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Published on 08/19/1996 All articles from this issue

Garry Hill sounds off at Olympics

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By Andy Nystrom

Town Crier Sports Editor

When United States sprinter Michael Johnson blazed to a world-record time of 19.32 in the 200-meter run at the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Los Altos resident Garry Hill was there to tell - and yell - the news.

"It's a Wooorld Recooord," Hill roared over the Olympic Stadium public-address system.

As one of the four stadium announcers (two English and two French) selected to cover the track and field events, Hill, 49, was in position to be the first person to inform the large crowd of the results.

And Johnson's 200 mark was a shocker. "It was so utterly mind-boggling," Hill said last week. "No one said anything for five minutes. Everyone just stared (at the clock), thinking there was some malfunction somewhere."

Carl Lewis also provided a big moment for Hill and the crowd by soaring to his fourth Olympic gold medal in the long jump with a mark of 27-feet-10 3/4. "There's an old maxim: no cheering in the press box," Hill said. "But I got emotional on that one. And the 80,000 fans went absolutely berserk."

To get the Olympics gig, Hill - a PA announcer for 20 years - caught the ear of the International American Athletic Federation (IAAF) in 1991 at the World Cup of Race Walking in San Jose. The IAAF liked his work, invited him to cover the 1992 World Cup of Track and Field in Cuba and then summoned him for the Olympics.

Like the athletes, Hill and the crew of announcers bonded as a team and prepared for the games by working the track and field Grand Prix Series and Olympic Trials in Atlanta. This time out, they were set on adding excitement to the events with music, videos on the scoreboard and more lively commentary than in previous Olympics.

"I think we did it well," he said, noting that it's not a simple feat. "People can sit in the stands and think, 'Boy, is that smooth,' but it's total chaos in the booth. There are 15 people screaming at each other into headsets, but as long as the mikes are turned off outside, then it's fine."

During the 10-day track and field stretch at the Olympics, Hill lost his voice and got an estimated four hours of sleep per night, he said. But he did witness what some track and field aficionados are calling the greatest event in history.

Hill landed in the track and field world as a "mediocre" triple-jumper at his high school in British Columbia. However, in his senior year, he was bedridden with mononucleosis for three months and started compiling statistics for the team.

Although he went on to compete at Washington State via a scholarship, Hill stayed deeply involved on the numbers side of the sport. And at age 22, he took a job as a statistician at Mountain View-based "Track and Field News." A few years later, Hill notched his first announcing job at an indoor track meet at the Cow Palace, and the rest is history.

Now editor of "Track and Field News" and an avid Metallica fan, Hill describes his announcing style as bombastic with a little rock 'n' roll thrown in. "I don't just read the news," he said. "I try and involve the crowd. They paid the money and want to have fun."