Swimmer Liebmann Wins Gold, but German TV Missed It Live
Listen to the story
At the European Swimming Championships, a young German swimmer called Liebmann won gold in the women's 800m freestyle. She is a rising star who has grown up in a swimming group in Magdeburg, Germany.
However, German TV did not show her winning race live. This made another German swimmer, Martens, very angry. He publicly criticised the German TV station for not broadcasting the event.
Martens said that Liebmann's success deserved better coverage. He believes such an important sporting achievement should have been shown live to the public.
Liebmann is described as a talented young swimmer who continues to impress everyone who watches her race. Many fans hope she will get more attention in the future.
Meanwhile, in the men's competition, Italian swimmers Luca De Tullio and Matteo Diodato competed against each other in the 800m freestyle. De Tullio came out on top of this internal duel between teammates.
His strong performance means he has now qualified for the final of the 1500m freestyle, one of the longest and most demanding events in swimming.
Diodato, meanwhile, finished in sixth place in the 800m freestyle race, a solid result but not enough to match his teammate's success.
The championships continue this week with more finals and events across different swimming disciplines. Fans and athletes alike are watching closely to see who will take home more medals.
Vocabulary10 words
- European Swimming Championships
- a big competition for swimmers from Europe
- gold
- the prize for coming first place
- group
- a team that trains together
- criticised
- said something is not good
- coverage
- how much a TV station shows an event
- impress
- to make people feel very positive about you
- duel
- a close competition between two people
- final
- the last, most important race in a competition
- championships
- a big sports event to find the best player
- qualified
- reached the next stage of a competition
Quiz
Answer key
1. She won gold in the 800m freestyle 2. They did not broadcast Liebmann's winning race live 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
At the European Swimming Championships, a young German swimmer called Liebmann won _____ in the women's 800m freestyle. She is a rising star who has grown up in a swimming _____ in Magdeburg, Germany.
However, German TV did not show her winning race live. This made another German swimmer, Martens, very angry. He publicly _____ the German TV station for not broadcasting the event.
Martens said that Liebmann's success deserved better _____. He believes such an important sporting achievement should have been shown live to the public.
Liebmann is described as a talented young swimmer who continues to _____ everyone who watches her race.
Meanwhile, in the men's competition, Italian swimmers Luca De Tullio and Matteo Diodato competed against each other in the 800m freestyle. De Tullio came out on top of this internal _____ between teammates.
His strong performance means he has now _____ for the _____ of the 1500m freestyle, one of the longest and most demanding events in swimming.
Diodato, meanwhile, finished in sixth place in the 800m freestyle race, a solid result but not enough to match his teammate's success.
The _____ continue this week with more finals and events across different swimming disciplines.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think live TV coverage of sports events is important to athletes?
- Do you think it's fair for athletes to publicly criticise broadcasters? Why or why not?
- What qualities do you think make a young athlete a 'rising star'?
- How do you feel about internal competition between teammates from the same country?