The CBC has apologized after one of its Olympic commentators said on the air that a Chinese swimmer "died like a pig" during her race.
Swimming analyst Byron MacDonald, who didn't seem to realize his microphone was still live, made the comment following Wednesday's 4x200-metre women's relay.
China placed fourth behind bronze medallist Canada with 14-year-old Ai Yanhan swimming the second leg.
"That little 14-year-old from China dropped the ball, baby. Too excited. Went out like a stink, and died like a pig," MacDonald said.
Chuck Thompson, head of public affairs for CBC English Services, said that the broadcaster moved quickly to apologize on the air and social media.
Thompson said MacDonald has also personally addressed the issue on the air.
"We sincerely regret that these statements were made, and that they were allowed to go to air," Thompson said in an email to The Canadian Press.
"To be clear, Byron's comments were related to the swimmer's performance, not to her as an individual. That said, they were inappropriate and an unfortunate choice of words and Byron is very sorry for what he said."
MacDonald is a former Canadian national team member and was ranked as one of the 10 best swimmers in the world in the 1970s. He won two Commonwealth Games gold medals and placed sixth in the 100-metre butterfly at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
MacDonald has been the head coach at the University of Toronto since the 1978-79 season and is one of Canada's most decorated university coaches.
He has won two Gemini Awards for his work with the CBC as a swimming analyst.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.