Athletics 2024 (Mod note #869)

Thud

Sonia didn't hold back on Brian Fay last night, she knows what she's talking about but harsh to air it on the TV

marathon2022

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122236524#Comment_122236524

I do like her more and more as a commentator.

gigantic09

More great performances for our athletes this morning with Nicola Tuthill looking like she's through to the hammer final and Mark Smyth squeezing into the 200 semis .

Cosmo Kramer

https://x.com/RTEsport/status/1799545394776424657?t=mU45Rhe8ZBR1lAapzKIycw&s=19

Fair enough comment I think.

Hold My Hand

It’s great to have a hammer finalist.

Mantis Toboggan

Crazy that they can't get more than a handful of fans into the stadium for these events.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237037#Comment_122237037

crazy that Ireland has no major stadium with a running track

Fr D Maugire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122236060#Comment_122236060

I think the 1500m should be between the Irish and British, Mageean should be favourite, but Jemma Reekie and her 800m speed worries me. Might depend on what type of race it is.

I think Kaczmarek is the slight favourite for the 400 as she has beaten Adeleke more often, but will be close if Adelekes run to her her NCAA form of last year, but just saw the NCAA 400m final from yesterday, winner Nickisha Pryce went sub 49 and 2nd was 49.20, which is what Adeleke won in last year. I think those NCAA times can be deceptive as rarely do those athletes run as fast in other competitions.

Fr D Maugire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237037#Comment_122237037

Morning sessions rarely get big crowds and this is compounded by the fact Stadio Olimpico is 72k capacity. Even a crowd of 35k looks kinda small. But I do think that there is not as much local interest as there was last time out in Munich. It is a shame Ireland cannot even host such an event.

Hamachi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237266#Comment_122237266

Agree on both points. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that I think Reekie will win the gold medal unless Mageean burns her off in a long run for home. If she leaves it to the last 200, Reekie will win.

Kaczmarek is a class act. You don’t get to be world silver medalist without immense ability. She’s also a much more intelligent racer than Klaver. She’ll be hard to beat for sure.

Nice to see Tom Barr qualify fastest in the heats this morning. He started very slowly and clearly has more in the tank. He need to go well under 49 to make the final. Congrats to Nicola Tuthill too. Great to start seeing some Irish breaking through in the field events.

horsebox1977

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122235387#Comment_122235387

But it wasn't initially. They eventually put it on much late in the day.

I and others were watching it on eurovisionsport when I message popped up to redirect us to the RTE player - which is what I did.

Cosmo Kramer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237266#Comment_122237266

What's notable is how much talent is coming through at 400m now. In addition to the latest batch of NCAA talent there's an 18 year old Czech athlete running strong times for her age, she's at the Europeans and is an outside shot for a medal. There's definitely a window for Adeleke to win a European gold and an Olympic medal this summer, but it doesn't look like getting any easier for her in future years, especially if McLaughlin and Bol turn their attention back to the 400 flat at any point.

marathon2022

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237603#Comment_122237603

I was watching the RTE player for an hour before the race? I just opened the RTE player and clicked on the box. It was mainly a panel talking about the mornings runs and highlights from earlier but it was available and the stream was clean.

Its on RTE2 tonight from 18.45

Krusty_Clown

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237037#Comment_122237037

Where are you right now? 😉

To be fair, there's a good turnout every evening, but that's largely because they sell evening only tickets and most of the finals are in the evenings. There was a good turnout this morning, in the southern end of the stadium, but that was pretty much entirely to see Tamberi. Gotta say it's pretty emotional hearing the crowds belting out the Italian national anthem even in a half-empty stadium. Much better than Amhrán na bhFiann. The local support id a huge boost for the Italian athletes and it's showing in their medal tally.

horsebox1977

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122237894#Comment_122237894

Maybe, but it was not on the RTE player at 6:30.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058329017/athletics-2024

Murph_D

The anti-RTE moaners are always quick to pile on.

While I agree it was a poor decision to be Player-only for an event where we had a strong chance of a medal, at least RTE had flagged in advance that Fri night would be streaming only (people were complaining about it - quite rightly - before the games even started).

The BBC seem to be screening the games entirely on iPlayer and Red Button, so also beyond the standard BBC 1-4 offerings.

That's the way broadcasting is these days - and pretty much everyone has the internet and a compatible device, so it's not like it was unavailable.

And while RTE Player still needs investment and improvement, it does seem to be better than it used to be.

Well done to the athletes, and to the RTE commentary team on the ground there, who are doing a good job under difficult and I am sure quite penny-pinching circumstances.

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122238358#Comment_122238358

they probably should have spilt screen during the rugby match.

Murph_D

It’s quite possible that the rugby tournament has legal broadcast requirements attached to the rights - this is a feature of Champions League football broadcast rights for example. You can’t modify the feed. Not sure that IS the case for what is a relatively minor rugby tournament but I wouldn’t be surprised.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122238589#Comment_122238589

Yes, I suspect that is the case - if you're contracted to show X number of games, you must show all of the matches in full and cannot opt out of broadcasting one either (probably connected to sponsorship etc).

I've no idea why the 4 x 400 wasn't shown on the RTE News channel though - it may be that they seriously underestimated the level of public interest in it.

Cosmo Kramer

All three Irish athletes in the top 10 in the women's 400m semi finals. Becker narrowly misses the final but the team is looking seriously good for the relay in a few days time.

Pherekydes

Dobson looked ridiculously easy winning that semi. Adeleke looked great in her semi and having two women in the final will be great.

Dr. Bre

Dobson looks a talent

Pherekydes

Regarding RTE, do we need 3 talking heads in the studio? Just SHOW the damn athletics!

walshb

Can O’Donnell still qualify for Paris?

I was reading that max number athletes for 400 is 48. So surely across the globe they have 48 already?

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122238952#Comment_122238952

Well, they’re not just talking heads. They are former world class Irish athletes with plenty of expertise and nuance to add to the mix.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122238952#Comment_122238952

you want zero analysis or commentary?

gigantic09

Would be better to see more of the field events rather than studio chat imo.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239209#Comment_122239209

I think we are seeing plenty of field events. There is loads of downtime and plenty of ways to cover the action. Plus there is the Eurovision feed (although vpn needed to bypass the RTE redirect).

Pherekydes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122239155#Comment_122239155

OK, but it's not for everyone. Definitely not for me. Plus, I don't know why they have to do it while live athletics is on in the stadium.

walshb

Think Sarah can medal. Runs really hard and good and maybe gold