Award-Winning Hosts and Past Olympians Call Torino 2006

Posted by: RAD on Tuesday, January 17, 2006 - 03:07 PM

It’s the world’s most celebrated winter sporting event, and to provide Canadians with expert and informed coverage of TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, CBC has enlisted 37 award-winning hosts, Olympic medallists and Canadian icons to call all 15 disciplines of the Olympic Winter Games.

CBC’S TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES coverage gets underway Friday, Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. ET LIVE with the Opening Ceremony; host Brian Williams is joined by CBC News’ Peter Mansbridge at Olympic Stadium in Turin, Italy.

Beginning Feb. 11, Gemini Award-winner Terry Leibel will host the Olympic Morning broadcast, featuring live coverage of the events as they unfold in Turin, while Ron MacLean will host the Olympic Afternoon live telecast. MacLean is a four-time Gemini Award nominee and a two-time Gemini Award winner for his work covering Olympic Winter Games.

CBC’S TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES prime-time coverage, hosted by Brian Williams and airing nightly from 6 - 11 p.m. ET (delays West), will recreate the events as they unfolded that day. Williams has been honoured with six Gemini nominations and three Gemini Awards for his work as an Olympic broadcaster; Torino marks his seventh Olympic Winter Games.

During the prime-time telecasts, Williams will be joined by a number of leading Canadian sports personalities for expert analysis. Canadian hockey fans can regularly expect to see the one and only Don Cherry, who will provide analysis of the Canadian men’s games, and 2002 hockey gold medallist Geraldine Heaney, who will break down Canada’s women’s hockey performances throughout the Games.

Figure skating legend Kurt Browning and former Canadian Champion Jennifer Robinson will also provide their insights, while four-time Olympian Brian Stemmle will provide expert analysis of all the downhill ski races. CBC will continue to add top-tier Canadian analysts to the prime-time show; a complete list will be made available closer to the Games

CBC’s standard of excellence in hockey broadcasting will continue seamlessly into the Olympic Winter Games with veteran commentator Bob Cole and first-time Olympic commentator Jim Hughson calling all the games alongside analysts Harry Neale and Greg Millen. Analyst Kelly Hrudey and reporter Elliotte Friedman will be rink side to provide interviews and updates. Commentator Bruce Rainnie and analyst Kylie Richardson will call the games on the women’s side, as Canada’s women’s team attempts to capture back-to-back gold medals.

CBC’s voice of curling and Canadian Curling Hall of Famer Don Wittman will host the curling coverage for TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES. A Curling authority and veteran broadcaster, Wittman has been part of CBC’s Olympic broadcasts since 1964. He was nominated for a Gemini Award as Canada’s Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer for his work at the 2004 Brier. Mike Harris, an Olympic silver medallist from the Nagano Games, and Joan McCusker, an Olympic gold medallist from the Nagano Games and Canadian Sports Hall of Famer, will join Wittman as analysts.

Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Canada’s favourite figure skating pair for more than 21 years, will again team up to bring the best of Olympic figure skating to CBC viewers. CBC commentator Mark Lee will join the World Champion duo. An accomplished journalist, Lee has reported on a multitude of Canadian sports, and is a Gemini Award nominee.

From the speed skating oval, record-setter, Salt Lake City gold medallist in 500m long track speed skating, and Canada’s first individual to defend a gold medal at any Olympic Games, Catriona Le May Doan will work alongside commentator Steve Armitage to call all the action from the long and short tracks. Steve Armitage was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1998 for his work covering speed skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano and more recently won a Gemini Award for his work during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens. Together, they will guide viewers through the races with analysis of each speed skating podium contender.

Canadian skiing fans are in for a treat as analyst Kerrin Lee-Gartner, Canada’s first-ever Olympic downhill gold medallist, pairs up with commentator Scott Oake for coverage from the hill. Turin will be Oake’s fourth Olympic Winter Games; his professionalism and excellence in broadcasting won him the Best Host or Interviewer in a Sports Program Gemini Award in 2003. The pair has been covering Olympic skiing together since 1998, and are experts in downhill, Super-G, giant slalom, slalom and combined events.

