Bruce William McAvaney (born 22 June 1953) is an Australian sports broadcaster with the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

. McAvaney has presented high-profile events including the

AFL Grand Final The AFL Grand Final is an Australian rules football match to determine the premiers for the Australian Football League (AFL) season. Prior to 1990 it was known as the VFL Grand Final, as the league was then known as the Victorian Football Leag ...

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is an annual Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia, at the Flemington Racecourse. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and older, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club that forms part of the ...

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

and both

Winter Winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year in temperate and polar climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Dif ...

and

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, as well as annual special events such as the

Brownlow Medal The Charles Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal (and informally as Charlie), is awarded to the best and fairest player in the Australian Football League (AFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the f ...

. McAvaney is well known for his commentary of AFL matches as well as covering every

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

from the Los Angeles 1984 Summer Olympic Games to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Early years

The son of an

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

accountant, McAvaney developed an early interest in sport and race calling. After attending Woodville High School (and failing Year 12) he spent five years as a Telecom clerk. Then in 1976 during a day off from work, McAvaney travelled to Kilmore, Victoria, to bet on some races. There, he met Kevin Hillier, an Adelaide race caller, who suggested McAvaney help him out back in Adelaide. This launched his career in the sports media, joining Adelaide radio station

5DN Cruise 1323 (call sign: 5DN) is one of Adelaide's longest running radio stations. In its 80+ years it has changed considerably. It was the first commercial station to begin broadcasting in South Australia. History Radio 5DN began operating ...

, calling horse races and later hosting a sports show.

Television career

McAvaney moved to television in 1978, when he joined Adelaide station ADS-7 to read sport news and produce the weekly ''Racetrack'' program. His career received a boost when colleague Sandy Roberts covered the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

for Seven, and McAvaney was chosen to host the Adelaide end of the telecast for the station. From 1981 until 1983, McAvaney was the chief sports presenter for

Seven News Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

in Adelaide. He was also the lead commentator for Seven's telecasts of the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

competition, calling the 1983 SANFL Grand Final with former player Robert Oatey. He also hosted the league's

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...

telecasts. In late 1983, he moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and joined Ten Melbourne to read sport news. The following year he was the secondary host and commentated track and field events at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

for the

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

. Between 1985 and 1988, McAvaney also called the

and hosted various major sporting telecasts for Ten, including the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games, the 1987

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the 1988 IAAF Grand Prix in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. McAvaney went on to co-host Ten's telecast of the

1988 Seoul Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were repres ...

, a role which won him significant acclaim. In 1989, McAvaney negotiated a two-year premature end to his contract with Ten, and returned to the Seven Network on the condition that he could cover the 1992 Olympics. Since his return to Seven, McAvaney has hosted and called a broad range of the network's sports coverage, including the

, World Athletics Championships,

Motor Racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

, the

Tennis,

Australian Masters The Australian Masters was an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour of Australasia held in Victoria, Australia from 1979 to 2015. History The tournament is the brainchild of schoolteacher David Inglis. The Australian Masters was intended to ...

Golf and all

from Barcelona 1992 to the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. His extensive history covering Olympic Games has led to the nickname "Mr Olympics". In an interview with the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a Conservatism, conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the American Rupert Murdoch, Murd ...

'', McAvaney announced informally that he would no longer commentate Men's games at the

so that he could optimise his health over summer and for other sport events. McAvaney had been calling the Australian Open since 1990 and been chief caller alongside

Jim Courier James Spencer Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 58 ...

since 2005. 2017 was only the second time he had missed the tournament, attributing that later to his cancer diagnosis. McAvaney was the MC of the

for over two decades (though at different time periods), between 1990 and 2018. Since 2018, McAvaney has hosted Seven's coverage of Test cricket, interviewing some of cricket’s most interesting figures in the lunch breaks of the Melbourne and Sydney Tests. In February 2021, McAvaney announced that he was retiring from calling AFL games because of a desire to reduce his workload. In July 2024 the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

announced McAvaney would be joining its Paris Olympics commentary team on ABC Radio stations.

Self-reflective highlights

When asked between 2018 and 2024 to ponder the greatest and most memorable calls of his career, according to his own estimation, McAvaney has specifically cited—in addition to his various callings of AFL grand finals, specifically highlighting the

2016 AFL Grand Final The 2016 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between and the at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2016. It was the 121st annual AFL Grand Final, Grand Final of the Australian Football League (formerly the V ...

as his favourite Australian rules football call, his last co-commentary duty with

Dennis Cometti Dennis John Cometti (born 26 March 1949) is an Australian retired sports commentator, player and coach of Australian rules football. In a career spanning 51 years, his smooth voice, dry humour and quick wit became his trademark. Until his retir ...

—his calling of Cathy Freeman's gold medal in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

at the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, Winx's third

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racin ...

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

's multiple performances at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and lo ...

's win at the 1991 World Championships and 1992 Olympics, and Makybe Diva's history-making third-consecutive

victory. Ultimately, McAvaney said on multiple occasions over this period that Freeman's 2000 victory was "probably the most important of my life as a caller ... and to be a tiny part of that is an incredible privilege".

Awards

McAvaney was awarded a

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

(OAM) in June 2002 for service to sports broadcasting, and to the community through charitable and sporting organisations. He was also inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Don Bradman, Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and ...

in that year. In 2022, he was inducted into the TV Week Logie Hall of Fame, becoming the second sports broadcaster to be inducted. In June 2023, McAvaney was inducted into the

Australian Football Hall of Fame The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the 1996 AFL season, centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media pe ...

. He is the eleventh media personality to be inducted into the code’s Hall of Fame.

Personal life

McAvaney's first marriage, to Merry, lasted from 1983 to 1991. He met his second wife Anne Johnson, a television journalist and producer, in 1993 while making the show ''Seasons''. With her, he has two children, Sam (born 1994) and Alexandra (born 1997). He moved his family from Melbourne back to his hometown of Adelaide in 1999. In March 2017, McAvaney revealed he had been diagnosed with

chronic lymphocytic leukaemia Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. In CLL, the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. In patients with CLL, B cell lymphocytes can begin to ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McAvaney, Bruce 1953 births Australian racecallers Australian rules football commentators Australian television presenters Australian tennis commentators Australian golf commentators Journalists from South Australia Living people Logie Award winners Olympic Games broadcasters Mass media people from Adelaide Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Australian sports commentators Swimming commentators Track and field broadcasters Australian Football Hall of Fame inductees