YP Letters: BBC well out of medal contention with Olympics coverage

I SHOULD like to join with others in praising our 2016 Olympians – not just the medallists but all those who competed in our name.

I do, however, have some reservations – the cost in terms of the £250m or more from Lottery funding. Is it really a justifiable use of Lottery funds under the name of “good causes”?

Would not funding even more research in finding cures or prevention for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinsons or the at present incurable cancers be more logical?

The BBC’s wall-to-wall coverage was at best average, spoilt by the Corporation using contracted BBC presenters who often had little, if any, knowledge of the sport they were covering. I half expected Mary Berry anchoring the sumo wrestling!

The BBC seem to have an unlimited amounts to throw at tennis (BBC1 and BBC2 at the same time for two weeks), not forgetting Radio 5 Live, half the main news broadcasts and the Olympics almost 24-hour, non-stop coverage, and yet can’t find any money for international English cricket or the Open golf championship. Presumably we will have the star performers appearing on chat shows for the next six months or more!

Perhaps the BBC could help us by doing something useful, by telling us how many times, during the coverage the word “incredible” or any derivation was used – I counted 10 in one five minute interview!

From: Brian Sheridan, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

IT seems that British sport is in a no-win situation: the England football team is rubbished for being rubbish now Britain’s Olympians are excoriated by Paul Kirby for being too good (The Yorkshire Post, August 25). Their crime is “practising their sport hour after hour for the benefit of nobody but themselves”.

Poor Andy Murray comes in for special vilification: his participation in the Games was due to “pure ego”, it seems. So it would be all right if he had done it for money, then. In truth it is hard to imagine a more humble soul than the great Scot, as those who know him well would surely testify. Mr Kirby conveniently forgets Andy’s heroics for Britain in the Davis Cup. We should be grateful that he puts himself on the line for Britain so readily.

Of course sports stars’ pay is obscene compared to that of care workers but that isn’t Murray’s fault. And whatever their motives, haven’t our Olympians brought joy into British homes, including, it has to be said, care homes?