Dr Peter Harcourt AM was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2025 as a General Member for his contribution to Sport Medicine
Peter Harcourt has been one of Australia’s, and the world’s, most respected and experienced sports medicine practitioners and anti-doping experts for four decades.
With a lifelong passion for sport, Dr Harcourt has worked tirelessly with, and alongside, numerous Australian and global sporting organisations, including the Commonwealth Games Federation, the AFL, the International Cricket Council, Basketball Australia and the Victorian Institute of Sport.
He has provided medical expertise for athletes and sports bodies, undertaken research into a greater understanding of sports medicine practices, and played a key role in developing medical protocols aimed at ensuring the well-being and safety of athletes.
Dr Harcourt is also considered one of the leading anti-doping experts in the field, having served on the WADA Prohibited List Expert Group and the TDSSA (Technical Document for Sport Specific Analysis).
Peter Harcourt never had any particular sporting aspirations when he was a kid growing up in Melbourne during the 1950s and 60s, even though he would become intrinsically linked to some of Australian sport’s biggest names and biggest organisations.
In his early years he played for the Fairfield Cricket Club and enjoyed playing football locally, but some of his earliest dreams revolved around being either a fireman or a police officer.
He told The Age in 2006 that his mother tolerated those early career flirtations, but sensed she was especially impressed when he told her, at the age of 12,- that he wanted to be a doctor.
“You know when you’re a kid and you tell your mum you’re going to be a fireman and she listens, and then you tell her you’re going to be a policeman, and she just listens,” he said. “Then you tell her you’re going to be a doctor, and she just says ‘yes’.”
It was not only a good way to impress his mum, it also turned out to be a great career move as he ultimately set up a specialist sports medicine practice and went on to become one of the leading sports medicine practitioners and anti-doping experts.
Dr Harcourt’s career spans more than four decades during which he has worked with numerous sporting codes in Australia and abroad. He has provided sports medicine expertise, developed best-case practices for individuals and codes, and facilitated research which has made significant contributions to sports medicine on injury prevention, concussion, and return-to-play management, as well as anti-doping monitoring and practices.
Among his significant achievements, Dr Harcourt has played a key role in athlete healthcare strategies for organisations such as the AFL, Federation of International Basketball, International Cricket Council, Basketball Australia, National Basketball League, Victorian Institute of Sport and Commonwealth Games Federation.
He was a member of the AFL and Cricket Australia’s Integrity Units, which oversaw anti-doping, gambling, match-fixing, law enforcement collaborations and athlete behaviour issues, with a primary focus on anti-doping and illicit substance abuse management.
Dr Harcourt became Basketball Australia’s Chief Medical Officer in 1983, a role he still holds, and was team doctor for the Boomers (for 25 years), Opals (7 years) and junior teams. He was the Medical Officer for the Australian Olympic teams at five Games – 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 – and has worked in a variety of roles at several Commonwealth Games, including Chief Medical Officer at Melbourne in 2006.
He was Medical Director of the AFL from 1997 to 2022 and remains a medical consultant. He has been the Anti-Doping Medical Officer for Cricket Australia since 1997, the Victorian Medical Co-ordinator for the Australian Institute of Sport from 1986 to 1994, and Medical Director of the Victorian Institute of Sport between 1990 and 2013.
He was presented with an Australian Sports Medal in 2000, honoured with an OAM in 2007 for services to sports medicine in administration, policy development and education in the field of anti-doping, followed by an AM in 2023 for significant service to sports and exercise medicine, and anti-doping monitoring.
Dr Harcourt was inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022, saying of this honour: “Being a part of the basketball family has been a wonderful and enriching experience. I am very grateful for the amazing opportunities that came my way from looking after the Opals, the Boomers and the junior teams.”
Honours & Achievements
- 2007: Awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
- 2022: Inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame
- 2023: Upgraded to Member of the Order of Australia
- 2023: Awarded Life Membership with the Commonwealth Game Australia Federation
Photo courtesy Basketball Australia.
