«Audrey Werro’s victory was simply incredible»

Adrian Wicky, who actually decides how often you are heard live on the radio during Weltklasse Zürich?

This is decided well in advance of the meeting, in consultation with those responsible at Radio SRF 3. We look at the events and timetables and then decide together when I will go live. I also don’t always comment live on the radio; I often give a brief summary of what has happened over the previous few minutes. Overall, this means I go live around four to five times per hour, with each segment lasting between 45 and 90 seconds.

What do you focus on during the live segments?

With the large number of events and decisions and the limited time available for our live segments, our approach is very clear: «Switzerland first.» Events involving Swiss athletes take priority, as we don’t want to keep these from our audience. After that come the other big stars. Of course, this can mean that some events are not heard live on the radio, but perhaps only as a summary in the next segment. This is definitely a challenge for us radio commentators.

Which big stories do you see at Weltklasse Zürich 2026 that you definitely want to bring to listeners live?

We certainly want to be there live for the women’s 800 metres if we get the hopefully exciting three-way battle between Audrey Werro, Georgie Hunter Bell and Femke Broeders-Bol. And also for the 3000 metres with Dominic Lobalu. Of course, we can’t commentate on the entire race live, but we can cover the start and the finish. In between, the listeners will get some music to enjoy.

What is the biggest challenge when commentating on athletics?

Prioritising the events and decisions is challenging: What do I commentate on live, and what do I perhaps include in a short summary, even though it would also be great to cover it live? In these short segments, I want to tell the whole story of the meeting. However, covering everything is almost impossible given the high density of events. Finding the right balance is not easy and requires good preparation.

Speaking of preparation: How do you prepare for athletics meetings?

Together with my TV colleagues Mario Gehrer, Patrick Schmid and Matthias Winterberg, I maintain a database of the athletes. Each of us is responsible for updating the database during a certain period of time. Has someone suffered an injury? Have there been any coaching changes or new personal bests? Are there interesting or special stories behind the professional careers of certain athletes? Since I commentate on athletics throughout the season, I am actually always up to date.

You have covered around 30 editions of Weltklasse Zürich. What stands out in your memory?

Audrey Werro’s victory last year was simply incredible, especially given the history behind it. She was the first Swiss female athlete to win in Zurich since 1990, when 400m hurdler Anita Protti achieved the feat. That will remain a memorable moment for a long time. Or André Bucher in 2001, when he set a Swiss record in the 800 metres as the newly crowned world champion – unforgettable. Of course, there have also been international athletes who have left a lasting impression. But it is the Swiss successes, when a Swiss athlete reaches the very top of the world, that stay with me the most.

«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.