Ed Leigh facts for kids

Ed Leigh, born on July 15, 1975, is a British sports presenter and commentator. He is well-known for his exciting commentary on action and adventure sports, especially at the Olympic Games.

Broadcasting Career

Ed Leigh is a familiar voice and face in the world of sports broadcasting. He is part of the presenting team for the BBC2 show Ski Sunday. He also works with Red Bull TV, covering many live events like skateboarding, BMX, Enduro, and mountain biking. For the first two seasons of Sail GP, he was the main live presenter for their international coverage.

The Olympics Voice

Ed Leigh is perhaps most famous as the BBC's voice for action and adventure sports at the Olympic Games. He has been a commentator for the Winter Olympic Games since 2006 and the Summer Olympic Games since 2012.

• At the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, he commentated on snowboarding.
• For the Vancouver 2010 Games, he covered snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
• At the London 2012 Summer Olympics, he commentated on beach volleyball and BMX cycling.
• He returned for snowboarding and freestyle skiing at the Sochi 2014 Olympics and the Pyeongchang 2018 Games, often working with Tim Warwood.
• At the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he covered BMX, climbing, skateboarding, and surfing.
• For the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, he was again with Tim Warwood for snowboarding and freestyle skiing.
• At the Paris 2024 Olympics, he commentated on BMX, skateboarding, and climbing.

Early TV Work

Ed Leigh started his regular television work on Channel 4's Freesports On 4. This series covered action sports events around the world. Over time, he has worked on many different shows, including Ed vs. Spencer for Sky 1 and My Life As An Animal for BBC3.

Before his TV career, Ed was the editor of Whitelines Snowboard Magazine. His first TV presenting job was on Trailer Park for the CNX channel, where he worked with Christian Stevenson.

He also did voice-overs for the Extreme Sports Channel's Gumball 3000 series in 2004. In 2005 and 2006, he followed the Gumball 3000 rally as a presenter, even hitchhiking for parts of it.

Joining Ski Sunday

In 2007, Ed Leigh became a co-presenter of the BBC's Ski Sunday series alongside Graham Bell. His exciting commentary at the 2006 Winter Olympics helped make snowboarding popular. A famous moment was his shout, "Drama! Jacobellis is down!" during the Women's Snowcross Final. Since then, he has continued to commentate on snowboarding at all Winter Olympics.

He also presented a spin-off show from Ski Sunday called High Altitude in 2009, also with Graham Bell.

In 2021, while in Laax, Ed had an accident where he dislocated his kneecap and broke his tibia.

Today, Ed Leigh works with the Natural Selection Tour. He helps decide which athletes are best suited to compete by reviewing their video submissions.

Other Appearances

In spring 2009, Ed Leigh appeared on the show My Life as an Animal on BBC Three. For this show, he lived with dogs for a week to understand their behavior.

Professional Background

Before becoming a broadcaster, Ed Leigh had many different jobs. He was a professional snowboarder, a journalist, and managed events. He also cleaned large yachts and taught windsurfing.

In 1997, he met his friend Christian Stevenson in London. They decided to start a commentary and entertainment company called Laughing Gear.

Ed began his snowboarding journey working at a snowboard shop called Noahs Ark. After five years of snowboarding in Val d'Isère, a knee injury forced him to take a break. During this time, he was offered a job at White Lines snowboarding magazine, where he had already been writing articles. Six months later, he became the editor of the magazine. This role opened up many new opportunities for him in the media world.