Wally Foreman dies in hospital

ABC sports commentator and journalist Wally Foreman died this afternoon in Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, following a heart attack at an Osborne Park gymnasium on Tuesday.

Mr Foreman, 58, was taken out of an induced coma this morning, when his condition was listed as serious but stable.

One of Australia's most experienced sports broadcasters, Mr Foreman had worked in sports media for more than 30 years, covering four Olympic Games and five Commonwealth Games, as well as calling AFL football, international cricket and Davis Cup and Australian Open Tennis.

ABC WA manager Geoff Duncan said in a statement to ABC staff that: "It is difficult to put into words the impact Wally has had, not only on his colleagues here at the ABC in Perth, but also in the sporting, political and business community of Western Australia."

As well as having extensive experience in broadcasting and newspapers as a sports reporter and commentator, Wally was the inaugural director of the WA Institute of Sport, a position he held for more than 17 years before stepping aside in 2001.

He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2003 for his services to sport and in 2000 was named WA Citizen of the Year (Sport).

Mr Foreman is survived by his wife, Lyn, a former national athletics champion and now senior coach at WAIS, and two sons, Glenn and Mark.

The staff at WA Business News would like to pass on their condolences to the family of a great Western Australian.