- Mike Colman passed away on Friday
Former Daily Mail Australia sports columnist Mike Colman has passed away after a long battle with his health.
Colman, 68, died surrounded by his wife, Linda, and their three children in Brisbane at 9pm on Friday after battling a rare lung disease.
Sports columnist Robert Craddock took to X, formerly Twitter, to share a post in memory of Colman.
“A tribute to the late sports columnist Mike Colman, who lost his brave and long battle after a typically spirited fight,” Craddock wrote.
‘Mike was truly unique, the last of the great joke columnists who could make readers laugh or cry in the same week.’
Peter FitzSimons, an outspoken journalist and partner of former The Project host Lisa Wilkinson, also shared a tribute to Colman, writing: ‘RIP Mike Colman.
‘A veteran sportswriter, a lovely guy, a great family man. I was with him many times over the decades. He’s gone, too soon.’
Colman, a 47-year-old journalist, was best known for his witty takes on Australian sport, a talent he shared with the Daily Mail between 2021 and 2023.
Former Daily Mail Australia sports columnist Mike Colman (pictured) passed away on Friday night after suffering from a rare lung condition.
In one piece, Colman reflected on her meeting with Prince Philip at Admiralty House, Sydney, in 1992.
Having been sworn to secrecy for nearly 30 years, Colman recalled how the jokes fell flat on the face of the dour Duke of Edinburgh, who seemed anything but thrilled to be in Australia.
“A man of action, he had given up everything he had achieved and wanted to achieve to support his wife and the monarchy,” Colman wrote.
“If it meant spending an afternoon with a bunch of colonial journalists asking him stupid questions, he would do it, but he made no pretense of enjoying it.”
More to come.