To want to slap Claire Balding around the face with wet lettuce??

[JumpingThroughMoreHoops]

C4 is using commentators and spokes-people with disabilities that reflect some of the disabilities incurred by the participants.

In some cases, they are considerably better than the mainstream sports presenters.

Ade Adepitan for example has been a brilliant commentator this evening. Informed, knows his subject inside out, has a good grasp of human biology but he's witty, funny, personable, watchable etc

Unlike Claire Balding who should be taken out and shot for getting overly excited by Sophie Christiansen (equestrian gold), who has a fairly obvious form of cerebral palsy and announcing "she's not just just {obvious gap of words} she's got a masters in mathematics, she's intelligent too".

Uh oh,

:(
People are so uneducated .... but if they take this type of job they should do their research....

Yabu.
She is doing fine.

You won't get anyone agreeing with you, we all love Clare. Maybe that comment didn't come out quite how she intended but she is fantastic generally

YABVVVVVU. All hail Lady Clare of Baldingshire.

As a disabled person I find nothing offensive with Clare balding-she is a great commentator and I find it somewhat disappointing you are implying one needs to be disabled to present coverage of the Paralympics. Disabled people face a lot of negative discrimination. To wish to positively discriminate towards television commentators is actually quite condescending.

I love her. I will shoot you, though, OP.

I saw that and thought she was saying that she wasn't just a gold medal winning paralympic equestrian, but that she also has a masters in maths.

DS, who was obviously thinking that she had a learning difficulty when he heard her speaking, was very interested to hear that.

Oh get over yourself. If the Tom Daley had got his A level results before his diving bronze, no doubt it would have been mentioned.

YABU

I can imagine a commentator being impressed that any Olympic athlete also had a masters in mathematics.

YABU

HTH

reports thread

I didn't see the bit you describe but in general I have enjoyed Clare Balding presenting the various paralympic shows. She usually seems good and sensitive.

Sorry. I luff her. Her Olympic coverage was top notch. I won't toss her aside for a bit of mid-sentence confusion. Let's face it - she couldn't possibly remember everything about every athlete and every sport, but she's giving it a go!!

why report a thread? It brings up issues of perception towards the disabled which I believe is a valid and important talking point.

Telling tales to the teacher are we?

Sophie Christiansen has competed in 3 successive Paralympics (only 16 at her first) plus World Championships, and has achieved her degrees whilst simultaneously chalking up all those international wins. It's an amazing achievement. And no worse to comment on that than it was for this who praised Tom Daley getting his A grade A levels this year whilst competing at the highest levels.

IIRC she didn't say "she's intelligent too", it wasn't phrased like that. She could have said exactly the same thing about one of the Olympic athletes and no-one would have batted an eyelid. I think she was trying to emphasise that she was both excellent at sport and at academics. Her disabilty did not come into it.

It was a joke Rosie. CALM DOON. Jeezo.

It is impressive and well worth mentioning that, alongside training for the Olympics, she also got a degree in Pure Maths. The Tom Daly comparison is right on.

I didn't see it so don't know the tone she used, but going by what you've quoted I would understand that sentence to mean "she's not just a talented sportswoman, she's intelligent too" - ie. she's multi-talented, not "oh look, who knew disabled people could be clever!".

Claire Balding has a history of foot in mouth disease though.

You do know that expressing a desire to shoot people online has led to people being arrested before?

Maybe think before you speak? That is what you're complaining about isn't it?

She's a marvellous, marvellous woman. Leave her be.

I'd say Clare Balding is one of the presenters who is notable for doing her research.

But I love her too.

I'm going to tweet her and refer her to this thread. I bet she's well hard and will offer you a square go.