Sport Integrity Australia would like to congratulate our Culture and Sport Advisor Patrick Johnson, who was today awarded the 2023 IOC Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champions Award for Oceania.
The award is in recognition of Patrick's 20-plus years of advocacy work for equal rights and inclusion for all Australians in sport, in addition to various indigenous leadership roles.
A proud indigenous Olympian, Patrick joined our agency in 2023 to help us address discrimination, abuse and mistreatment across all levels of Australian sport and ensure Sport Integrity Australia's work in this space is appropriate and informed.
Sport Integrity Australia CEO David Sharpe said Patrick's advocacy and contribution to sport was far-reaching.
"This award acknowledges Patrick's commitment, through his many roles in sport, to a sporting environment that is culturally safe, where Indigenous Australians feel included, recognised and safe," Mr Sharpe said. "We look forward to working with Patrick to embed culturally safe practices in our agency and for everyone in sport."
In addition to his role at Sport Integrity Australia, Patrick is also the Chair of the Australian Olympic Committee's Indigenous Advisory Committee, a Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee Board Member, and an Indigenous Advisor for Australia's High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy.
Former professional tennis player and now tennis executive, Katrina Adams, was the Global Winner of the award, with other continental winners including: Africas: Irene Limika (Kenya); Americas: Marialoreto González Jaque (Chile); Asia: Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala (Sri Lanka), and Europe: Aurélie Bresson (France).
