FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 14th, 2018

2018 PYEONGCHANG WINTER OLYMPICS – FEB. 14 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC AND NBCSN

“That was fearless. They gave a gold medal performance. This is how you handle Olympic pressure.” – Tara Lipinski on Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot in the pairs’ free skate

“There’s no better feeling. You think it’d be stressful. You just sit back and smile.” – Bode Miller on mentality of Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, watching skiers miss his time en route to winning gold in men’s downhill

“She will not have a day off if she chooses to compete in every discipline from here all the way to the end of the Games. That’s a lot for someone who is 22 years old.”  Steve Porino on Mikaela Shiffrin

Shiffrin and Nathan Chen Headline Thursday’s Primetime Coverage on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 14, 2018 – Wednesday’s coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, is highlighted by:

  • NBC’s primetime presentation, which begins at 8 p.m. ET live across all time zones, featuring multi-medal threat Mikaela Shiffrin competing in the women’s slalom*;

 

  • Coverage of the men’s short program in figure skating on NBC and NBCSN in primetime and primetime plus, as Nathan Chen begins his pursuit for gold;

 

  • Live coverage of the men’s super-G in primetime on NBC, as American Andrew Weibrecht aims for a third consecutive Olympic medal in the event*;

 

  • Live coverage of the women’s snowboard cross final in primetime on NBC, as 2006 Olympic silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis headlines the U.S. effort*;

 

  • Final runs of the men’s skeleton on NBC, featuring reigning world champion Martins Dukurs of Latvia, South Korea’s Yun Sung-Bin, and Americans John Daly and Matt Antoine*.

 

*outdoor events subject to weather conditions

 

Following are highlights from tonight’s evening and primetime coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal:

 

ALPINE SKIING – NBC

Reporter Steve Porino on Mikaela Shiffrin’s busy competitive schedule in PyeongChang: “If you look forward, right now, she will not have a day off if she chooses to compete in every discipline from here all the way to the end of the Games. That’s a lot for someone who is 22 years old.”

Analyst Bode Miller on Shiffrin’s first run in the women’s giant slalom: “Not the run that she’s capable of, but certainly enough to put her in contention. You can’t win the race on the first run, but you can set yourself up, or you can build too big of a deficit to overcome. It’s going to be good for her confidence that she’s so close to the leader.”

Miller on Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal winning gold in the men’s downhill: “I can speak from experience, there aren’t many better feelings than having put down a run that Aksel did. He cleaned up some of the mistakes from the training runs. He’s a veteran that knows what it takes to win. You put that run and watch your competitors trying to attack that time and just losing time throughout the course. There’s no better feeling. You think it’d be stressful. At that point, you’ve done what you can do. It’s all out of your control. You just sit back and smile.”

Miller on Svindal skipping the slalom portion of the combined to preserve his knee and focus on the downhill: “Aksel hasn’t touched a slalom gate in two years. His knee is so badly damaged from all of his injuries, he’s barely training any events at all, it’s not just slalom. He’s managing that injury to such a large degree that this was his focus, and it’s great to see it pay off.”

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FIGURE SKATING – NBC

Analyst Tara Lipinski on performance by Germany’s Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot in the pairs’ free skate: “That was fearless. They gave a gold medal performance. They said they worked their entire lives for these last four minutes. This is how you handle Olympic pressure.”

Analyst Johnny Weir on Savchenko and Massot: “This was awe-inspiring. There were moments when she was willing him forward. There were moments when he was pulling her through this incredible journey. That’s the way to make an Olympic moment.”

Play-by-play commentator Terry Gannon on impact of gold medal for Savchenko: “Anybody that has been a part of a championship of any note knows what that must be like. But only she knows what it’s like after what she has been through all of these years.”

***

FIGURE SKATING – NBCSN

Lipinski on Canadian figure skating pair Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro: “I felt that from start to finish. They have such a beautiful relationship with each other on the ice. There is not a moment they are not connecting or looking at each other and really feeling the music. That makes a huge difference. No dead eyes.”

Lipinski on U.S. pair Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim: “There is still something so special about this moment, even with all these mistakes.”

Lipinski on North Korea’s Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik: “Like I said, I really do think this team can be a contender in the next Olympics.”

***

HOCKEY – NBCSN

Analyst AJ Mleczko on Team USA’s loss to Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games, prior to tonight’s game in group play: “That is a game etched in these players memories, for the rookies and the veterans. Everybody remembers this game. Up by two, gold medals in their hands, and they gave it away, 3-2 in overtime. And they have been training ever since then for this rematch.”

Mleczko on Team USA’s rookies wanting to win on Olympic ice: “So much is made of that heartbreak in Sochi four years ago. You can’t overlook the fact that the rookies weren’t there, they weren’t a part of it. And a lot of these rookies know nothing but victory over Canada. They’ve won the last four world championships, seven out of the last eight, so they want to bring those winning ways and continue it on Olympic ice.”

*Mleczko’s comments came prior to tonight’s U.S.-Canada women’s hockey game on NBCSN

***

SKELETON – NBC

Analyst Bree Schaaf on South Korea’s Yun Sung-Bin in run 1 of men’s skeleton: “I’ve always said that no one is born to do the sport of skeleton. It is a learned sport. But Yun proves me wrong. His coach has told me that from day one, he has had something special.”

***

OLYMPIC ICE PRESENTED BY TOYOTA – NBCSN

Olympic Ice Presented by Toyota is NBCSN’s live, daily figure skating studio show.

Olympic Ice analyst Scott Hamilton on Alexa and Chris Knierim’s pairs’ performance on Tuesday: “It just seemed like they were hanging on for dear life throughout. Just trying to get through the program, will themselves through the program. It just wasn’t what we’re used to seeing them do.”

Olympic Ice analyst Tanith White added: “This is such a wonderful introduction for America and the world to meet the Knierims. They’re so extraordinary on and off the ice. This is really a wonderful experience for them. I feel like we go back and forth. We say they’re not fighting for a medal, but at the same time they’re not here just to have fun. They’re here to fight for every point they can gain. And moreover, they’re also here to prove American pairs teams have something to offer on the world stage.”

White on China’s Sui Wenjing and Han Cong’s pairs’ performance on Tuesday: “This is the couple I can’t stop watching, really and truly.”

Hamilton on Russia’s Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov’s long program: “Their long program isn’t subtle at all. I struggle with their long program. I think their artistic direction in it is very much of show-style skating. You can tell that she enjoys every moment of their long program and she’s just so excited to be out there doing her thing. It doesn’t come off as a long program at the Olympic Games. I think it’s going to hurt them – just the artistic direction because they took a total 180 from this classic Russian style to now doing something more showy. To me, it doesn’t work.”

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ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS

A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s Olympic Games coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032.

— PYEONGCHANG 2018 —