FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, August 20th, 2016

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES – AUG. 20 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL

Five-Time Gold Medalist Allyson Felix Expected to Lead U.S. in Women’s 4x400m Relay Tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC

 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist David Boudia in Men’s Platform Diving Tonight in Primetime


STAMFORD, Conn. – August 20, 2016 – Coming up tonight on NBC Olympics’ coverage of the Games of the XXXI Olympiad from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

  • Primetime coverage, which begins at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on NBC, is highlighted by penultimate day of track and field competition as Allyson Felix, who is now the most-decorated female athlete in track and field history following her fifth gold medal as a member of the U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team, leads the U.S. in the women’s 4x400m relay. The Americans are in search of their sixth consecutive gold medal in the event.
  • Track and field coverage also includes the heavily favored U.S. in the men’s 4x400m relay, featuring LaShawn Merritt, the 400m bronze medalist in Rio and 2008 gold medalist in the event; five-time Olympian Bernard Lagat in the men’s 5000m final; and Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, in the women’s high jump final.
  • Primetime coverage continues with the men’s platform diving semifinal and gold medal final, featuring 2012 gold medalist David Boudia of Team USA.

Following are highlights from today’s coverage of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games on NBC and the networks of NBCUniversal:

BASKETBALL – NBC

Analyst Ann Meyers after the gold medal-winning U.S. women’s basketball team hit 10 unanswered shots against Spain: “That’s exactly what they do. Teams can kind of hang around, they’ll look kind of sharp and get in the lane and make some big shots, but the United States just dominates. Especially on the defensive end, they get things going and get on the boards.”

Meyers on Team USA: “One game they had 40 assists, and they’re averaging just under 30 assists in the Olympics. They are very unselfish. All the players on this team are scorers on their WNBA teams, so they’re not shy to shoot, but one of the things that makes them so special is that they are looking for each other and they really don’t care who is going to score.”

Meyers on Team USA: “The bench for the U.S. goes 12 deep, other teams don’t have that… there’s been so many substitutions that they haven’t clicked at time, everybody is so fresh. They come out there and know they’re going to play three or four minutes and they play hard when they get out there.”

Play-by-play commentator Marc Zumoff: “An example of the U.S. depth – you have the reigning WNBA MVP (Elena Delle Donne) coming off the bench in the third quarter.”

Meyers on the dominance of Team USA: “It only gets better and better for the players coming up through the United States….Looking at Australia, Spain, and France, the top three teams in the world, I don’t really know what other teams are going to challenge for a long, long time…I know that there’s a lot of talent throughout the world and they have great leagues, but to be able to compete against the United States with all the WNBA players will be a long time coming.”

***

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL – NBC

Play-by-play announcer Paul Sunderland on the bronze medal-winning U.S. women’s volleyball team: “This is a very deep American team, talent backing up every position, but the one irreplaceable component is No. 16, Foluke Akinradewo.”

Analyst Kevin Barnett: “Two consecutive Olympic Games it’s been disappointment for the Americans on their faces, taking home silver, losing their last match. Now, elation, vindication, they will stand atop the podium with a bronze medal and smiles….no tougher situation than to lose what was your dream of an Olympic gold and come back and rally for a bronze.”

Sunderland: “A tremendous effort, a tremendous battle.”

***

TRIATHLON – NBC

Play-by-play commentator Al Trautwig on women’s triathlon gold medal winner Gwen Jorgensen of the U.S.: “She did just enough in the swim to be part of the lead pack. She started out the cycling portion in the back of the pack, and then, accelerated to the middle, and then the front. Every time (Nicola) Spirig looked like she had something on her mind, Jorgensen responded. She put herself in this position. This was impressive. Tactically, from a competitive standpoint, and the gamesmanship that went on between those two.” Note: Nicola Spirig of Switzerland won silver in the race

***

GOLF – GOLF CHANNEL

Analyst Paige Mackenzie on gold medalist Inbee Park of South Korea: “Typically pressure comes from expectations. Take Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast. What she had coming into this was expectations, and she delivered. What Inbee had was doubt, and she delivered. People doubted whether she should be there, whether she should give up her position to someone who was healthy. She performed the very best with the most doubt.”

Analyst Karen Stupples ­on Park: “She’s done basically everything that she wanted to do in the game of golf. All of a sudden she has a chance to win a gold medal this year, and she devoted herself to doing so. She sacrificed playing in the RICOH Women’s British Open for this opportunity so that she could be at her very best this week. To come here and to be the champion that she is and to stand on the podium with the gold medal around her neck really is a Cinderella story, given the amount of pressure she was under from back home and knowing what she’s gone through all year struggling through the injury. She sacrificed for this moment, she wanted it. She devoted herself to it, and she got the rewards for it.”

***

BOXING – USA NETWORK

Analyst B.J. Flores on gold medal winner Robeisy Ramirez of Cuba’s mentality: “Ramirez has got the experience. He’s got that temperament and the experience – so vital in fights like this.” Note: Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez defeated Team USA’s Shakur Stevenson in a split decision (2-1) in the Men’s Boxing Bantamweight division Gold Medal Match

Flores on Team USA’s Shakur Stevenson (who won the silver medal) and his admirable effort in the Rio Olympics: “He had the entire city of Newark and an entire nation on his shoulders. That’s a lot for a young man to carry – all of his family was pulling for him. He has to realize that this is just the beginning of the next stage of his career. He has a very bright professional career ahead of him. I love the passion from him…the pure emotion.”

Play-by-play commentator Kenny Rice on the exposure Stevenson has faced:  “Coming into this tournament, you could say Shakur said ‘All eyes on me.’ Everyone has been paying attention to Stevenson since he got here.”

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-