Veteran Sports Journalists Receive Olympic Recognition

GARNEAU, BLATCHFORD, WILLIAMS, MAKI, COLE, SIMMONS, DiMANNO & BRUNT Nominated by Sports Media Canada for Olympic Honour .

Report by John Iaboni, Sports Media Canada .

When AIPS (International Sports Press Association) president Gianni Merlo and secretary general Roslyn Morris issued a news missive to sports journalism associations around the world, Sports Media Canada quickly sprung into action.

The honour: 100 AIPS members will be recognized for long-term Olympic coverage.

The requirements: 10-or-more Olympics and presence at the 2012 London Olympics when AIPS and worldwide Gold Partner HONAV (Beijing) stage the special night on Thursday, August 2.

The treasured keepsake: A HONAV specially-produced limited edition replica of the London 2012 Olympic Torch.

We at Sports Media Canada are proud to have nominated eight of our sports journalists who meet the qualifications and will be in London ensuring Canadians continue to get exceptional coverage with the high standards they’ve shown throughout their careers.

They are: Richard Garneau (RDS), Christie Blatchford (National Post), Brian Williams (CTV-TSN), Allan Maki (The Globe and Mail), Steve Simmons (Sun Media), Cam Cole (The Vancouver Sun), Rosie DiManno (The Toronto Star) and Stephen Brunt (Rogers Sportsnet).

Garneau, who will be covering his 23rd Olympics, and Blatchford, who heads to her 15th Olympics, are both Sports Media Canada Career Achievement honourees. Williams, off to his 14th Olympics, is a two-time recipient of the George Gross Sports Media Canada Outstanding Broadcaster honour.

Cole is a two-time George Gross Sports Media Canada Outstanding Writer recipient while Maki and Brunt has each received that recognition once. London represents the 14th Olympics for Maki and Cole along with the 11th for Brunt.

Simmons participates in his 14th Olympics and DiManno her 11th.

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We recap the Olympic careers for our nominees:

Richard Garneau

RDS (Réseau des sports)

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 23

Olympic Games Covered: Rome (1960), Innsbruck (1964), Tokyo (1964), Grenoble (1968), Mexico City (1968), Sapporo (1972), Munich (1972), Innsbruck (1976), Montreal (1976), Lake Placid (1980), Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1984), Calgary (1988), Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Christie Blatchford

National Post

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 15

Olympic Games Covered: Innsbruck (1976), Montreal (1976), Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Brian Williams

CTV-TSN

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 14

Olympic Games Covered: Montreal (1976), Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1984), Calgary (1988), Seoul (1988), Albertville (1992), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Allan Maki

The Globe and Mail

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 14

Olympic Games Covered: Lake Placid (1980), Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Steve Simmons

Sun Media

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 14

Olympic Games Covered: Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1984), Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Cam Cole

The Vancouver Sun

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 14

Olympic Games Covered: Calgary (1988), Seoul (1988), Albertville (1992), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Rosie DiManno

The Toronto Star

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 11

Olympic Games Covered: Montreal (1976), Los Angeles (1984), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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Stephen Brunt

Rogers Sportsnet

Number of Olympic Games Covered (including London): 11

Olympic Games Covered: Calgary (1988), Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Atlanta (1996), Nagano (1998), Sydney (2000), Salt Lake City (2002), Athens (2004), Turin (2006), Vancouver (2010), London (2012)

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We congratulate these eight Canadian sports journalists and wish them well in London. Here is a link to a piece by AIPS president Gianni Merlo updating this exciting initiative and listing our Canadians prominently among sports journalists around the globe. Note that Richard Garneau is, indeed, at the head of the list.

http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=8254&tp=n