Elfi Schlegel (born 17 May 1964) is a sportscaster for

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

and a former college and national champion

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

from Canada. She is generally regarded as a top 50 Canadian gymnast of all time, and maybe even the 3rd best of the late 1970s behind

Monica Goermann Monica Goermann (born September 1, 1964) is a Canadian former Gymnastics, gymnast. She is also the owner, artistic director, and choreographer of Monica's Danz Gym. She was named to the Gymnastics at the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1980 Canadian Olympic ...

and the late

Sherry Hawco Sherry Hawco (February 17, 1964 – October 26, 1991) was a Canadian gymnast. Hawco competed at the 1978 Commonwealth Games where she won a gold medal in the women's team event and a silver medal in the women's all-around event. She also won two ...

Early years

Schlegel was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, to parents Peter and Vlasta Schlegel, immigrants from

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

.Gymn.ca, Athletes, Retired Women
Elfi Schelegel
Retrieved 1 August 2011. Growing up in the Toronto suburb of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

, she started gymnastics at the age of 7. She attended

Silverthorn Collegiate Institute Silverthorn Collegiate Institute (SCI, Silverthorn) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the neighbourhood of Markland Wood in the former suburb of Etobicoke. It is under the sanction of the Toronto District Scho ...

in Toronto, and graduated with her diploma after her grade twelve year—a year early in the (then) thirteen-year Ontario education system.Julian Pleasants,
Elfi Schlegel
" University of Florida Oral History Project, George A. Smathers Libraries, Gainesville, Florida (September 26, 1996). Retrieved 1 August 2011.

International career

Schlegel established herself as one of the best gymnasts in Canadian history (at that point) when she won a gold medal in the all-around and team competitions in gymnastics at the 1978

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta. At the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

, she won a bronze medal as the third-best gymnast in the games, two silver medals for the uneven bars and vault, and a gold medal as a member of the first-place Canadian team. She also won a bronze medal in the vault at the 1980

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in Toronto, the first-ever World Cup medal for a Canadian. She was selected as a member of the Canadian national team for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

Moscow, Russia Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

, but was unable to participate when Canada joined the United States–led boycott of the Moscow Games in protest of the invasion of Afghanistan by the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. She attempted to make the Canadian Olympic teams in 1984 and 1988, but replaced by younger and more talented gymnasts with the increasing depth of Canadian gymnastics was unable to make it either time.

College career

After graduation from high school, Schlegel wanted to continue to compete, but Canadian universities did not offer intercollegiate gymnastics competition or athletic scholarships. She sought and received an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where she was a member of coach Ernestine Weaver's

Florida Gators women's gymnastics The Florida Gators women's gymnastics team represents the University of Florida in the sport of gymnastics. The team competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gator ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) competition from 1982 to 1986.
Florida Gymnastics 2011 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 52, 55, 62–63, 67–71, 73 (2011). Retrieved 1 August 2011. As a Gator gymnast, she was a four-time individual

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) champion–all-around (1983), twice in the balance beam (1983, 1986), and vault (1984). The Gators qualified for the NCAA national championship tournament all four of Schlegel's years on the team, and finished third at the 1983 NCAA tournament. She received six All-American honours. Schlegel graduated from Florida with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in telecommunications production in 1986, and was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 1997.

Broadcasting career

She began her broadcasting career as a part-time

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

commentator for CTV, moved to CBC for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

Seoul, Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, and has been with

as an Olympic broadcaster since 1992. The

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

was her tenth Olympics as a broadcaster. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, she served as analyst for both

artistic Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wh ...

and

rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, flexible, agile, dexterous and coord ...

and

trampoline A trampoline is a device consisting of a piece of taut, strong fabric stretched between a steel frame using many coiled spring (device), springs. Not all trampolines have springs, as the Springfree Trampoline uses glass-reinforced plastic rods. ...

reporter in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. She has served as a reporter for

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

events in the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

. She has also covered

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

and major Horse Racing events, including the

Breeders Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...

, for NBC Sports from 1993 to 1999. Elfi was a NBC's gymnastics commentator along with

Tim Daggett Timothy P. Daggett (born May 22, 1962) is a former American gymnast and an Olympic gold medalist. He is a graduate of West Springfield High School and UCLA, who competed in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, along with Bart Conner, Peter Vidmar an ...

and

Al Trautwig Alan Trautwig (born February 26, 1956) is a sports commentator who worked with MSG (TV network), MSG Network, American Broadcasting Company, ABC, NBC, NBC Sports Network, and USA Network. He most recently did Pre-game show, pre-game and post-game ...

from 1992 to 2012. NBC made the decision to replace Elfi after the 2012 Olympics with 2008 Olympic All Around Gold Medalist,

Nastia Liukin Anastasia "Nastia" Liukin (; russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина ; born October 30, 1989) is a Russian-born American former artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic All-Around champion, a five-time Olympic medalist, ...

. This decision was based on the fresh popularity of Liukin and the fact NBC was feeling pressure to have an All-American commentary panel. Elfi now sometimes covers gymnastics commentary for Canadian television with Kyle Shewfelt. She also frequently covered gymnastics for

CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...

from 1989-1994.

Personal

Schlegel is married to Marc Dunn, a former Olympian who represented Canada in beach volleyball at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Marc Dunn
. Retrieved 1 August 2011. They have three children and live in Toronto.

References

Bibliography

* Caraccioli, Jerry, & Tom Caraccioli, ''Boycott: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games'', New Chapter Press, Washington, D.C. (2009). . * Schlegel, Elfi, & Claire Ross Dunn, ''The Gymnastics Book: The Young Performer's Guide to Gymnastics'', Firefly Books Ltd., Richmond Hill, Ontario (2001). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlegel, Elfi 1964 births Living people Canadian people of Swiss descent American horse racing announcers American sports announcers American television reporters and correspondents American women television journalists Canadian female artistic gymnasts Canadian horse racing announcers Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Curling broadcasters Florida Gators women's gymnasts Gymnastics broadcasters Gymnasts at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Gymnasts at the 1979 Pan American Games Gymnasts from Toronto Olympic Games broadcasters Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in gymnastics Women sports announcers Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications alumni