.jpg)
Heart condition will prevent Armitage from travelling to Rio as a member of CBC's broadcast team
Veteran CBC Sports broadcaster Steve Armitage will not travel to Brazil as a member of CBC's broadcast team for coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games due to a recent diagnosis of chronic heart failure. A staple of CBC's Olympic Games broadcasts for decades and a familiar voice to sports fans across Canada, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were to be Armitage's 16th as a broadcaster.
Armitage was scheduled to provide live play-by-play commentary for CBC's coverage of Swimming and Diving events from Rio, alongside Byron MacDonald and Blythe Hartley. Veteran broadcaster Elliotte Friedman will assume this role in Armitage's absence. Friedman was due to act as aquatics reporter, a role that will now be shared by Andrew Chang and David Amber.
Armitage had the following to say:
"I am not going to Rio for the Games because I have no other choice. If I thought I could 'wing it' or fake it, I would be there. To use a bad pun, I'd be there in a heartbeat, but the doctors suggest strongly that I would be putting myself at risk, so I will, like millions of other Canadians, watch the Games on CBC. "I will miss Byron and all my friends and colleagues who make up the best TV sports production unit in the world. CBC has raised the bar in its coverage and I'm sure it will go even higher in Rio."
Greg Stremlaw, CBC Sports executive director and general manager and chef de mission for CBC/Radio-Canada's coverage of Rio 2016, says:
"On behalf of everyone at CBC Sports, we wish Steve all the best. His thrilling calls are synonymous with our coverage of the Olympic Games and, more importantly, he is a beloved member of the CBC Sports family. While we are disappointed that he will not be part of our broadcast team in Rio, Steve's health comes first and we are in full support of his decision to remain at home. Steve's are big shoes to fill, but we have the utmost confidence in Elliotte's ability to step in to provide our audiences with the world-class coverage for which he and our Olympic Games broadcasts are known."
-30-
About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. We are Canada's trusted source of news, information and Canadian entertainment. Deeply rooted in communities all across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada offers diverse content in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages. We also provide international news and information from a uniquely Canadian perspective.
For more information including press releases, hi-res images, video clips and bios, please visit the CBC Media Centre at cbc.ca/mediacentre.
For further information, please contact:
Simon Bassett, publicist, CBC
416-205-8533 (office) 416-988-1590 (mobile)
