- Long-time commentator makes surprise defection
- Spent decades as one of Seven’s biggest stars
Bruce McAvaney has made a shock defection to the ABC to cover the Paris Olympics after spending 30 years as one of Channel Seven‘s biggest stars.
Regarded as the voice of footy for his work calling the AFL, the 71-year-old is also fondly remembered for calling major Olympics moments like Cathy Freeman’s gold medal run in Sydney – and now his stunning switch means he’ll call yet another Games.
McAvaney will be working on the ABC Radio commentary team alongside Aussie Olympics stars like ex-sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and swimmer Sarah Ryan.
‘I’ve always thought the Olympics was the ultimate event for an Australian broadcaster. To be given this opportunity by the ABC means a great deal to me,’ McAvaney said on Monday.
Channel Nine and Stan have the rights to this year’s Games, which begin on July 27, Australian time, leaving McAvaney with no hope of rejoining Seven to cover the world’s biggest sporting event.
He called his last AFL game for the network in February 2021 after lending his talents to more than 1000 matches.
Regarded for decades as the voice of the AFL alongside co-commentator Dennis Cometti, it was a difficult decision for McAvaney to walk away.
‘I felt like I got to a stage in my career where I had to reduce my workload,’ he said at the time.
Bruce McAvaney spent decades as one of the faces of sport on Channel Seven – but now he has switched to the ABC in order to cover the Paris Olympics
The shock defection comes after he called the 2021 Tokyo Olympics for Seven (pictured, the broadcaster’s headquarters in Melbourne)
‘I’m going to miss it enormously, I just visualise when Richmond and Carlton run out there in round one, and the ball is bounced, I’m going to climb a wall somewhere.
‘I’m going to have to move on and just be a fan like everybody else.’
McAvaney insisted the decision to step back after that year’s coronavirus-interrupted AFL season wasn’t health-related, having battled chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in 2017.
The shock decision was the result of discussions with his wife Anne and the network.
‘I was confident I could continue on (calling) strongly, but I just felt it was the right time for me,’ McAvaney explained.
‘Something had to give. I realised I wanted to keep working. I didn’t want to retire, that’s far from my mind. But I just didn’t think I was in a position to continue to do as much as I was doing.’
The fan favourite called the Tokyo Olympics for Seven in 2021 and also worked on the network’s horse racing coverage after giving away his footy duties.
McAvaney has made some of the most famous Olympics calls in Aussie history – and now he’s on track to keep that record going at the Paris Games (pictured, the Eiffel Tower)
He then went on to help out on Seven’s coverage of last year’s Women’s World Cup – and made a stunning observation as the Matildas won new fans across the country.
Speaking after the Matildas defeated Denmark in their round of 16 clash in front of a capacity crowd at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, McAvaney said the atmosphere at the event made him feel like he was ‘floating on air’.
‘There’s something about being at these matches that is different to going to big matches where males are dominating,’ McAvaney said.
‘It’s a friendlier feeling … Now, am I making that up? No, I’m not, because a lot of people have said that to me.
‘There’s a lot of joy, there’s a lot of laughter, there’s a lot of barracking and there’s a lot of ‘C’mons’ – but there’s a lot of good sportsmanship.’