Meet David Culbert OLY, Olympian, Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist, now broadcaster and the Alumni Engagement Manager at the Australian Olympic Committee.
Dave made the Olympic long jump final in Barcelona, finished sixth in the greatest long jump competition ever held (the 1991 Tokyo World Championships, where Mike Powell broke the world record), and jumped eight metres in every major championship final he contested across two Olympics, three Commonwealth Games and a World Championships.
He then went on to build a second career from scratch. Stadium announcing led to a field-events gig at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which led to Channel Seven and the Sydney Olympics, which led to four Winter Games and calling Jess Fox's canoe gold in Paris beside her father, Richard Fox.
Around this, he also ran sports media and marketing business Jump Media with his wife for 21 years, before joining the AOC to help Olympians navigate life after sport as the now Alumni Engagement Manager.
Inside this episode, David shares how he turned an athletic career into three decades in the commentary box, why breaking into sport means starting at your local club and taking it step by step like an athlete, and the pinch-me moment of calling Jess and Noemie Fox's Olympic gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
We cover:
(03:58) - Interview starts
(05:12) - Quick Fire Questions
(12:41) - David's athletic career representing Australia
(16:10) - How David's media career began
(18:18) - How David became a commentator for the Olympics
(28:38) - Commentating the Olympics with Richard Fox
(33:09) - What the research process for commentating an event looks like
(37:17) - What David has learnt from working with other broadcasters
(40:49) - What you need to work on to improve your commentary
(42:22) - Impact of having a media portfolio
(46:05) - What is an event David wants to work at before he calls time on his broadcasting career?
(47:31) - David's role at the Australian Olympic Committee
(53:27) - David's advice for landing a role in sports media
If you liked this ep, give these a go next:
#124: Hamish McLachlan - How to commentate the AFL Grand Final
#210: Brian Taylor - How to be a commentator in the AFL
#356: Career journey of FIFA World Cup Commentator David Basheer
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Thanks for listening, much love!
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