Sports commentator Antero Mertaranna has a backpack full of funny World Cup accessories for athletics.
Antero Mertaranta has been on site at the World Athletics Championships eight times. One of the best memories is Jonathan Edwards’ winning jump in Gothenburg in 1995. PASI LEISMA
- Antero Mertaranna has a lot of fun memories of the World Championships in Athletics.
- Nastolalainen has commented, among other things, on every hockey World Cup since 1995.
- A piece of the man’s narration ended up in a song by a Czech band.
Antero Mertaranta has been on site at the World Athletics Championships in the role of commentator and interviewer a total of eight times.
Nastola’s man opens his funniest race memories to Iltalehti.
The first is from 1993 in Stuttgart. At that time, Yle did the races with three commentators, one of whom was in turn an interviewer.
– I went to my interview wearing a USA Basketball t-shirt. Soon after, the late producer Markku Vainikka asked to visit the command center. A question had come from quite high up inside Yle that how could a journalist appear on television wearing a shirt like that.
– Someone thought it was politics. I was at my first World Cup and I couldn’t imagine how anyone would react to that. In no case did I provoke, it was a poor peasant’s shirt, Mertaranta laughs.
Bryggare was getting hot
Former rowing star Arto Bryggare and Mertaranta have worked together. PASI LEISMA
At the 2003 Games in Paris, Arto Bryggare worked as Yleisradio’s expert. Today, Bryggare is Iltalehti’s athletics expert.
– Artsi had left his accreditation slip on the table at breakfast. I put it in my bag as a joke. We had to leave for the stadium right after breakfast, and I asked Arts if he had the race pass with him.
– He immediately went into the room to look for the accreditation slip and apparently turned it upside down. Then he asked the hotel staff where exactly that acre is, Mertaranta laughs.
The whole Yle team knew that the note was in Merts’ bag.
– I still remember Arts’ expression when I took the note out of the bag in the minibus.
Mertaranta and Bryggare have worked a lot together since the incident and the men’s relationship is fine.
Swedish media linked
The 2005 Helsinki Games are remembered for the torrential downpours. The weather also affected what the Yle team did.
– I was Bubi Wallenius with in turn, when the races were stopped due to a thunderstorm. But the broadcast continued. Then came the command that the commentary booths must also be emptied and everyone must leave the stadium immediately for safety reasons. I signaled to Bubi that I was going to disappear.
– The next morning, I heard speculation on Radio Nova that Mertaranta cheated and left Wallenius alone in the newsroom. It didn’t quite go that way
The media of the western neighbor took joy out of Helsinki’s bad weather situation.
– It was written there that Finland should never again grant any games.
Triangle sandwiches in pan
It was really hot in Osaka in 2007. As it is in Budapest. Tero Pitkämäki won the javelin gold, but Mertaranta’s memory is related to behind-the-scenes affairs.
– Because of the heat, the races in Osaka started early in the morning. There was a longer break during the day and things continued in the evening. When we left for the stadium in the morning, the hotel’s breakfast room was still closed. The company matter-of-factly took care of us with triangle breads for breakfast.
– After that trip, I haven’t eaten trifle bread, and I won’t. The quota was completely filled in Osaka, the narrator says.
Czech news
Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova and Antero Mertaranta were the stars of the hotel’s opening ceremony in Ostrava in 2008. The Czech Republic also won gold at the 2012 London Olympics. PDO
However, the most special memory of Mertaranta may be related to the Beijing Olympic Games and 2008.
The man is known for his intense commentary, and this was also heard when Barbora Spotakova won the women’s javelin Olympic gold in Beijing with a top score of 71.42.
Athletics man Mika Järvinen the wife worked for Czech TV and heard the gold commentary.
– A clip of my narration was shown in the sports news of some channel in the Czech Republic.
The clip also ended To Youtube.
Ostrava
A couple of weeks after the Games, Mertsi received a request from the embassy to go to the opening of a new hotel in Ostava to explain the gold throw in Finnish. Spotakova was also coming to the event.
– I thought the whole thing was a joke at first, and I didn’t answer anything. Soon there was another contact from the embassy, and so I went to visit Ostrava. There was a big public celebration there in connection with the opening of the hotel and a lot of people because of Spotakova.
– Spotakova made an imaginary Olympic gold throw on the outdoor stage, I explained it again in Finnish. The public liked it. In the evening there was a VIP party where I was a guest, Mertaranta recalls.
– In addition, a Czech rock band took clips from my commentary for their song.
The World Cup in Budapest ends on Sunday.