The award, named in honour of the late distinguished Olympic historian, sportswriter, editor and author, recognises excellence in coverage and storytelling of Olympic competition.

In a competitive field of 42 entries from Australia’s highest profile sports journalists, Mr Decent took out the award with two articles related to the swimming competition at the Paris Games.

The first article was an exclusive story that focused on swim coach Michael Palfrey and the second was a background piece on Cam McEvoy’s stunning win in the Men’s 50 metres freestyle.

AOC Chief Executive Matt Carroll said Tom’s entries were excellent examples of quality journalism.

“We know how important great storytelling is to the strength of the Olympic Movement and the sharing the spirit of the Games in Australia, and we congratulate Tom on winning this prestigious award,” Mr Carroll said.

“Olympic storytelling has the power to inspire, teach and unite, which is why the AOC continues to celebrate quality journalism in the name of our late Official Olympic Historian Harry Gordon, who loved the Olympics so much.”

Mr Decent, who will be presented with a commemorative trophy and a prize of $5,000 at the AOC’s Annual General Meeting next month, said he was thrilled to take out the award.

“To pick up this award after covering my first Olympics is a surprise and a huge honour,” Mr Decent said.

“I never had the privilege of meeting Harry but everything I've heard about him suggests we have a lot in common. To win an award in his name is a great thrill.

“A huge amount of planning went into our Olympics coverage and it was extremely rewarding to see it enjoyed by readers. Editors Ian Fuge, Chloe Saltau and Chris Paine are the best in the business and the SMH/Age is lucky to have them. They were magnificent on the ground.

“Also a big thanks to those at the AOC for their professionalism and helping everything run smoothly for reporters and everyone involved in one of the greatest Olympics ever."

Mr Carroll acknowledged the contribution of the three-person judging panel which included Chair Alex Hamill, Gordon Bray and Tracie Edmondson.

The independent panel considered entries submitted by 21 journalists who were on the ground in Paris covering the Games.

“We thank the esteemed judging panel for taking on the challenging task of selecting just one winner from a pool of such quality entries,” Mr Carroll said.

Mr Decent is the fourth person to be awarded the Harry Gordon award since its inception. Previous winners of the award include Chris Reason from Channel Seven, Jacquelin Magnay of News Corp and Mike Colman of News Corp.