2 weeks ago
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By Robyn Doreian
August 31, 2025 — 5.00am
Journalist Tracey Lee Holmes became a household name for her sports coverage, particularly of the football World Cup and the Olympic Games for the ABC. But her marriage to journalist and academic Stan Grant has also made them one of the country’s most powerful media couples, as the 59-year-old details some of the other important male figures in her life.
Tracey Holmes with husband Stan Grant, who met when they were covering the Olympic Torch Relay in 2000.Credit: Getty Images
I only met my paternal grandfather, Leonard, once, as my father, Darryl, had been estranged from him since he was a boy. My grandmother, Iris, had fled their unhappy marriage, taking Dad and his brothers, John and Gary, from Batlow [NSW] to Manly Beach with her. So I can’t say I knew him.
My father was a keen surfer. He shaped surfboards for a living and was very good at it. That took us around the world – as kids, my sister Jodi and I lived in both South Africa and Hawaii. He’d make enough money for his next adventure – skiing, sailing or surfing, anything that involved water.
It put a lot of pressure on my mother, Lyn. She enjoyed the adventures, but I think she’d have liked a bit more certainty. Dad would go on a sailing event expected to take four days, and seven months later he might arrive home.
My parents split up when I was 14, but I think it was in the best interests of everyone. From Dad, I got my sense of adventure, that the world is to be experienced and enjoyed.
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I was in my 20s when Mum met her partner, Murray. He was a beautiful Maori man who looked after Mum and was an angel to her. When Murray died suddenly in 2023, it left a gaping hole in her life.
I didn’t really have a boyfriend at high school. I grew up in the male-dominated world of surfing, so I could hold my own around men. I think that was a bit of a challenge for them.
My first serious relationship was with Manuel. I was 17 and we almost got married. He was a surfer from Manly and a lovely man, but I quickly realised I was way too young for that.
I started a two-year traineeship as an ABC broadcast specialist in 1989, working in news and sport. The men at the ABC – David Morrow, Jim Maxwell – were highly experienced across sports. Peter Longman was the man in charge, the one who had to handle my fiery personality and had the job of calming me down.
Men have always questioned what a woman would know about sport, but that usually tells me a whole lot about them, rather than a whole lot about me.
In the early ’90s, I hosted ABC Grandstand, the first female to host a national sports program. Atlanta 1996 was my second Olympics. Kieren Perkins was the defending champion in the 1500-metre freestyle and he was lucky to get into the final. I remember seeing Greg Norman sitting next to Perkins after the heat, trying to spark him up. I would have given a million bucks to have heard that conversation because when Perkins swam in the final, he absolutely smashed it.
I’m a huge fan of Nick Kyrgios. I admire people who stand up and are courageous enough to say what they think, even though sometimes what they’re thinking is not as informed as it should be. He’s a phenomenal player. I remember sitting with Rod Laver watching the Australian Open when Kyrgios was playing. He told me that if Nick could get his head together for an extended period, nobody could beat him.
I met my husband, [journalist and academic] Stan Grant, in 2000 when we both worked at Channel 7 and were sent to cover the lighting of the Olympic flame in Greece. I had grown up in South Africa at a time of apartheid, so Stan and I connected on many different levels. I fell in love with Stan’s mind. We spoke about politics, the philosophy of the world and how sport plays into that. Twenty-five years later, we’re still having these conversations.
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Stan has two sons, John, 31, and Dylan, 27 [with Karla Grant]. Together, we had our son, Jesse. He went to kindergarten in Hong Kong and used to wear a little checkered vest and would not walk out the door unless he had a bow tie on. Jesse is 24 now and is a lot like Stan. He’s incredibly well-read and, like his brothers, wants to contribute to make the world a better place.
The Eye of the Dragonfly (Simon & Schuster) by Tracey Lee Holmes is out now.
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