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| |  Saturday, 30 December, 2000, 00:00 GMT Top TV sport execs honoured Britain's win in the rowing made gripping TV viewing Two leading TV sport executives are on the New Year's Honours list, including the man behind the BBC Olympics coverage. Martin Hopkins has received an OBE for services in sports broadcasting. Adrian Metcalfe has also been given an OBE for his own sporting achievements as well as work with Channel 4 and Eurosport. The 1964 Olympic relay silver medallist is also the chairman of UK Sports's major events committee. Hopkins never intended to have a career in sport. But 32 years after starting as a floor manager in the BBC the 58-year-old masterminded the corporation's Sydney 2000 television effort.
He was in reflective mood as the news came in of his latest reward. "I left school at 18 and went into sport as I couldn't think of anything else I knew a great deal about," revealed Hopkins. "With a little bit of help I got into journalism and after eight years I realised it would be a good time to join BBC Sport. "I was around at the right time and I've been very lucky." A rising star Hopkins believes television production techniques have changed immensely. After getting the job on Grandstand in 1977, he was able to work on events, such as Wimbledon and the Olympics. "I have always thought it was a job that some people would pay to do rather than actually being paid for," enthused Hopkins.
The Olympics is Hopkins' favourite, describing Barcelona in 1992 as a "cracker" and Sydney as the "best in memory". "Steve Redgrave winning his fifth gold medal and the commentary that went with it at the time will remain with me for my lifetime," Hopkins added. Hopkins' job prevents him from seeing the action "live". But he is more than happy to have 30 different televisions to look at - a view better than the one in most people's homes. The BBC recently won the Golden Rings for the best Olympic coverage in Sydney and Hopkins' pride was most evident. "The great thing is it's the fellow professionals who are judging you," he said, giving huge thanks to his back-up staff. Hopkins said the forthcoming year was supposed to be a quiet one but there would be plenty of things to keep him busy. "I will be planning for the winter Olympics, the Manchester Commonwealth Games and even Athens," he said, hoping his Olympics in 2000 would not be his last. Metcalfe honoured Metcalfe, the Olympic silver medal winner in the 4x400m relay at the Tokyo games in 1964, has also been given an OBE. He brought alternative sport to the British television screen when he worked for Channel 4 in the 1980s. He has also been head of programmes for Eurosport and one of the team that helped bring the World Athletics championships to Britain for 2005. | |
See also:  01 Oct 00 | Fans Guide 23 Sep 00 | Rowing and Water Sports 01 Oct 00 | Olympics2000 15 Sep 00 | Olympics2000 01 Oct 00 | Photo Gallery Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top New Year Honours stories now: Links to more New Year Honours stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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