FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 19th, 2016

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES – AUG. 18 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL

“There’s no doubt who’s No. 1. That completes the Usain Bolt triple double.” – Ato Boldon

 

“Ashton Eaton can do anything that he sets his mind to. If he wants, it’ll get done.” – Trey Hardee

 

RIO DE JANEIRO – August 19, 2016 – NBC Olympics’ primetime coverage of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, continued Thursday night on the networks of NBCUniversal.

 

Primetime host Bob Costas opened up Thursday night’s coverage on NBC from NBC Olympics’ studio located inside the International Broadcast Center in Rio. Day 13 on NBC was highlighted by defending two-time champion Usain Bolt winning a third gold medal in the 200m and American Ashton Eaton securing gold in the decathlon, making him only the third man ever to win consecutive gold medals in the event. Track and field coverage also saw American Dalilah Muhammad win gold in the 400m hurdles, and the U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team advance to the finals with a time trial run after winning a protest appeal that was filed because their initial run was impeded by a Brazilian runner.

 

Primetime coverage on NBC also featured the platform diving finals, where Jessica Parratto finished 10th in the women’s individual platform. Coverage on NBC concluded with Brazil’s Alison and Bruno defeating Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo in men’s beach volleyball gold medal match.

 

This evening’s Olympic action on NBCSN featured the women’s basketball semifinals where the United States defeated France to advance to the gold medal game, and the Netherlands defeating Russia for the bronze medal in men’s beach volleyball.

 

Following are highlights from tonight’s evening and primetime coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on the networks of NBCUniversal:

 

Host Bob Costas gave an update on the ongoing investigation involving Ryan Lochte and three other members of the U.S. men’s swimming team saying:

 

Costas: Welcome back to Rio where today, as you know if you have been following along, there were many more developments in the Ryan Lochte story headlined by Brazilian officials declaring that Lochte’s account was fabricated and presenting an array of evidence to back their version of events. The police say something did in fact happen at a gas station here, but not what Lochte told them…It could very well be that there will be additional developments and if so NBC News and Sports will continue to bring them to you.”

 

NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz contributed an on-site report with the latest news in the investigation. The full segment is available here.

 

David Feherty joined Bob Costas in studio and shared the following thoughts on the spirit of the Olympics: “This has been the most amazing experience seeing the reaction that these athletes have amongst each other standing shoulder to shoulder. From the smallest mouse-squeaking gymnast to the bull-snorting Russian weightlifter and everything in between, they all share the same sort of purpose this week.”

***

TRACK & FIELD – NBC

 

Analyst Ato Boldon on the third straight 200m gold medalist Usain Bolt: “There’s no doubt who’s No. 1. That completes the Usain Bolt triple double. He has now won the 100m and the 200m dash in three consecutive Olympics and stands at eight Olympic gold medals.”

 

Play-by-play announcer Tom Hammond as Bolt crosses the finish line: “He makes it look easy. Bolt 200m triple!”

 

Usain Bolt to reporter Lewis Johnson after winning the 200m: “I wanted to run faster. I really wanted to go faster. I think it would have helped if I had someone faster than me to really pull me. I tried but my body would not respond to me.”

 

Two time decathlon gold medalist Ashton Eaton to reporter Lewis Johnson on his wife and Canadian Brianne Theisen-Eaton, who won the bronze medal in the women’s heptathlon: “To share this with her, she is a big part of my success, and to share this moment as Olympians and Olympic medalists is awesome.”

 

Analyst Trey Hardee on back-to-back decathlon gold medalist Eaton: “What Ashton Eaton showed in the last 300m is why he’s a true champion. He wasn’t just going to settle to sticking tight with Kévin Mayer, who had the meet of his life and should be ecstatic for this silver medal, but Ashton wasn’t going to be satisfied. He turned the screws; he brought it home and gave it his best effort.”

 

Hardee on the possibility of Eaton returning in four years to compete for a potential third gold medal: “Ashton Eaton can do anything that he sets his mind to. If he wants to, it’ll get done.”

 

Hardee on the sentiments immediately before the final event of the decathlon: “It is the thing you kind of dream about. You think you are going to win the Olympics in the 1,500m, in glory, but it is also the thing that scares you the most.”

 

Hardee on Eaton after nine events of the decathlon: “When the day started it was is Ashton going to break this world record? And as we progress through the events he kind of started to come back to the field and it changed to can he break the Olympic record, which has stood for 12 years. And now right before this 1,500m, the ascension of Kévin Mayer has turned the conversation to will Ashton Eaton win gold?”

 

Analyst Sanya Richards-Ross on Dalilah Muhammad 400m hurdle victory: “And what a brave run by Dalilah Muhammad. She took it out. It didn’t matter if it was raining. She was so focused on winning this title.”

 

Boldon on the gold medal victory for Muhammad: “The United States has had the world record in this event and they have had world championships in this event as recently as 2011. But never before tonight has an American woman claimed Olympic 400m hurdle gold.”

 

Analyst Craig Masback on the ongoing controversy which surrounds gender verification testing in track and field: “This story has played out over the past seven years and everyone agrees about one thing: it has been unfair to this woman Caster Semenya. It has been public, when it should have been private. It has been bungled by all the relevant organizations and there is still no consensus from scientists. And there is total confusion about what the rules are and what they should be.”

 

American runner Kate Grace to Lewis Johnson after qualifying for the women’s 800m final: “I’m speechless. That was a personal record. I knew I had to run a personal record to make it. This has been a dream goal of mine forever. Oh my God, I can’t believe it.”

 

Hardee on 23-year-old Ryan Crouser’s record breaking shot put throw: “The big man has done it right there. Farther than anyone has ever thrown in the Olympic Games for the young American…Ryan Crouser leaves tonight a champion and an Olympic record holder.”

 

***

 

DIVING – NBC

 

Analyst Cynthia Potter on China’s Ren Qian final dive of the gold medal round: “She has set the standard extremely high. Lovely, superior, splendid, can I think of any more adjectives?”

 

***

 

BEACH VOLLEYBALL – NBC

 

Analyst Kevin Wong on playing in the rain: “I loved it. It is an attitude. It is (about) the person that can embrace the chaos more than anyone else. If you are going to be a perfectionist, it is not going to work in the rain.”

 

Play-by-play commentator Chris Marlowe as Brazil’s Alison and Bruno secure the gold medal in two sets: “And it is over. The dream has come true for Brazil…The first Brazilian men’s gold since 2004. It is unrivaled joy.”

 

***

 

BASKETBALL – NBCSN

 

Analyst Ann Meters-Drysdale on the United States advancing to the gold medal game despite not playing their best: “It’s not a game where the United States came out really sharp…but I think going into that gold medal game the United States will look to be more efficient…what a good test (tonight was) for the United States.”

 

***

 

TELEMUNDO DEPORTES – SOCCER

 

Analyst Andrés Cantor on Saturday men’s soccer gold medal final between Germany and Brazil: “From the beginning, Brazil’s goal in these Games has been clear: to win the only world title that has eluded it so far. Brazil needs to be able to count on a good performance by Neymar, who has been improving every day. He will be up against a dedicated German team that went from being a minute away from elimination to winning a well-deserved place in the final on Saturday.”

 

ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

 

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. The 2012 London Olympics were watched by 217 million Americans across the networks of NBCUniversal, making it the most-watched event in U.S. television history.

-RIO 2016-