Anne Montminy had the ultimate insider's view of the women's 10-metre platform diving final this morning at the Beijing Olympics.
Who knew better, after all, about what Canadian Emilie Heymans was going through than her former synchronized diving partner. Fortunately for the CBC, it Montminy was on its team for the dramatic event that resulted in Heymans earning Canada its 14th medal of Beijing 2008.
Working as an analyst alongside Steve Armitage, Montminy expertly told us which dives would tell the tale about Heymans' emotional state during a nerve-wracking final that went right down to the final plunge into the Water Cube pool (Chinese teen Chen Ruolin edged Heymans for the gold on a near-perfect final dive).
All the while, Montminy managed to conceal (for the most part) the excitement she felt for Heymans, who hadn't won an individual diving medal at the Games until today (she was fourth on the tower in Athens four years ago).
"It was particularly touching for me," Montminy later revealed in a studio interview with CBC Olympic Morning host Diana Swain. "(Heymans) has had trouble with her nerves in the past but she was really on tonight ... It was one of the most, if not the most, incredible competitions I've ever seen."
China has now won all seven diving golds at these Games. It's a dominance that Montminy doesn't see Canada, in particular, breaking any time soon. The Chinese, she said, spend "so many more hours" training than divers in other countries.
"We're not going to be able to put in the time (to match them)," said Montminy. "We have to prepare for life after sport, with things like school. It's a different society there."
*****
TSN has popularized the '1 Up, 1 Down' system for its hockey telecasts (that's a play-by-play guy in the broadcast booth and an analyst between the benches, for the uninitiated).
Here's a new one from the CBC. Bruce Rainnie, who was pulled from the Beijing rowing/canoe-kayak events at the last minute because of illness, called today's individual showjumping final off a monitor in Toronto while equestrian analyst Beth Underhill worked from ringside in Hong Kong.
What to call that setup? How about 'one here, one there,' perhaps?
Thursday, August 21, 2008
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