«At Weltklasse Zürich, the arena is always packed»

Patrick Schmid has been working on the commentary position at each Weltklasse Zürich edition since 2009. He covers the athletics event for SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, sharing the microphone with his colleague, Mario Gehrer. In his capacity as athletics commentator, he has travelled the world. He was at the Olympic Games in London (UK), in Rio (Brazil), and in Tokyo (Japan), and he attended world championships in South Korea, Qatar, or Russia. Still, the meeting right on his doorstep, the one at Letzigrund Stadium, remains special.

Patrick Schmid, why is commentating on Weltklasse Zürich an extraordinary job?

It is the audience, first and foremost. At Weltklasse Zürich, the arena is always packed. The seats fill up early on, people are there for the national programme already. They want to enjoy the entire meeting, all of it. Their attitude illustrates the special affinity Zurich spectators have for athletics. I don’t see that in many other places.

Why is it that this event can count on such an expert audience?

Weltklasse Zürich has been a top event for decades, a season highlight that is appreciated throughout the world of athletics. So, many top stars compete in Zurich. In addition, many Swiss grew up with this event. I used to be in the standing area of the old Letzigrund Stadium, banging on the boards as a kid myself.

Is there a particular Weltklasse Zürich moment that you will never forget?

I remember the 2009 edition particularly well. It was my first assignment as a commentator at Weltklasse Zürich, but I also witnessed my first and only world record at Letzigrund Stadium so far, when pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva cleared the 5.06m that night.

Was ist speziell beim Kommentieren eines Leichtathletik-Events wie Weltklasse Zürich – auch im Vergleich zu anderen Sportarten?

Primär läuft viel mehr, vor allem gleichzeitig. Während eines 5000-Meter-Laufs gehen die technischen Disziplinen beispielsweise weiter. Um auch diese Wettkämpfe ausserhalb des TV-Bilds zu verfolgen, ist ein Feldstecher unerlässlich. Deshalb ist Leichtathletik auch die einzige Sportart, die bei SRF von zwei Kommentatoren begleitet wird. Darüber bin ich sehr froh. Denn aufgrund der Flut von Disziplinen, Athletinnen und Athleten sowie Zahlen wäre das Kommentieren allein kaum handelbar.

How is commentating on an athletics event, such as Weltklasse Zürich, different from covering other sports events?

The main difference is that there are many things going on at the same time. Infield competitions continue while a 5000m race gets underway, for instance. We use binoculars to keep track of the competitions beyond the TV image. Athletics is the only sport that is covered by a team of two SRF commentators. I am grateful for that. The sheer number of events, athletes, and facts would be next to impossible to cover by one person alone.

This means that there can be no experts during Diamond League events, however.

True. Athletics events are filled with action; the sheer volume of events and results leave almost no room for expert inputs. At least, our reporter Paddy Kälin gets to talk to some experts in interviews instead.

How do you keep track of the competitions that happen simultaneously during the meeting?

There is a lot of preparation going into assignments like this. Routines help immensely. In addition, we have the privilege to be close to the athletes throughout the season. On the day of the meeting, I go over facts, defined focal points, and stories that I intend to share with viewers for every discipline one more time.

What exactly do you do to prepare for a specific event, such as Weltklasse Zürich?

My colleague Mario Gehrer uses a gigantic case binder. I prefer a more digital approach. In the athletics team, we collect facts and figures of entire seasons. We have been feeding them into a huge Excel file for more than a decade. The quantity of data we have on this is enormous.

«Host broadcaster» SRG provides world feed

SRG has been a long-time host broadcaster of Weltklasse Zürich, contributing to the global media presence of the renowned Swiss athletics event. About 80 members of staff are on site to produce the so-called world feed that is used by more than 100 TV stations for their coverage all over the world. The images are produced with the help of 28 cameras, including a cable-suspended camera system and slow-motion cameras.