Top Of The World!
by Michael Weadock, Sept 2025
Don’t judge me, I know it makes me a bit of a loser, but I keep a diary of sporting eventsthat are of interest to us on the podcast and of interest generally to sports fans. This weekend, I’ll be simultaneously trying to be across the World Para Championships in both swimming and athletics, the World Rowing Championships and Road Cycling World Championships, the Westminster Mile and London 10k and of course follow The Ryder Cup and Women’s Rugby Union World Cup Final.
You know… Anything but Footy, really…
I’ve of a vintage where I look at that list and think there would have been plenty for Steve Rider or Des Lynam to get their teeth into during an edition of Grandstand. But, the world has moved on, broadcasting has moved on and the way we consume these events has moved on. Regular listeners to the podcast will know our focus over the next few weeks will be on several World Championships taking place in many of our key Olympic and Paralympic sports. We are planning some special episodes for the Track Cycling World Championships with a special guest host, as well as coverage of artistic gymnastics, slalom canoeing and rowing. Have a listen to our preview of the World Rowing Championships with British Rowing here:
The World Athletics Championships in Tokyo has just wrapped up with the daytime sessions getting the full BBC studio with presenters and pundits. The lead commentators were in Tokyo and there was even extensive overnight coverage presented trackside by Sarah Mulkerrins. It was old school. It was on BBC 1 and BBC2 - a bit frustratingly at times as they kept switching channels – with highlights in the early evening for those who choose to sleep at night and work or go to school during the day (not me…).
So, where is the same level of coverage for our rowers, paddlers, gymnasts, para-swimmers and para-athletes. It was good to see the World Road Cycling Championships follow the athletics onto BBC2 and it means I’m more hopeful than I was for coverage of the World Track Cycling Championships from Santiago. I think there’s a huge, missed opportunity for the broadcasters here. Technology allows for coverage to be done from the UK – both presentation and commentary, so in general terms it would make cheap telly. The broadcasters could even just take the host broadcast commentary and add a little bit of context around it as the BBC do with the Diamond League where the presenter simply sits in a voiceover booth and links between events.
The blueprint is there. And, why should the broadcaster do it? They should do it because in 2028 they will expect the casual UK sports fan to consume 200 hours of the Olympics from Los Angeles with many of the key events taking place during the night. They will want us to support our rowers, paddlers, gymnasts and cyclists and the best way to get us to do that is to start telling their stories now. There’s a three-year window of opportunity here that will conclude with a number of athletes representing their nation with pride and with dignity. I’d quite like to start getting to know them now, please. I’m not sure I want to wait until July 2028 when it’s suddenly on the box for 18 hours a day. I imagine it’s frustrating for the athletes and the National Governing Bodies too. In 2028, paddler Kimberley Woods will be asked to give up a day of her training to take part in one of those glossy preview packages that television like so much. In it she’ll be asked to describe her ‘journey’ through the medium of mime (or similar…) whilst some comedian or poet narrates the piece, or an artist spray paints her face on a wall. She’ll probably be wondering where these people were when she was scooping up gold medals for fun at the World Cup recently.
Athletics is lucky in the support it gets from terrestrial television. I watched a lot of coverage – some from World Athletics and some from the BBC. The BBC, as you would expect offered a very British perspective whilst World Athletics gave a more global outlook. I was very impressed with Stef Reid on the BBC. She is easily able to mix up detailed research and an analytical approach with a human touch. In journalism we are often told to use football pitches when describing the size of something, or double decker buses when talking about how tall things are and Stef was excellent at including these real-world examples in her commentary. I also thought Greg Rutherford was excellent in his occasional appearances. Especially when dissecting the relays where Great Britain and Northern Ireland won no medals. Whilst the rest of the panel seemed satisfied with comments like ‘they’ll be disappointed with that’ and ‘they’ll need to learn from that’, Greg Rutherford was forensic in his analysis and pointing out the level of investment and resources that go into the relay teams. Like Dame Kelly Holmes, it has always amazed me that Greg hasn’t been used more in this role. A word too for Sarah Mulkerrins – trackside for the BBC. I’ve done the same job and when it’s not going well for a team it is tough going. You are chatting to athletes stepping straight off the field of play and most haven’t achieved what they came to the Championships to do. You need to be human whilst being journalistic. Phil Jones got this balance right for many years and Sarah is a worthy successor.
Right, I’m off to listen to The Lightning Seeds and Life of Riley and run through my imaginary running order for this weekend’s Sunday Grandstand.
