Swimming Races Article

Beijing Olympic Swimming Trials

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing are calling for something a little bit different this year, as the International Olympic Committee, also known as IOC, recently announced the final version of the Olympic competition schedule, with a very blatant change in store. All swimming finals, which are typically held in the evening, will instead be held in the morning so that the coverage will be available for NBC’s viewers to watch during prime-time television hours.

The International Olympic Committee made this decision after long rounds of negotiations with NBC-TV. NBC made this request because the new schedule will allow the public in the United States to see the finals live during prime-time viewing, further protecting the $3.55 billion investment that they made for the broadcast rights to the Olympics between 2000 and 2008. Many of the heavy hitters in the swimming circuit have spoken out about this topic:

Pierre Lafontaine, the CEO of Swimming Canada does not appear to be enthused about the International Olympic Committee’s decision to host the finals in the morning, but is at least remaining optimistic because there is still plenty of time to move forward with the preparation of his athletes for the games. With 93 weeks, or 651 days between the announcement and the beginning of the Olympics, Lafontaine feels that his athletes have plenty of time to alter their habits and to adapt to the new environment. Ultimately, Lafontaine hopes that the best swimmers will come out ahead regardless of the time of day when the swim finals are held.

David Sparkes, who is the Chief Executive of British Swimming says that he is very disappointed, and that this is a decision that the International Olympic Committee will likely end up regretting. He does, however, believe that Britain’s athletes will be able to rise up to meet the challenge presented to them, and that they will share their success with the public in Britain over breakfast cereal.

Alan Thompson, who is the Head Coach in Australia, notes that the only thing he is unhappy about is the fact that the International Olympic Committee made the decision purely based on commercial interests, rather than the good of the sport.

Chuck Wielgus, the Executive Director of USA Swimming is looking at things a little more optimistically, and comments that this is a great opportunity for the sport of swimming to be showcased live to the North American television audience. He believes that the live prime-time exposure is going to benefit the sport rather than inhibit it, and will enhance the public’s opinion of the top athletes in the sport. He believes that a level playing field has been established simply by allowing the swimmers two full years to prepare themselves physically and mentally, and he is confident that his swimmers will be ready to do their best no matter what the schedule.