It’s day four since the Olympics ended and I’m still suffering from Olympics Withdrawal Syndrome. There’s a sizeable gap in my daily schedule which I’ve now decided to fill by joining others in conducting a post-mortem of the Games.
My inability to get hold of any tickets in the second week meant that I landed up catching a lot of the Olympics on the telly. In this article I look at some of the hits and misses of the BBC’s coverage.
Hits
Jake Humphrey
As some of you’ll know, I’m a big fan of his F1 coverage. However, I was unsure that he’d be able to transfer his skills over to sports so different to F1. I was hugely surprised though. He came across as well-prepared, enthusiastic and genuinely interested in all the sports he covered. He didn’t claim to be an expert at sports he was new to, being happy to play second fiddle to professionals at each event.
Matt Baker
I remember Matt Baker from his Blue Peter days but never thought he was a presenter who especially stood out. I was very surprised to see him so heavily involved in the Olympics coverage but I'm glad he was. His gymnastics coverage was especially good – providing helpful comments to newcomers to the sport like myself.
Gabby Logan
Although high profile, I still think Gabby Logan’s hugely underrated. She hasn’t been universally praised for her Olympics coverage but I thought she brought bags of enthusiasm, knowledge, and good banter.
Clare Balding
Not being a huge horse racing or rugby league fan, I’d not really seen much of her prior to the Olympics. I’ve really enjoyed watching her light-hearted coverage and her unashamed enthusiasm for all things Team GB. Apparently she’s leading the Paralympics coverage on Channel 4 which is great news and will really help their coverage.
Michael Johnson
Amazing voice and his comments as always were really informative and well-balanced.
Barry Davies
Broadcasting legend. Good to have him back on prime-time TV again. Made hockey even more entertaining than it should have been.
Misses
Trevor Nelson
Made several annoying and pointless comments during the ceremonies. At one point during the opening ceremony he commented on how it was so much better watching it in the stadium than on the TV. Thanks for making the 25 million people stuck a home (who you’re meant to be cheering up) feel so much better….
Gary Lineker
Controversial choice perhaps. Big fan of his football punditry but he seemed a little lost talking about sports he knew nothing about.
John Inverdale
I always enjoy his tennis and rugby coverage whenever I watch them. However, I thought he looked uncomfortable hosting athletics and felt he was an odd choice given that Hazel Irvine and Sue Barker are both experienced in the area.
Denise Lewis
Again, possibly a little harsh – it takes a lot to look even average when you’re working alongside Michael Johnson. Just thought many of her points were clichéd and not especially informative.
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