Paris Olympics 2024: Commentator sacked for sexist comment after Australia’s historic relay win
An Olympic commentator has been stood down for an inappropriate comment about Australian swimmers in the wake of their historic women’s 4×100 metre freestyle relay win.
Aussies Mollie O’Callaghan, Shayna Jack, Emma McKeon and Meg Harris were one of the headline acts on day one at the Paris Games, surging to victory to continue the nation’s stranglehold on the event.
But in the aftermath their gold medal, Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard made a remark which quickly went viral across social media.
Camera IconOlympic commentator Bob Ballard has been stood down by Eurosport. Credit: Supplied/@bobballardsport/X
“Well the women are just finishing up. You know what women are like… hanging around, doing their make-up,” he said.
Ballard’s co-commentator Lizzie Simmonds immediately decried the comment as “outrageous”.
He was not on the pool deck for day two of the swimming and Eurosport confirmed in a statement to The Independent he would not be back in the booth for the remainder of the Games.
“During a segment of Eurosport’s coverage last night, commentator Bob Ballard made an inappropriate comment,” it reads.
“To that end, he has been removed from our commentary roster with immediate effect.”
Australia won the event for the fourth consecutive Olympics in a time of 3min28.92sec, which saw Emma McKeon become the country’s most decorated Olympian with her sixth gold medal.
The Paris Olympics have been hailed as ‘The Equal Games’, being the first to achieve full gender parity.
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