Voices of authority
WHEN IT COMES TO GAMES COMMENTARY IT’S BETTER WHEN YOU’VE BEEN THERE DONE THAT
TALK about making the right call. Thorpe, Phelps, Bogut ... and skateboarding rock star TONY HAWK.
GOATS, all of them. And now the legendary athletes are winning gold attracting a new generation of fans through their roles as the public voice of the Olympics.
Not all athletes make a successful transition to commentator, but the four are proving to be the early standouts among the host of athletic greats employed for expert commentary.
While IAN THORPE and ANDREW BOGUT are nailing it for Australia’s host broadcaster Seven, NBC correspondents MICHAEL PHELPS and Hawk are proving to be as innovative on the mike as in the air and in the pool.
Thorpe, whose nine medals in the pool at Sydney and Athens including five golds - make him Australia’s greatest Olympian, is being praised for his thoughtful insights into the performance of Australia’s swim team.
Social media is full of love for the Thorpedo.
Pundits are praising him for his calmness and positivity. And after stints for the BBC calling the London Olympics in 2012, and then working for Indian broadcaster Star Sports for Rio’s 2016 Games, Thorpie is finally calling the Olympics for an Aussie audience.
“The feeling I get from commentating, the adrenaline, is the closest feeling I have ever felt that is like competing,” he said.
Hawk is especially pumped to be in Tokyo.
He hailed the sport’s Olympic debut on Instagram and shared a video of his exploits.
“As a kid that was mostly lambasted for my interest in skateboarding, I never imagined it would be part of the Olympic Games,” the 12-time world champion said.
Bogut, who is also a News Corp columnist, is also making a name for himself with his take-noprisoners calls.