American Mike Lewis, International Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer Colin Hill, and Australian elite open water swimmer Will Rollo are working the broadcast booth at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, calling the action at the 10 km Olympic 10K Marathon Swim qualification race, the 5 km open water swim, and the 4×1500 mixed relay this week in Doha, Qatar.
As the top photographer for USA Swimming and World Aquatics pool events, Lewis has dabbled as a race announcer domestically for national championship events for USA Swimming and US Masters Swimming, but his work in Doha is his first time to provide play-by-play at a pressure-packed international competition.
But anchored by long-time World Aquatics veteran Hill and backed by Rollo, the voice of the Marathon Swimming World Series, Lewis has great mentors on either .
The trio has been called the best broadcast team ever by the World Aquatics producers for their unique, spot-on, and first-hand insight into the swimmers, their tactics and strategies.
Rollo has competed among the highest echelon domestically at the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships and swam shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s elite on the World Aquatics Marathon Swimming World Series since 2019. Lewis says of his co-host, “Will has a passion for bringing strategy, skill, and excitement to screens around the world. Will follows the action throughout the monumental World Series season, shareing his insights into the mano-a-mano battles.
Together with Colin, Will can go behind the scenes of the elite open water swimming world, sharing incredible stories about these world-class athletes.“
Colin’s deep knowledge of the sport even predates his time when he organized the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim at the 2012 London Olympic Games and one of the world’s largest mass participation open water swims, The Great North Swim in Lake Windermere, England. “I am having a blast commentating at the World Championships. This is my third time providing TV commentary at the open water swimming events of the World Champs and great to be alongside Will Rollo and Mike Lewis. Incredible races.”
After the 4x1500m mixed relay event, Lewis will trade his mic on the shores of Doha Bay for his camera. He is the Chief Photographer for World Aquatics in the pool swimming stadium where the races will begin on Saturday, February 10th.
Tomorrow, the trio in the broadcast booth will call the women’s 5 km race where Sharon van Rouwendaal will compete and see if she can double up with another gold medal performance like her 10 km victory last Saturday. Later, they will call the men’s 5 km race where defending champion Florian Wellbrock will see if he bounces back from his uncharacteristic 29th place finish in the 10 km race this past Sunday.
© 2024 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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