Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to honour the life and memory of Dr Brian Sando, one of our country's most respected sports doctors and a great South Australian. Dr Sando passed away last month at the age of 76 after a two-year battle with cancer, and I offer my condolences to Brian's wife, Lee, and their family. I was privileged to know Brian over many, many years through my involvement in sport, firstly as an athlete and later as a member of the Australian Institute of Sport and a board member of the Australian Sports Commission.

Brian's start in sports medicine came from what he called his 'bad' sporting skills. Late last year he said:

My view is that sport really is about the athletes and my skills as a sportsperson were handicapped by a lack of hand-eye co-ordination. … But as bad as my sporting skills were I was mad keen about sport and I was lucky enough to get into sports medicine.

I can surely say that the sporting field's loss was sports medicine's gain, as Dr Sando became one of the pre-eminent sports doctors in the business. Starting out at the Norwood Football Club in the SANFL in 1965, Brian went on to become the Adelaide Crows' chief medical officer for the club's first 18 years in the AFL. He was a life member of the club, and, in honour of his service, this year the Crows will award the Brian Sando trophy at its club champion presentation, an award that will recognise the player's professionalism and attention to detail.

Brian's love for the Adelaide Crows was absolute. Despite all the amazing sporting achievements he had seen and been a part of around the world in over 40 years, Brian listed the Crows' 1997 AFL premiership as his greatest sporting memory—and there are many in South Australia who hope there will be another one for the Crows this year in Brian's memory. As many South Australians know, Crows fans tend to have a distinct dislike for the Port Power footy club, and vice versa. Brian, apparently, was no different. In offering his sympathies online, one South Australian, who went under the moniker of 'Darren of Adelaide', said that Dr Sando brought him into this world 39 years ago and, when Brian found out he was a Port supporter, he said that he wished he could have put him back!

Dr Sando was also involved at the elite level with our Olympic team. His first Olympics as a medical officer was in Moscow in 1980. After serving as deputy medical director in Los Angeles in 1984, he then became the senior medical director for the Australian Olympic Team from 1988 in Seoul to 2004 in Athens. He also attended three Commonwealth Games and was medical officer for our Davis Cup teams. Dr Sando was involved with the track and field team and our Olympic swimming team, implementing, according to Swimming Australia:

… a number of processes and structures that are still used by the current Australian Swim Team and Olympic Team.

Our deputy chef de mission, Kitty Chiller, said Brian was 'always friendly, smiling, happy to help and a great contributor to the Olympic movement'. Indeed, that is how I recollect my dealings with Brian too—always friendly, smiling and happy to help. In 2001 Dr Sando was awarded an order of merit by the Australian Olympic Committee for his contribution to the Australian Olympic movement. Once he left the Olympic team, he still took a keen interest in the Olympics, attending the Beijing Olympics as a board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Fighting against doping in sport was another of Brian's passions. He was a staunch advocate for ridding the sporting world of drugs and was a member and sometimes chairman of a number of significant anti-doping committees, including the Australian Sports Drug Agency, the predecessor to ASADA, of which he was chairman; the ASADA members group, of which he was deputy chair; the Anti-Doping Rule Violation committee, of which he was chair; the Australian Olympic Committee Medical Commission, of which he was chair; the Commonwealth Games Medical Commission, of which he was a member; and the FINA Doping Control Review Board, of which he was a member. He was also a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency's Health, Medical and Research Committee. Right up until the end, Brian was speaking out about drugs in sport. Just a month before he died, he was in the news, voicing his views on debate about Stilnox being used by athletes.

Brian was also a man of significant other achievements. In recognition of his outstanding contribution, Brian received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1995 for services to sports medicine. He also was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2001. At Dr Sando's memorial service in Adelaide, attended by about 2,000 people, his colleague from the Crows Trevor Jaques said this about Brian:

Immensely proud of his awards and honours they were never on public display and rarely referred to … He did wear his heart on his sleeve for all to see, however, reflecting his love of and loyalty to Prince Alfred College, the Norwood Football Club, the Adelaide Crows, his swimmers and his footballers and his country.

Dr Brian Sando served his patients, his profession and his country with humility and outstanding dedication. He will be remembered fondly by many in Australia and overseas. He leaves behind an exceptional legacy in the field of sports medicine and sport in general, and is a shining example of a great Australian for future generations. May he rest in peace and may his family be comforted in their loss by the wonderful contribution that Dr Brian Sando made to our community.