Winner
Faster, higher, stronger team – ‘Faster, higher, stronger’
Publication
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
Year
2024
Category
All Media: Explanatory Journalism
The Faster, Higher, Stronger Team set out to complement coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games by contextualising the physical feats on display. They deconstructed complex track and field events
to illustrate the evolution of athleticism and technology and show how these events, and the athletes in them, have changed since the 19244 Paris Olympics.
The team chose three events to complement the Olympic motto (faster, higher, stronger): the 1500m race, high jump and shot put. They collected gold medal data and combined this with historical research to create a timeline of the events. They had experts explain what had changed in the sport to make way for significant improvements, such as how the Fosbury flop in the 1960s dramatically improved high jump results.
The project combined written journalism and data with visual mediums such as graphics, photos and videos, linking dynamic animated charts with archival footage. The experts also made predictions about what might develop in the 100 years to come.
The Faster, Higher, Stronger Team consists of Billie Eder, Iain Payten, Nathanael Scott, Matt Malishev, Luis Araujo, Jamie Brown, Chloe Saltau and Mark Stehle. The team is made up of reporters, artists, developers, editors and project managers from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Judges’ comments:
“Faster, higher, stronger is a captivating explainer – an epic, inviting learning experience at the time of the Olympics. The layouts combined historical and biological information on the dramatic developments in physiology and sport over the past century. The writers, illustrators, graphic designers and editors demonstrated excellence and imagination and, ultimately, conveyed real joy.”