Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.
People ask what are the best vantage points to watch the Olympic 10K Marathon Swim on Copacabana Beach, which is one of the few sports in the Olympics that will have a combination of paid seating and free standing-room only sections.
But Copacabana Beach is a relatively flat, but extremely wide stretch of white sand. So while the ambiance will be festive and pulsating with music and energy, the actual viewpoints from the standing-room only sections of the marathon swimmers in the water will be difficult to see.
But with large-screen television screens following the swimmers through a mixture of cameras on drones, helicopters and official boats on the course itself, the best perspectives will be watching the swimmers on broadcast and venue screens.
“When the athletes come in and out of the feeding stations or around the turn buoys and especially sprinting down the finish chute to the finish pontoon, the best viewpoints will come from the cameras on the water and in the air,” predicts Steven Munatones.
“Arguably, the best seat in the house will be listening to your favorite national commentator while watching the action on TV. The camerawork will be excellent and veteran play-by-play announcers like NBC’s Rowdy Gaines will make the marathon swim so exciting to watch. The open water races will be great entertainment with a massive dash of patriotism, physicality and uncertainty until the very last arm stroke.”
Copyright © 2016 by World Open Water Swimming Association