Peter Anthony Larkins (born 22 June 1954 in

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

, Victoria) is an Australian

doctor Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles * ...

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 is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

athlete who represented Australia in the steeplechase at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

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.Profile
at Australian Athletics Historical Results

Medicine career

Among Larkins' education include an

honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

degree in

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

as well as

Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

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 th ...

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

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 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back t ...

's Australian Football League coverage, with his prognoses on players'

injuries An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or ...

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

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, 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 five main free-to-air television ne ...

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 The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

to provide injury updates on '' AFL Game Day'' and during the network's Saturday night football coverage.

References

External links

Melbourne Sports Medicine Profile
*
Triple M profile
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 of Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia {{AFL-bio-1950s-stub