Canadian Olympics Announcer Mixes Up Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte: ‘Oops, I Blew It!’
The most important job of a sportscaster is knowing who won the competition.
Unfortunately, Canadian announcer Elliotte Friedman failed on that front when he mixed up Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte during CBC’s live broadcast of the men’s 200 meter individual medley swimming race at the Rio Olympics on Thursday.
“Finally, he’s going to do it! Ryan Lochte is going to beat Michael Phelps in this event in the Games!” Friedman proclaimed, according to the Toronto Star.
Also Read: Ratings: Simone Biles, Michael Phelps Can't Reach NBC's Rio Record
Hmmm, no — actually, Phelps smoked the competition and pulled away from the rest of the field to touch the wall almost two seconds ahead of his next-closest rival, Japan’s Kosuke Hagino, to win his fourth gold medal at the Rio Games and the 22nd gold of his career.
As for Lochte, the grey/green-haired U.S. swimmer came in a disappointing fifth.
“I’m sorry everyone. I blew it. No excuses,” Friedman tweeted after the gaffe.
Also Read: Michael Phelps Goes Viral: 11 Funniest #PhelpsFace Reactions
While he got a great deal of support for the honest mistake and subsequent humble apology, the respected sports journalist also got a solid dose of good-natured ribbing on social media.
See the tweets below.
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