynote speaker and MC, renowned for entertaining audiences with untold stories from Australian and international sport while delivering compelling messages about teamwork, endurance, leadership, performance under pressure and the discipline required to achieve long-term goals.

Away from the microphone, Wilko enjoys golf, surfing and skiing—“when fitness allows”. He is married to Susie and divides his time between Sydney and the NSW South Coast hinterland, where 25 acres of “paradise” includes a personally designed nine-hole golf course. In 2017, he walked the Kokoda Track with his daughter Jacqueline and a group of fathers and daughters—an experience he describes as unique, punishing and deeply rewarding.