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For many Australians, Norman May is the voice of the Olympics.
He is also responsible for the most memorable stretch of sports commentary in Australian Olympic history, beginning in Tokyo in 1964. His call of the Australian 4x100 metres men's swim team's win in the final at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 earned Norman his "Gold, gold, gold" nickname.
Norman May’s career as a broadcaster has stretched over 30 years and covered 40 different sports. Norman first worked on radio with the ABC, as part of the Australian contribution to the Queen’s Christmas Broadcast in 1954. He then worked as a TV commentator on the telecast of the Metropolitan Surf Championships in 1957.
He was involved in a number of telecasts in surfing, swimming and rugby union, before joining the ABC staff as a specialist trainee on April 12, 1958. He has covered 11 Olympic and 11 Commonwealth Games on radio and television from Perth 1962 to Athens 2004.
He retired from full time work in 1984 after nearly 26 years of service and ha worked as a freelance on special assignments thereafter. Norman returned to cricket commentary work during the 1991/92 season with Radio 2UE (and its affiliated stations around Australia), staying there for three seasons.
Norman has also written, devised, narrated, and presented a number of special programs and series on both radio and television, including ‘Sports Classics’ in 1974, a series of 17 half hour TV programs on famous sporting personalities and great events of the past.
In 1983 Norman was awarded the OAM for services to the media, and in 2000, was awarded the Olympic Order for services to the Olympic Movement in Australia. In 2003, he was presented with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the annual media awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Sports Commission in Canberra.
Based in: Sydney