The world has woken up to a shattering piece of news. And it’s particularly difficult for the gymnastics community to process. One of the sport’s long-heard and legendary voices has now moved to the silent realm. This brings the man’s 30-year-long legacy to an end. But the impact that he leaves behind will always continue to live on in the minds of the fans. Here’s more on the icon!

As per Deadline, Al Trautwig, who was a legendary sports broadcaster for the NHL and gymnastics events at the Olympic Games, passed away at 68. Trautwig had cancer and succumbed to its complications at this Long Island home this Sunday. Unfortunately, this leaves a deep void in the hearts of gymnastics fans. Having covered 16 Olympics (11 with NBC), Trautwig was the core play-by-play announcer for the international gymnastics events between 2000-2016. Naturally, his presence and commentary are a huge part of many fans’ memories of the sport.

Thus, upon hearing of his death, one of them came forward and voiced their condolence, saying, “Al Trautwig made every broadcast and every assignment better. Always the consummate pro, Al helped so many around him to be better. Condolences to his family.” Well, he truly had a storied career, as gymnasts on the mats kept changing every few years, but Trautwig? He was a true constant, having worked through the eras of some of the biggest gymnastics names like Carly Patterson (2004), Nastia Liukin (2008), Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas (2010), and so on.

It was in 2016 that Trautwig voiced his last gymnastics commentary for NBC, but that one blew up into a full-fledged controversy. That’s when Trautwig called American gymnast Simone Biles’ parents Ron and Neille as her grandparents. When this statement took the internet by storm, the commentator continued to stand by his words. However, Trautwig later apologized. Thus, he’d seen it all in his career. The highs, the lows, and the backlash.

No wonder his death is bringing a lot of fans from the gymnastics community to express their thoughts about him. Some believe he was a part of their childhood, others call him a domain veteran.

Gymnastics fans mourn Al Trautwig’s demise

One of the fans wrote, “Was extremely sad to hear this news today. Always liked his work on MSG and then would show his versatility at events like the Olympics. RIP.” Yes, one of the rarest aspects about Al Trautwig was that he never limited himself when it came to broadcasting. he has covered events like the U.S. Open, the Tour de France, the Arena Football League, etc.

But his stronghold was certainly in gymnastics. He was spotted working the most with Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel during his gymnastics commentary days. No wonder another fan chimed in with, “I remember when Al covered gymnastics at the Olympics. It was a part of my childhood to listen to that coverage. His vibrato could not be topped. He was an excellent broadcaster and gone way too soon.”

But that’s not all. In 2006, he even hosted a new MSG show named Al Trautwig’s MSG Vault, showing that his knowledge of sports was as versatile as ever. However, in gymnastics, it was as though if an event happened, this man was looked for. “If there were an Olympic gymnastic event he was there announcing,” recalled another fan! We’ll call that pure dominance!

And beyond everything, Al Trautwig was a friend. One of his closest people took to X and expressed, “He was a lot in my life: groomsman on my wedding day, and gave me the best advice about our craft anyone ever did. He was wildly talented, amazingly versatile, & now gone too soon. Thinking of Alex & Cathy today. Just sad.” As people think of his demise, their hearts go out to his family too!

Thus, Al Trautwig’s passing certainly leaves an irreplaceable void in the gymnastics world. As it surely does for other sports, too. Comment below and let us know which sport doe you loved his work the most in!