Lay Down Sally: Media Narratives of Failure in Australian Sport

This article analysis media narratives of failure in sport using a case-study of the collapse of Australian rower Sally Robbins at the 2004 Olympic Games. Media coverage of Robbins’ breakdown was driven by conflicting narratives. In the dominant version Robbins was initially denigrated as being ‘UnAustralian’. However, this disparagement precipitated several counter-narratives whereby Robbins was seen as having been failed by her teammates, coaches and managers, as well as a victim of distorted national values, a perverted sporting ethos, and reprehensible journalism. We argue that these contradictory narratives can best be explained by the implication of the media in the obdurate structures of Prolympism and nationalism that are deeply embedded in the Olympic Games.