For more extreme action on the piste, commentator Brenda Irving and former Olympians Veronica Brenner and Tara Teigan will provide complete coverage of freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Irving is a three-time Gemini Award nominee with more than 20 years of broadcasting experience. Brenner, the 2002 Salt Lake City aerial silver medallist, will take the skis off to provide complete analysis of freestyle skiing. Teigan, a 1998 Olympian, will cover all the action from the half-pipe, parallel giant slalom and snowboard cross races.

For viewers with a need for speed, CBC has put together a three-man bobsleigh, luge and skeleton team to help Canadians navigate the course. Commentator Mark Connolly is an 18-year CBC sports veteran who brings extensive knowledge of all three events. Torino will be his third Olympic Winter Games. Three-time Olympian and 1998 Olympic gold medallist Dave MacEachern will call his second Olympic Winter Games, giving viewers a look into all the twists and turns of bobsleigh and skeleton. MacEachern’s luge counterpart, former Olympian Chris Wightman, will give his insights as sliders race down the track in pursuit of gold.

Scott Russell, host of CBC SPORTS SATURDAY, Canada’s premiere amateur sports program, will provide all commentary for cross-country skiing, biathlon and nordic combined events. A 20-year CBC sports veteran and 2005 Gemini Award winner for his role on CBC SPORTS SATURDAY, Russell brings extensive sports broadcasting experience, having covered cross-country skiing and biathlon for three Olympic Winter Games. Russell will be joined by CBC analyst and cross-country Olympic coach Jack Sasseville, who has been involved with cross-country ski coaching for 30 years. Former Nordic Combined Ski Canada Head Coach John Heilig will provide analysis for nordic combined and Olympic ski jumping.

Roaming reporters Karin Larsen (Turin venues), Bruce Rainnie (Turin venues) and Mark Kelley (Mountain venues) will round out the Olympic experience with on-location reports and interviews.

In the near future, log on to www.cbc.ca/olympics for a complete list of biographies for CBC TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES’ Commentators and Analysts.

For comprehensive event coverage of TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES, including medal counts, team standings, sport backgrounders, athlete diaries and broadcast schedules, please visit www.cbc.ca/Olympics

TORINO 2006 - THE OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES ON CBC
COMMENTATORS & ANALYSTS

Hosts
Terry Leibel - Olympic Morning
Ron MacLean - Olympic Afternoon/Closing Ceremony
Brian Williams - Olympic Prime Time/Opening Ceremony
Peter Mansbridge - Co-host Opening Ceremony

Prime Time Analysts
Don Cherry - Hockey
Geraldine Heaney - Women’s Hockey
Kurt Browning - Figure Skating
Jennifer Robinson - Figure Skating
Brian Stemmle - Downhill Skiing

Hockey
Bob Cole - Commentator
Jim Hughson - Commentator
Greg Millen - Analyst
Harry Neale - Analyst
Kelly Hrudey - Analyst
Elliotte Friedman - Reporter
Bruce Rainnie - Commentator, Women’s Hockey
Kylie Richardson - Analyst, Women’s Hockey

Curling
Don Wittman - Commentator
Mike Harris - Analyst
Joan McCusker - Analyst

Figure Skating
Mark Lee - Commentator
Barbara Underhill - Analyst
Paul Martini - Analyst

Speed Skating & Short Track
Steve Armitage - Commentator
Catriona Le May Doan - Analyst

Alpine Skiing
Scott Oake - Commentator
Kerrin Lee-Gartner - Analyst

Freestyle Skiing & Snowboarding
Brenda Irving - Commentator, Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding
Veronica Brenner - Analyst, Freestyle Skiing
Tara Teigan - Analyst, Snowboarding

Luge, Bobsleigh & Skeleton
Mark Connolly - Commentator
Chris Wightman - Analyst, Luge
Dave MacEachern - Analyst, Bobsleigh & Skeleton

Cross-Country Skiing, Biathlon, Nordic Combined & Ski Jumping
Scott Russell - Commentator
Jack Sasseville - Analyst
John Heilig - Analyst, Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping

Roaming Reporters
Mark Kelley - Reporter, Mountain Venues
Karin Larsen - Reporter, Turin Venues
Bruce Rainnie - Reporter, Turin Venues