I was visibly pissed when Eurosport kept on showing a mediocre long jump competition at the New York Diamon League coverage. Save for the Australian duo of Mitchell Watt and Fabrice Lapierre, the rest of the field looked like last minute replacements. Aside from the aforesaid two, the rest of the competitors notched mundanely mediocre long jump marks more akin to low-level Philippine athletics than to the big-money Diamond League meetings.
To make matters worse, there were three field events that featured superior athletes and performances. The women’s triple jump field, led by Olga Rypakova, featured near-15 meter jumps. In the women’s pole vault, 2011 World Champion leaped to a new season’s best of 4.77m. The men’s high jump was even more exciting, as World Champion Jesse Williams squared off with the vastly-improved Robbie Grabarz.
And the producers of the telecast only showed snippets of these events. In contrast, they aired each and every sub-par round of the friggin’ long jump. Even the announcers were subtly disappointed, apologizing to the audience for not showing more of the aforesaid events.
Since I live in the Philippines, I’m only exposed to a handful of cable channels that feature regular athletics coverage: Eurosport and Star Sports. The latter is not even worth mentioning. It employs a lone announcer/commentator that is akin to Mr. Sandman himself. If I were not so interested in the sport, I would have fallen asleep.
Eurosport fares much better. It employs a knowledgeable British commentating/announcing duo. However, it needs a fresh dose of energy – and producers who employ common sense. I have yet to watch other broadcasting outfits, but the French guys and Ato Boldon look entertaining. To the guys over at Eurosport and Star Sports, here are a few suggestions:
1.) Please tell your producers to feature the most gripping of events, not the pedestrian ones. C’mon! Picking a long jump competition where most of the field jumped in the mid-7 meters over a high jump event featuring an unknown athlete leaping 2.36m? Get real.
2.) Air the post-race interviews. If the program is hard-pressed for time, you can always insert a small box at the bottom of the screen during those long-drawn distance races.
3.) Show the faces of the announcers for crying out loud! Put faces to the voices! The names of these guys are not even shown on TV.
4.) Employ some retired athletes or established event experts to give their thoughts. Don’t just friggin’ rely on jacks-of-all-trades doing all the commentating. And for the nth time, put their faces on a small box beneath the screen.
5.) Put a ticker at the bottom of the screen informing the TV audience of the current standings.
6.) Show more clips of the athletes warming-up, celebrating or interacting with the crowd.
I’ve accepted the fact that athletics shall remain second fiddle to football and basketball in terms of popularity. The nature of the sport is not spectator friendly. If the sports fan is not well-versed in the basics of athletics, he/she will be hard-pressed to appreciate the events. It helps the sport a lot when larger-than-life characters like Usain Bolt take center stage. But then again, Bolt is one-of-a-kind.
Inutile television coverage such as this only worsens this inherent disadvantage. It takes away the awe factor of a grossly-underrated sport.
Frenkel is Israel’s top high jumper. Originally training to be a professional dancer in her teenage days, the Israeli gradually made the big shift to athletics. Her breakout year came in 2010, as she padded her lifetime best by 11 centimeters. En route to rewriting the Israeli national records (1.91m), Danielle also won her first ever national title.
Danielle with her 2011 Israeli “Female Athlete of the Year” trophy. (Photo from Assaf Yekuel)
At the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona, Frenkel leaped 1.92m in qualifying, but finished in 12th place at the final. She fared much better at the European Indoor Championships the next year, jumping over 1.94m (new Israeli indoor record) in qualifying. Danielle placed a hard fought fourth (1.92m) in the final.
A knee injury had temporarily put Frenkel’s high jumping aspirations on hold. After undergoing surgery early in 2012, Danielle is on the fast track to full recovery – and to greater heights.
1.) How did you get started with athletics?
At school, I have always stood out [in] sports. My first high jump competition was in a district meet when I was 14 and [I]won 1st place . My coach today [Anatoliy Shafran] spotted me and told me I am very talented, and with practice I can jump higher. Back then, dancing had a greater appeal to me.
Only 5 years later, a phone call from my coach who offered me to participate in a meet, and the following Israeli championships, where I took 3rd place, made me realize that high jumping is my real passion.
2.) What’s the most memorable moment of your athletics career?
The most memorable moment was in Israel’s 2010 championships. When I broke the Israeli record by 3 cm and became the first Israeli woman who ever jumped over 1.90. I felt so good that I finally proved my real potential.
3.) What is your life long dream?
My long dream is to reach my full potential, and I feel I have a long way to go.
4.) Let’s lighten up a bit! What would you rather wear and why? Short shorts or tights?
7.) If you could spend the rest of your days at any place in the world, which would you choose?
I traveled for 4 months in central America and saw some amazing places. My answer would be any place, as long as I have my loved ones with me.
8.) What do you do in your free time?
Now I study for law and business degree. But I live very close to the beach. I like to go there and relax with friends.
9.) Name three things you just can’t live without:
My family and my boyfriend, chocolates, and [taking a ]bath.
10.) What advice would you give to the young athletes of today?
Be patient, explore all kinds of sports until you find the one that fits you and you love the most. I was a volleyball player and a ballet dancer. Only at the age of nineteen I realised that high jump is my destiny.
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