Diana Swain has a clear picture of what she wants to bring to CBC's Olympic coverage.

"Sometimes sports on TV can feel exclusionary when you can't keep pace with the stats," Swain said. "And as a viewer, I'm like, 'Yeah, but is she crying after winning the gold medal? Are her mom and dad there?'

"That's part of what I actually want to know when I'm sitting at home. Now I get to put my money where my mouth is in terms of, 'Okay, this is what I'd like to see.' "

Swain, a CBC news anchor by trade, will shift gears and enter the world of sports when the 2008 Summer Olympics begin Friday in Beijing, China.

Swain and Scott Russell will co-host a daily program on CBC called Olympic Morning, and many of the marquee events will be taking place while Swain and Russell are at the controls.

"I come about this in the most round way possible," Swain said. "I actually met my husband through work because he was a sportscaster. And while he isn't doing that any longer, he always has maintained an interest in sports. The TV always is turned to sports, so I've watched everything.

"I also have two children who are really active in sports, much more than I ever was. So I've come to develop a genuine love of sports, not as an athlete, but as a viewer. And part of the discussion I first had with CBC about this was, I wanted to bring the perspective of a viewer to my role as a host of the Games."

Of course, there's another benefit to having Swain on hand in China. As a veteran news journalist, if political questions, or international incidents, spring up at the Olympics, Swain can go to her roots at the blink of an eye.

"I'll be wearing both hats as need be," Swain said.

"There's so much talk right now about China, but the political component of the Olympics obviously goes back decades and decades, and probably will continue for years to come. It has become part of the Games that you need to go into these things with your eyes wide open, and having a news background probably is something I'll find myself relying on."

This is Swain's first Olympics as a broadcaster, but it's the CBC's last for a while, since CTV has acquired the rights for the Winter Games in 2010 and the Summer Games in 2012. So when Swain interacts with the rest of the CBC crew, is there a sense of attitude schizophrenia in the air?

"Certainly there is an awareness here that we don't have the Games for Vancouver (2010) and London (2012)," Swain said. "But as opposed to, 'Let's go out with a whimper', it's more like, 'Let's go out with a bang.'

"We want to make sure everyone understands that CBC knocks this stuff out of the park."

bill.harris@sunmedia.ca