australian swimming 93rd annual report 2001/2002

38 media
amanda pascoe
2001 Female Discovery of the Year
Twenty-years ago swimming was a sport
covered in the media by a dedicated few once
or twice a year, a sport always playing second
fiddle to football and cricket in the Australian
media, rarely seen on television between
Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
The 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane
saw the emergence of a new breed of
swimmer and the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
saw a continuation of that breed and renewed
media interest.
The introduction of new personalities like Jon
Sieben, Justin Lemberg, Neil Brooks and ‘The
Mean Machine’, Tracey Wickham, Lisa Forrest and
Lisa Curry started to give swimming a new image.
Over the next two decades the two Lisas were
joined by Duncan Armstrong, Nicole Stevenson,
Johanna Griggs, Linley Frame, Hayley Lewis,
Kieren Perkins, Susie O’Neill and even
esteemed former head coach Don Talbot who
swam and coached their way into the headlines
before embarking on post-swimming careers
in the media.
Lisa Forrest is now a host on ABC radio and on
the Qantas in-flight program A Current of Air;
Duncan Armstrong is now the host of Fox Sports
Central and a co-host of the Channel Nine
Swimming coverage with Nicole Stevenson,
the face of the Nine coverage; Johanna Griggs
is the host of the Sportsworld and a
Commonwealth Games and Olympic host; while
Linley Frame and Hayley Lewis have both been
part of the Channel Seven swimming coverage
at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
Kieren has had stints on both Channel Nine
and Channel Seven, as an A Current A≈air
reporter at last year’s World Championships
and a host for Channel Seven for this year’s
Commonwealth Games.
Olympic gold medallist Chris Fydler appeared
on The Today Show during the Pan Pacs in
Yokohama, while Daniel Kowalski has also
emerged as a real media talent in his recent
appearances on Channel Nine.
Even former head coach Don Talbot got in on
the act with his role as Bruce McAvaney’s cocommentator
in Manchester and received rave
reviews for his expertise while former Olympic
coach Laurie Lawrence made his debut as a
Channel Seven reporter for Today Tonight.
Susie O’Neill, an unlikely commentator before
the Commonwealth Games, returned home as
one of the success stories of the Games after
joining Gerry Collins and the doyen of all
swimming commentators Norman May in the
ABC broadcast box.
Susie, in Manchester to watch the swimming
for a few days, delayed her flight home to stay
and be part of the ABC team and Gerry Collins,
probably one of Australia’s foremost swimming
commentators has given ‘Madam Butterfly’
the golden medal for her debut performance.
Channel Nine’s swimming coverage has put the
sport on a new level and swimming rates just
as high, if not higher than football and cricket.