World Track and Field Championships

While I haven't been to a movie theatre in more than a month I have been enjoying some decent television watching. Right now PAX TV is airing the World Track and Field Championships every day. Overall the coverage is decent, though it is only an hour a day. Sprints still get far too much coverage for my tastes and not enough distance. The 10k finals the other day only got the last three laps so all I knew is that Paula Radcliffe (marathon world record holder), who was trying to double up with the 10k and the marathon to help England, was in the back of the lead pack and struggling. I didn't get to see how she got there. Pooh on poor distance coverage.

I should feel lucky that all four laps of the 1500 were broadcast, but thus far only the heat with Alan Webb. Again, where were the other heats? What about the women's 800 heats (I saw one semifinal heat). I am guessing that I'll only get one heat of the 1500 semi's today, a brief bit of the men's 10k final, and if I'm very lucky some of the women's 3000 meter steeplechase. I question the coverage of the marathon on the 13th and 14th, but we'll see.

Do I complain too much? A little. I get that the sprints are the big deal and that most people don't want to sit and watch 13 minutes of a men's 5000, let alone a half hour of the women's 10k (then again, the Olympic coverage of the marathon was perfect: two complete races from start to finish...it's a thing of beauty). I should be just happy that there is daily coverage of the world championships. And I should be happy that I'll get to see a clip of the marathon this weekend.

But I want more. I want a stupid amount of distance coverage.