Scott Russell wins best sports host at Canadian Screen Awards
2nd consecutive year a CBC Sports host has been recognized
CBC Sports was well represented at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards, an annual gala honouring the best in Canadian film, television and digital media.
Leading the way was Scott Russell who was named best sports host in a sports program or series as the prime time host during Rio 2016.
It's the second consecutive year that a CBC Sports host has been recognized in this category, with Andi Petrillo having won last year.
"I'm just blessed to work for the Olympic broadcaster," said Russell. "I've always loved the Olympics and have the chance to reflect the stories of those great athletes to all Canadians. To be rewarded like this is icing on the cake. It's an absolute honour to work at CBC Sports."
The longtime veteran at CBC believes that Rio 2016 was a landmark Olympics for Canada, noting the accomplishments of various Olympians, including swimmer Penny Oleksiak, sprinter Andre De Grasse, and high jumper Derek Drouin.
Oleksiak is also a big fan of Russell.
"Canadians really see that these people are national treasures and to be able to be a part of that, to reflect that at these Olympic games is really a magic kind of thing," said Russell.
While humbled to receive the honour, Russell recognizes that it's a testament to all the hard-working people behind the scenes who help produce a world-class level of coverage.
"There's no question that I'm just one part of an incredible team...a tradition of excellence which is across the board at CBC Sports," said Russell.
The awards continued with CBC Olympics, which took home the honours for Best Live Sports Event for their Rio 2016 coverage.
CBC Sports had seven nominations including:
- Best Sports Analyst in a Sports Program or Series: Mark Tewksbury (CBC – Rio 2016)
- Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer: Mark Lee (CBC – Rio 2016)
- Best Direction in a Live Sporting Event: Ron Forsythe (CBC – Calgary Stampede & Sherali Najak (CBC – Rio 2016)
- Best Live Sports Event – CBC Sports: Rio 2016 (TP, CI, PM, MD, DP, KS)
- Best Sports Opening / Tease: CBC: Rio 2016 (Chris Irwin, Tim Thompson, Jeff Shelegy)