Gerd Szepanski

Gerd Szepanski (born November 20, 1947 in Malente ; † September 8, 2012 there ) was a German sports reporter . He was one of the most prominent tennis commentators on German television. For more than 30 years he has been reporting regularly for various broadcasters on the Wimbledon Championships , the most important tournament of the tennis year.

Life

As a 16-year-old athlete , Szepanski took part in the Olympic Youth Camp in Tokyo in 1964 ; just two years later he ran the 100 meters in 10.8 seconds. As a football player he was a member of the Hamburg student team, as a handball player he was active in the Bavarian League and as a hockey player he was a member of the state selection of Schleswig-Holstein . He studied sociology and sport at the University of Hamburg .

Szepanski began his career in 1972 parallel to his studies as a freelancer and radio reporter at NDR . In 1989 he switched to RTL , and after a brief guest appearance at ZDF , he sat at the microphone for the pay TV broadcaster Sky (formerly Premiere) from 1999 to 2011 . He also worked as a media coach for the Masterpool company.

As a commentator, he was valued above all for his great expertise and for his calm and factual reporting. Only in 1999 did he make a linguistic mistake in the women's final of the French Open : "When Martina Hingis took her toilet break, the wave spilled over here on Center Court."

Szepanski was married and had one daughter. He died of thyroid cancer at the age of 64 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tennis reporter Gerd Szepanski died in focus.de, accessed on September 12, 2012