Above it all, the thwack stands out. Over an extraordinary year of Australian sport: of world-beaters and champions of tomorrow; of myth-making performances at the summit of codes; of comebacks, and dynasties come and gone.
When all that noise subsides, the sound of Gout Gout’s footfall stays with you. Watch him on television, or on one of his viral highlights, and his thin frame appears to glide across the track. But in person, the audible slap as his spikes meet the track is as loud as his arrival has been in Australian sport.
The past 12 months have catapulted Gout from an Australian star to a name of global renown. After his semi-final at the World Athletics Championships in Japan, the scrum around the teenager was six journalists deep. Not even Noah Lyles, athletics’ leading international name who occupied the same space in the media zone seconds later, drew the same level of interest.
An exclusive interview that the Guardian ran with Lyles after he had won gold that week attracted half as many readers as a pre-meet feature on Gout. If the teenager’s times continue to improve, there will be no brighter light in Australian sport.
For now, that mantle belongs to Oscar Piastri. The Melbourne-born driver proved himself as a genuine title contender in Formula One, and his competition with English teammate Lando Norris is set to deliver a rivalry that even the Ashes struggles to beat.
While he appears cool in the regimented circus of F1, Piastri is not without intrigue, too. His spin at Albert Park and his late-season slump are hints of fallibility within a character we are only just beginning to know, and his relationships within McLaren are fodder for armchair psychologists.
Piastri might have fallen fractionally short in one of the world’s highest-profile athletic arenas, but the former South Sydney Rabbitoh, Jordan Mailata, reached the summit. His Super Bowl win in February with the Philadelphia Eagles represents Australia’s high-water mark in the US code that has proven – punting aside – tough to crack.
In the heady heights of basketball too, Australians were among a select few recognised for their brilliance. Alanna Smith won WNBA defensive player of the year, and Dyson Daniels secured the NBA’s most improved player. In Chicago, Josh Giddey is proving himself as a first option at a franchise that still lives in the shadow of Michael Jordan (and Luc Longley).
In all, the year was remarkable for the number of Australians winning their sport’s highest accolade. Surfer Molly Picklum broke through for her first world title at age 22 with a dominant display at the WSL finals in Fiji. And high jumper Nicola Olyslagers was imperious throughout. She won the world indoor title, the Diamond League crown, and world championship gold to be named the globe’s best field athlete alongside pole vault king Mondo Duplantis.
Sam Kerr has made Australians take international football glory for granted, but in her injury absence her Matildas teammates helped carry the load. Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross winning the Women’s Champions League with Arsenal was perhaps the country’s finest single footballing achievement.
In the AFLW, North Melbourne – two-time premiers and now unbeaten in more than two years – have bested almost everyone, even the league in its efforts of equalisation. The final frontier may be overcoming Melbourne’s prejudice against women’s footy, as the AFLW continues to struggle for wider traction. In the crossover period with the men’s AFL season, the Kangaroos declined to make club spokespeople available to talk up their women’s program out of fear of backlash from fans angry at the state of the men’s outfit at Arden Street.
The Kangaroos’ premiership and a Blues’ women’s State of Origin triumph were the blips in an otherwise maroon year of footy. Brisbane’s Lions and Broncos dominated both winter codes, inspired by Queensland’s come-from-behind series victory in men’s Origin. Yet no comeback was – sorry, comebacks were – more remarkable than those of the Broncos during the NRL finals.
To upset the minor premiers, the four-ringed Penrith Panthers, then a Melbourne Storm side long held up as premiership favourites, in a succession of second-half turnarounds was as improbable as it was glorious. And the contrast between taskmaster coach Michael Maguire and flamboyant playmaker Reece Walsh is a fascinating component of their success.
Though the pair sat smiling alongside each other below Accor Stadium after the grand final, 2025 was not easy. The form of the team, and player, were mixed until mid-season. And the absence of content on Walsh’s “day in the life” YouTube channel between July and the off-season only stirred speculation of tension between the fullback and the coach.
Next year promises to be a test of the relationship as Walsh’s fame snowballs. He revealed in that post-grand final press conference in October that he had learned from the coach how to best apply himself. As a counterpoint, Maguire was asked what lessons he had learned working with Walsh. He replied with a knowing smile: “Plenty.”
