Peter Anthony Larkins (born 22 June 1954 in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

, Victoria) is an Australian

doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

and media personality as well as a former athlete.

Early life and athletics career

Larkins was educated at St Joseph's College in Geelong, where he was highly regarded and respected as a cheerful and down to earth person. He was very good at sport at school as well as being prominent in the school cadet unit. He later became a prominent

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who represented Australia in the

steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...

at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

and the 1981 World Cup. He won the national 3000 m steeplechase championships every year from 1976 to 1983, except for 1982 when he came second.

Medicine career

Among Larkins' education include an

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

degree in

medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...

as well as

Bachelor of Medicine A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

and Bachelor of Surgery degrees. He travelled the world studying

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

and set up a private practice in the 1980s. He was one of the inaugural Fellows of the

Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians The Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 350 doctors in Australia and New Zealand. These doctors practise medicine ...

Media career

In 1997, Larkins became the boundary rider for

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

coverage, with his prognoses on players'

injuries Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with b ...

becoming a popular and unique aspect of Triple M's coverage. Larkins later joined the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

as a boundary rider for AFL games. Later he served providing the latest player injury updates on ''The Sunday Footy Show''. In 2012, Larkins quit

and joined rival 3AW in an identical role. He also joined the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

to provide injury updates on ''

AFL Game Day ''AFL Game Day'' was an Australian television program broadcast on the Seven Network in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania and on 7mate in all other states. In Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania it a ...

'' and during the network's Saturday night football coverage.

Publications

* Larkins, Dr Peter A. ''The Healthy Hundred''. Melbourne: John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2024.

References

External links

Melbourne Sports Medicine Profile
*
Triple M profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larkins, Peter 1954 births Living people Australian male steeplechase runners Australian sports physicians Australian rules football commentators Australian people of Irish descent Australian television presenters Sportspeople from Geelong Triple M presenters Olympic athletes for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Australian medical doctors Australian Athletics Championships winners 20th-century Australian sportsmen