European Athletics collaborated with the global governing body World Athletics and the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24, held earlier this month, on a Media Development Programme which gave young sports journalists with an interest in athletics the opportunity to develop their skills in a high-pressure championship setting.
The Programme is designed to help grow media coverage of our sport, encourage athletics journalism and bring more young writers and editors into the sport.
Participants included representatives of three European countries - Great Britain, Italy and the Netherlands - and among them was the Netherlands’ Tijn Piest, who provided an inside view on the Programme for European Athletics.
Duplantis takes the crowd on a rollercoaster on his way to gold at Glasgow24
— AIPS MEDIA (@AIPSmedia) March 4, 2024
By Tijn Piest https://t.co/azu0W9lZbs
“Before the World Athletics Indoor Championships last week, a Media Development Program was organised for young journalists aiming to bring athletics to a new height.
“I was happy to be one of the seven who did theoretical sessions, listened to organisers, and wrote articles about the spectacle in the Emirates Arena.
“The sessions included a meeting with the (video) referee, a lesson by the social media team of World Athletics and of course a guided tour through the indoor track.
“It was challenging for sure, writing about the action on the track in English, while working for Hardloopnetwerk [a Dutch-language athletics and running website], and also enjoying some of the greatest athletes of all time in action.
“It was a real pleasure to be surrounded by experienced guides and interesting colleagues.
"The most memorable session was probably that give by the famous commentator Rob Walker [a regular commentator for World Athletics’ broadcasts as well as many other media], who conveyed his athletics enthusiasm magnificently.
"provided possibly the most memorable part of the programme along with the guided tour around the Emirates Arena while hundreds of operators were setting up the last details,” reflected Piest.
In Glasgow, Piest honed his trade by producing articles for the AIPS website on US sprinter Christian Coleman, Sweden's pole vaulter superstar Armand Duplantis, (see the above post on X, formerly Twitter) and, of course, his compatriot Femke Bol, who set a world indoor 400m record of 49.17 and the latter article is available here.
MDP participants interviewing World Athletics Presdient Sebastian Coe
@ Tijn Piest