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Answering your World Athletics queries

Dave Gordon | 15:56 UK time, Monday, 27 August 2007

With all the pre-event hype, controversy and criticisms of the bodies that run the sport - even the ±«Óãtv, undeservedly we think, was a target - it's been great to see the real action take centre stage.

It has been a busy weekend for our teams in Osaka and London, with many impressive performances to feature and stories of success and failure to report.

Congratulations in particular to Britain's sole medal winner , and the six athletes who have so far achieved top-eight-in-the-world status - Jo Pavey, Jessica Ennis, Marlon Devonish, Phillips Idowu, Nicola Sanders and Christine Ohuruogu.

Only two more medals and seven more top eight finishers to reach the target for the championships set by !

Before starting to answer some of your comments - for which thank you - an apology.

Unfortunately, we are in the hands of the host broadcaster in Osaka for coverage so, like you, we were very frustrated with the climax of the , when the cameras failed to feature Pavey's battle for bronze properly. Our commentary team of Steve Cram and Brendan Foster did their best to describe what was happening out of camera shot but inevitably it was unsatisfactory.

We do strive for perfection, but inevitably there will be the odd glitch over 50 hours of broadcasting. Commentary generally is a very difficult art - trying doing it yourself the next time you watch - so please bear with us when we occasionally mispronounce a name, make a mistake or the commentator of your choice is not on air. We appreciate your preferences and do listen to your comments.

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We have had several viewers complaining that there is too much studio chat and not enough action.

I absolutely understand that point of view but we are trying to cater for all groups of viewers - from the aficionados who understand all the nuances of the sport and follow it regularly to those who have come to the championships because they enjoy the major sporting occasions.

The latter group, and the majority we think, need far more context and interpretation than the former. These are the people who tell us they really appreciate having the expertise of former athletes such as , Colin Jackson and Denise Lewis on hand.

Athletics will always be difficult with so many things going on at any one time so I ask you to bear with us and promise you that we will ensure that all the key action is seen.

A handful of you are concerned that the tone of the coverage is too jingoistic. Again, this is a difficult balance to strike but one we are very conscious of.

I promise you that there are all too many broadcasters around the world who take a very myopic view, concentrating only on their own country's athletes. We do pride ourselves on taking a broader approach, although you cannot expect us not to spend some time celebrating and criticising the achievements of home country competitors. It's what our audience, in general, expect.

That said, you may have seen that Sunday night's highlights programme did start with the men's 100m final story rather than the heptathlon, in which Britain won its first medal. We acknowledged that the men's 100m is a blue-riband, iconic event in the sport and it was rightly the first thing in the show.

We are also trying to interview key non-British athletes whenever possible, and you will have heard Phil Jones speak to people such as Carolina Kluft, Tyson Gay and Veronica Campbell over the last three days.

I was also asked in my last blog whether we would consider covering the Golden League and other grand prix meetings in addition to domestic meetings.

The answer is yes because we are constantly looking at our portfolio of sports rights. As head of athletics, I am always fighting my corner for the sport, although I know it is always a difficult juggling act to get maximum value from the limited budget and resources at our disposal.

One final thought for you - and it's a real bete noir of mine.

I am really enjoying seeing all the athletes at these championships wearing their home country strips. I think what we see at Golden League/grand prix meetings at home and abroad, though, is nothing short of ridiculous.

At a time when the sport is striving to attract a new generation of spectators and television audiences, it seems foolish to make identification almost impossible in races where it is not unusual to see six or more athletes all wearing the same coloured strips. It makes you wonder whether the kit companies run the sport!

The London Marathon organisers, to their credit, recognised the issue and solved it. Come on and UKA, take a stand and instantly make the sport a better spectacle!

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