This Network Seven star is a veteran sports broadcaster with more than four decades in the industry.
Nicknamed ‘Mr. Olympics’ for his extensive commentary on the Games since Los Angeles 1984, the presenter has covered 12 Summer Olympics in his long career.
The 71-year-old is fondly remembered for narrating key Olympic moments, such as Cathy Freeman’s gold medal run in Sydney.
This year, she will be covering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games while working with ABC Radio alongside Australian Olympic stars Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and Sarah Ryan.
The commentator, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2002, is also known for covering Australia’s major sporting events.
He has covered the AFL Grand Final, Melbourne Cup, Australian Open and Test cricket, as well as special events such as the Brownlow Medal.
The Seven reporter began his television career at Adelaide station ADS-7 in 1978, before rising to fame when he presented South Africa’s broadcast of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Do you already know who this legend of sports television is?
Nicknamed ‘Mr. Olympics’ for his extensive commentary on the Games since Los Angeles 1984, the Channel Seven sportscaster has covered 12 Summer Olympics in his long career. Do you know who he is?
Of course, it’s Bruce McAvaney.
An old photo of Bruce resurfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, showing how unrecognizable he looked in his younger days.
The black and white snap showed Bruce sporting a big smile as he looked in touch with the fashion of the time in a leather jacket and wide striped collar.
He recently made a shock defection to join ABC to cover the Paris Olympics, after spending 30 years as one of Channel Seven’s biggest sporting stars.
Regarded as the voice of football for his work calling the AFL, Bruce also earned the nickname ‘Mr Olympics’ for his extensive coverage of the Games over the years.
It’s Bruce McAvaney! An old photo of Bruce resurfaced on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, showing how unrecognizable he looked in his younger days
“I’ve always thought the Olympics were the most important event for an Australian broadcaster,” he said last month.
“It means a lot to me that ABC has given me this opportunity.”
Channel Nine and Stan hold the rights to this year’s Games, leaving Bruce with no hope of rejoining Seven to cover the world’s biggest sporting event.
He called his final AFL game for the network in February 2021 after lending his talents to more than 1,000 matches.
Considered for decades the voice of the AFL alongside commentator Dennis Cometti, stepping down was a difficult decision for Bruce.
“I felt I had reached a stage in my career where I needed to reduce my workload,” she said at the time.
He recently made a shock defection to join ABC to cover the Paris Olympics after spending 30 years as one of Channel Seven’s biggest sporting stars.
“I’m going to miss it massively, I can only imagine when Richmond and Carlton come out to play in the first round and the ball bounces, I’m going to climb a wall somewhere,” he added.
‘I’ll have to move on and just be a fan like everyone else.’
The fan favourite broadcast the Tokyo 2021 Olympics for Seven and also worked on the network’s horse racing coverage after stepping back from his football duties.
She then contributed to Seven’s coverage of last year’s Women’s World Cup and made a startling observation as the Matildas gained new fans across the country.