British Journalism Awards 2012 showcase: Sports Journalist of the Year finalists

A showcase of the public interest journalism (in every sense) which saw these reporters commended by the British Journalism Awards judges as sports category finalists.

Winner: David Walsh (The Sunday Times)

Chief sports writer of The Sunday Times, David Walsh, was named Sports Journalist of the Year.

The award was in recognition of Walsh’s thirteen-year investigation that has led to the exposure of cyclist Lance Armstrong, inclduing this feature: Broken on the wheel of truth.

Judges said: “David Walsh became a pariah for years in his chosen sport in order to get to the truth of this story. He pursued it and pursued it. The US Anti-Doping Agency would never have taken Armstrong on if it hadn’t been for David Walsh. “It was a fine example of great investigative journalism.”

Finalists

Kevin Eason (The Times)

Kevin Eason, motor racing correspondent of The Times, submitted a series of articles about the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Race still on in divided state

‘Formula One belongs to the rulers, not us’

Truth survives the teargas and tantrums

Nick Harris (Mail on Sunday)

The Premier League owner who was being paid £11m while his club were being relegated – football club owner, Own Oyston of Blackpool, who used his position to pocket £11m while the club struggled to survive in the Premier League and trained in rundown facilities.

Banned rugby star Martin Gleeson claims his game's governing body were involved in the doping scandal that wrecked his life – a number of rugby league players at Hull FC took banned drugs by accident, which spiralled into a web of lies, deceit and cover-up.

Tindall: I won't be the first person to get hammered and realise it wasn't a great idea – an interview with former captain of the England ruby union team Mike Tindall, who was at the heart of a scandalous night out at the 2011 rugby World Cup.

Paul Kelso (The Daily Telegraph)

Fear and loathing eating away at the heart of the MCC, the game's most exclusive club – Kelso revealed the depth of the dispute at Lord's cricket ground and the levels of bitterness over the dropping of plans to redevelop the home of cricket.

London 2012 Olympics: LaShawn Merritt's victory in drugs ban test case gives hope to banned Britons – Kelso broke the story that led to former drugs cheats competing for Team GB at the London Olympics.

London 2012 Olympics: Muhammad Ali and Aung San Suu Kyi considered for opening ceremony

John Sinnott (CNN/Sports Illustrated/The Blizzard)

Standard Liege's Bruyninckx leads way in developing mental capacity

Using Facebook to bounty-hunt football's 'disappeared' players

The toughest coaching job in soccer?

Mark Daly (BBC Scotland)

Daly submitted a series of films that led to the collapse of Rangers Football Club.

BBC Scotland Investigates: Rangers – The Inside Story – revealed that the Rangers new owner Craig Whyte had previously been banned as a company director.

Newsnight Scotland: Rangers Owner May have lied in court case – Daly discovered a transcript of the judgment against Whyte which proved he had lied in court about why he was banned from being a company director.

BBC Scotland Investigates: Rangers – The Men Who Sold The Jerseys – showed that the Rangers had been cheating HMRC and the Scottish Premier League for more than a decade.