On December 9, NBC will show it's coverage of the Ironman Triathlon and if you have watched the coverage they spend much of time on the personal stories of a few of the competitors. The format appears to be same this year and one of the competitors they will be highlighting is David Samson.
Commentator Al Trautwig hosts the two-hour show, which airs from 4-6 p.m. ET that Saturday.
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The NBC special profiles a number of the participants, including Samson and David Rozelle, a U.S. Army Captain and the first officer ever to return to command as an amputee, and Desiree Ficker, who finished second in the women's pro division.
Peter Henning, the show's executive producer, said there would be a hefty amount of coverage devoted to Samson.
"I've covered sports for every network that there is," Henning said. "And usually after third place, you don't hear about anybody. The thing about Ironman is everybody puts in the dedication and everybody puts in the training for it, whether you are [top competitors] or whether you are David Samson and people like that who take time from their daily schedule."
I guess NBC decided that after years of covering heroic achievements they needed to include the accomplishments of a complete jerk. Could I complete the Ironman? Heck, no! But I think I could have screened the participants for a better personal interest story. Let me see, the president of an organization gets to take time off and train for the event. I'm not impressed. If one of the secretaries achieves the same thing, believe me, then I would be impressed.
Anyway, if you watch the coverage Samson will be featured. Personally, I think I will find something else to catch my attention on December 9 between 4 and 6 p.m.