Steve Armitage to miss Olympics due to chronic heart problems
Veteran announcer will be replaced by Elliotte Friedman
CBC Sports broadcaster Steve Armitage has stepped down from the network's Olympic broadcast team.
Armitage was scheduled to provide commentary for swimming and diving before being recently diagnosed with chronic heart failure. This condition refers to fluid buildup around the heart, impacting the organ's ability to pump blood.
The Rio Olympics would have been his 16th Games as a broadcaster.
Elliotte Friedman will replace Armitage, joining Byron MacDonald (swimming) and Blythe Hartley (diving). Friedman's sideline aquatics reporting responsibilities will be handled by Andrew Chang and David Amber.
"I am not going to Rio for the Games because I have no other choice," Armitage said in a press release. "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," he said.
Armitage has been honoured with three Gemini Awards, the Foster Hewitt Award and was inducted into the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame.
"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," Greg Stremlaw, CBC Sports' executive director and general manager and chef de mission for CBC/Radio-Canada's coverage of Rio, said in a press release.
"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."