Readers Respond Overwhelmingly Against Morning Olympic Finals

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 29. YESTERDAY, SwimmingWorldMagazine.com reported that all indicators point toward the International Olympic Committee announcing a change to morning finals for the Beijing Olympics in November. We also asked for the thoughts of our readers on the subject. You answered loudly and proudly that you mostly do not agree with the schedule alteration.

Here are some of the items we received with last names eliminated for the privacy of our readers:

Bill
“If NBC wants a major concession like this they should then support the sport with PRIMETIME broadcasts of other major swimming events like NCAAs, Nationals and World Championships in the years in between the Olympics. NBC makes enough money off the swimmers as it is with the Olympics or the prestige of being the biggest sports network by providing the Olympics coverage. (I always preferred the ABC coverage anyway.) They should give something back to the sport that provides them with 1/3 of the medals for the USA, and thus such of the coverage they want to present. No other sport comes close.”

Dan
“I think as long as the athletes are okay with morning finals then it shouldn’t be a problem. Personally, I agree with the statement in the article, that they are putting the athletes second behind the dollars of American television. Olympic athletes train their whole lives for one moment, and to make a pretty big change like this over money is typical of today’s American society. Everything is about money, no matter what. It’s getting old!”

Teresa
“Although I live in the U.S. and would enjoy a live time finals in swimming, I disagree with this move. It does appear to be geared to a financial aspect (NBC). I think that since most swim meets at all levels are traditionally morning prelims and evening finals, that they should stick with what the swimmers are used to. I am sure that most swimmers have a certain routine, physically and mentally, and this could definitely affect them in their competition. This is my experience with my son who swims club level, and is probably true for competitive athletes in general. You always hear about skaters who have a set routine, which prepares them for their competition. I hope they reconsider this decision and do what is best for the swimmer, no matter what time zone they are in!”

Taylor
“Having the Olympic swimming finals held in the mornings just because NBC wants more money is a complete slap in the face to the athletes. Is the Olympic movement now just a pawn to American TV? I don't think this was Pierre de Coubertin's idea of what the Olympics were to be about. Swifter, Higher, Stronger, and Line the Pockets of the American Media! Not very inspiring. The public understands that China is on the other side of the world. Having to watch the finals broadcast either live during the morning in the United States, or tape delayed in the evening is acceptable. We will not riot. It makes the international part of the International Olympic Committee mean something. Sometimes being part of the world community means being inconvenienced in our television viewing habits.”

TJ
“While I understand the importance of sponsors, I just wonder would they request the same approach (morning finals) for all of the sports? Would the track and field athletes run the finals in the mornings too? How about the basketball games? If that's the case, let a different U.S. city organize the Olympics every four years from now on and get it over and done with. At least, we'd be doing the athletes a favor.”

Jack
“I'm horrified that the IOC is even considering this change two years out. I think that morning finals will just slow the meet down, it will be the Olympics but it won't be the same.”

Eddie
“I think that the IOC should not move finals to the morning. They need to realize that all swimmers are too familiar with having finals in the evening and so it should be kept that way. And personally, I wouldn't like to swim finals in the morning; I'm slower in the morning. I think that a lot of the world's swimmers feel that way too. The IOC and NBC should respect the athletes and always put them first and have the athletes as the top priority before any other decisions are made based on media or any other subject. Just because Americans (including myself) want to see the Olympics live doesn't mean that the IOC should vote to change them. The Olympics have been held in Asian countries before almost as far away and no one complained about it. I think now people are too selfish to think of the athletes first next to their own requests. You have permission to publish my e-mail as I feel that many other people have the same view as me. The athletes should always be respected and be put first.”

LD
“Although this proposed change to morning final seems, on the surface, like a small adjustment, this proposal reveals a disturbing precedent. Not only will morning finals likely lead to slower performances and fewer world records (athletic performance studies over the past decades have shown that an athlete's metabolism is more efficient later in the day), but also will result in far less public attention. While it is true that this new time schedule will allow for more American viewers to watch the swimming events, it directly lessens world-wide audiences. Asian TV audiences, which are far larger in numbers than their North American counterparts, will be shut out of prime-time viewing as well. The Olympics is not an American franchise; this proposal reeks of American self-interest. Why do the American media get priority over that of the rest of world? Why do the American media get to dictate sports policy? With slower times, there will be less interest generated in the swimming events, and under this proposal, far FEWER people will watch the broadcasts worldwide. How can this be good for the sport? But more importantly, the idea that the Olympic tradition can so easily be warped to suit the interests of the media is a dangerous precedent, one that should be quashed immediately.”

Roger
"Are other sports, such as track & field, going to morning finals? This may be saying something about how swimming has become a significant attraction to the television viewing public, which of course is a good thing. However, at what cost?"

Reed
"First it was the semi-finals. Then it was the lousy (by Olympic standards) pool in Athens. Now morning finals? It seems like the Olympics will never again be the best possible swim meet of those 4 years. I would be willing to predict, right here and now, that the Worlds in 07 will be faster than Beijing, despite NCAAs being concurrent. This was the case with Athens – more individual records were set in 03 in Barcelona AND last year in Montreal. Heck, more were set this year, without a worldwide meet to taper for! This is such a stupid idea. The people who might check the Internet to find out the swimming results either A) won't check to make the taped broadcast feel "live," or B) won't care that they already know, because they love swimming. Everyone else probably won't run across the results before the prime time broadcast. Unbelievable. It really is just about NBC's dollars coming before the athletes or the rest of the world. What they fail to realize is that a taped meet that is fast is far more entertaining than a live meet that is slow. Hopefully by London they'll have come to their senses, or I'll be there to watch it live, without Bob Costas and Jimmy Roberts ruining it for me."

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