Richard Garneau,
A legendary voice in Quebec sports broadcasting, dies at age 82.
Sports commentator Richard Garneau, who hosted La Soirée du hockey and Olympic Games coverage for Radio-Canada for decades, died Sunday from heart failure. He was 82.
Garneau was an icon of sports journalism and television in Quebec. On Jan. 8, Radio-Canada revealed Garneau was in intensive care after complications f rom heart surgery.
A tall, svelte man who took great care of his physical condition, Garneau was known for his impeccable grasp of the French language and encyclopedic knowledge of Olympics, particularly athletics.
The Montreal Canadiens issued a statement mourning his death, calling him a “legendary voice” of the Habs.
Born July 15, 1930, in Quebec City, Garneau began his long love affair with the Olympics after his hiring at RadioCanada in 1957. He broadcasted his first Olympics in Rome in 1960, and contributed to 23 Olympics broadcasts.
In London last summer, he was once again present, still alert and energetic, hosting the broadcast of the opening and closing ceremonies, and working as an analyst on RDS with Pierre Houde.
Over his five decades as a broadcaster, Garneau witnessed some of the greatest moments in athletic history, from the Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, who won the marathon in 1960 while barefoot, to Jamaican Usain Bolt, in London. He also saw the record of Bob Beamon in the long jump — 8.9 metres — in Mexico City in 1968, and the silver medal of Canadian Greg Joy in the high jump, in pouring rain in Montreal in 1976.
But he was equally well known as the interviewer who described the exploits of the Canadiens as the sports announcer for the Habs games on TV and radio for Radio-Canada between 1967 and 1990 and, briefly, for TVA.
From Jean Béliveau to Patrick Roy, Garneau was a privileged witness to some of the greatest moments of the Canadiens and the team’s nine Stanley Cup victories.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper also extended his sympathies to the family, saying in French on Twitter that the sports world had lost one of the great ones.