After more than 40 years as a sports broadcaster, Bruce McAvaney's voice is synonymous with some of Australia's most iconic sporting moments.
McAvaney transforms sport into unforgettable events, captivating audiences with his impassioned and eloquent commentary and his encyclopaedic knowledge.
Following this week's unveiling of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics plan , we took a dive into the archives to relive, in the words of McAvaney, one of Australia’s most memorable sporting occasions.
Talking with Sarah Kanowski on ABC Conversations McAvaney poignantly depicted Cathy Freeman's memorable 400-meter race during the Sydney Olympics and elaborated on why this significant evening turned into "the peak" of his career as a broadcaster.
The track and field events kicked off on a Friday morning with approximately 90,000 spectators filling the seats at Sydney Olympic Stadium, which left me thinking, “Incredible!” Then came Monday evening—the night for Cathy—marking the fourth day of athletics competition and the time slot for her final race.
Every morning, I would complete three to four radio interviews with Channel Seven to promote upcoming events, but that particular Monday, I sensed something was off as I found myself struggling to string even two words together during these sessions.
It was quite strange.
I wasn't convinced she would definitely emerge victorious since nothing is guaranteed. On the evening in question, her odds of winning likely stood at around 60 percent.
My spouse Annie and I have known Cathy very well for a long time, and I must say I feel quite connected to her in a manner that isn’t common for me.
Cathy's event took place deep into the night, likely around the time of the fifth race.
Everything was going smoothly until the women came out in their track suits for the finale; that’s when my mouth became super dry.
I had to say to myself, "Look, you know what you're doing. Just relax. Go slowly".
Realising Cathy was bound for gold
The gun went.
And off they went.
I guess at that point, as a commentator, you don't think about anything — I'd thought about it for four years, to be truthful.
And then it just happens.
You just go with the flow and hope that what you say makes a bit of sense.
Off the back straight, with about 120m to go, I knew Cathy was going to do it and get gold.
Because I knew in Atlanta, four years earlier, she'd made a big move then.
She didn't win there, but she ran her fastest time ever and went second to Marie-José Pérec.
I knew that Cathy would be very strong and powerful at the end.
So when she was able to get up alongside Lorraine Graham and Katharine Merry I felt that she could win from the top of the straight.
So that last 100m was a celebration, in a way.
On seeing Cathy's visible relief
When you really consider it, her entire career boiled down to under a minute.
Cathy was a two-time world champion, claiming victory in both 1997 and 1999.
Over the span of four years between her two Olympic appearances, she had only lost once during an injury in 1998. Thus, she remained virtually undefeated.
Moreover, hadn’t she triumphed in Sydney, amid all the anticipation and with this being her greatest opportunity to claim victory at the Olympics, her entire legacy would have been altered.
In essence, her career lasted merely 49.1 seconds.
She carried the nation on her back that night because, for all of us, we were riding that same journey.
That amazing instance occurred when she dropped down onto the ground and took a seat; beside me, Raelene Boyle commented, “What a relief,” and everyone around us shared that sentiment.
The effect on Indigenous reconciliation
It was an incredible moment, an incredible night, and, in many ways, it's just as vivid and maybe even more important in 2024 than it was in 2000 in terms of Indigenous reconciliation.
From Cathy lighting the cauldron and flying the flag — the two flags — Cathy became an inspiration to generations of Australians.
And then, of course, her celebratory lap.
I've spoken to so many Australian athletes in so many different sports.
When I was able to interview the young women in the lead-up to the Women's World Cup, more than half of them said that Cathy Freeman had inspired them in 2000 to be something above the norm.
So, all those things resonate just as strongly today as they did 24 years ago.
A career-defining night
Having different opportunities to meet so many different people and to enjoy so many different sports has been one of the great gifts that I've been given.
For most of my life, I've been dealing with athletes, and Cathy's race is certainly the highlight of my broadcasting career.
It was just a night that I'll never forget for lots of reasons, mainly because of Cathy, but it was an amazing night in so many ways.
Cathy had won, and then Michael Johnson won, and then the 10,000m was on.
My interview with Cathy took place with about five or six laps to go in the 10,000m, which turned out to be one of the greatest races of all time.
I remember after Cathy's race, I threw the headphones off, went and talked to her, then threw them back on and finished calling that race.
I've never had a buzz like I did that night.
It was an incredible night of athletics, with nine finals — a lot of them won by iconic people.
Going out of the stadium at the end of that night and talking to contemporaries from other countries, everyone said it was the best night of Olympics track and field they'd ever seen at that stage.
And a lot of that was because a national hero had won a gold medal.
The pressures of commentating
During the Paris Olympics, there were 75 [Australian] track and field athletes, and every one of them had a really interesting journey — ups and downs, sacrifices, and dreams.
And when you get to know those stories, they become far more personal for you. You're more invested, and it's richer.
So it's a big part, I think, of the responsibility of the job that I'm doing.
With athletics, I do follow it reasonably closely.
I write down most elite athletes' results every time they do something — I've got a lot of books and a lot of cards that I use.
I guess it relieves some of the pressure for me. One thing I think I fear more than anything is failing in a broadcasting sense.
I'm always anxious before. I'm probably at my least anxious when the headphones are on.
When you think about the Olympic Games, and calling track and field, you're calling races that take 10 seconds (the 100 metres) and calling a race that takes two hours and 10 minutes (the marathon).
In between, there are hurdle races, steeplechases and various sprints.
It really does give you the ultimate test - you've got to be able to call quickly and accurately, but at the same time, tell a story.
You need to weave a narrative through a marathon because you're not "calling" it; you're "talking" it.
You're bringing in stories and bits and pieces about the athletes that will make the listener or the viewer interested in that person.
But the 100m final? You're just hanging on by the seat of your pants, and hoping like crazy you get it right.
Listen to Bruce McAvaney's full interview on the Conversations podcast on the ABC listen app.
