FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, February 24th, 2018

2018 PYEONGCHANG OLYMPICS – FEB. 24 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL

This win means extreme growth for the sport of curling in the U.S.” – Kevin Martin on Team USA’s gold medal

 

“I have never had more fun in my life.” – American curler John Shuster

 

NBC’s Primetime Coverage, Live Across All Time Zones, Begins at 8 p.m. ET Tonight Featuring the Figure Skating Gala & Four-Man Bobsled

All Events Live Streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 24, 2018 – Tonight’s primetime 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 the figure skating gala. The U.S. will be represented by 2018 Olympic ice dance bronze medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani, as well as Canadian ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Ladies’ medalists, Alina Zagitova and Yevgenia Medvedeva are also expected to perform;

 

  • Live primetime coverage on NBC of the four-man bobsled final runs, featuring 23-year-old Codie Bascue, who has emerged as Team USA’s best four-man pilot;

 

  • Live coverage of the women’s curling gold medal final on NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET, featuring host nation South Korea vs. Sweden, followed by live coverage of the men’s hockey gold medal game, featuring Olympic Athletes from Russia vs. Germany, at 10:30 p.m. ET.

 

*outdoor events subject to weather conditions

 

Click here for a preview of tonight’s primetime action.

 

Following are highlights from today’s coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics on NBC and the networks of NBCUniversal:

 

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MEN’S CURLING – NBC

 

Analyst Kevin Martin on the impact of Team USA’s gold medal in PyeongChang: “I’ve never seen anything like this. This win means extreme growth for the sport of curling in the U.S. It will do wonders for the game.”

 

Play-by-play commentator Jason Knapp on Team USA’s amazing run: “A few days ago, it was unlikely. Now it is undeniable. The United States has won curling gold at the Olympics.”

 

Knapp on the huge double from American curler John Shuster for 5 in end 8 to take a 10-5 lead: “The American fans are going nuts in South Korea and across the states.”

 

Martin: “What an amazing double. Remarkable.”

 

Knapp on American curler Matt Hamilton: “When you add it all up, he will have competed in about 40 hours of his sport here at the Olympics.”

 

John Shuster and the men’s curling team joined host Carolyn Manno to discuss winning two medals at the Games. Following are excerpts from that conversation.

 

Shuster: “Being able to deliver in that moment is one of the things I am most proud of.”

 

American curler Matt Hamilton on members of the Swedish team attending his wedding: “Curling is a very small and tight community…There is a lot of comradery.”

 

American curler John Landsteiner: “We actually got a call from Mr. T before our game, it was awesome. The amount of people that are excited for us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it is incredible.”

 

Shuster: “I just can’t tell you how easy it felt the last five games, because of the guys that were playing on the ice with me. I have never had more fun in my life.”

 

Watch the United States win their first gold medal in curling here.

 

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MEN’S HOCKEY – NBCSN

 

Studio analyst Keith Jones on Canada’s start in today’s bronze medal game vs. Czech Republic compared to the start vs. Germany: “They started physically, which was a big difference than the last game. They deserved to lose against the Germans based upon the way they played in the first two periods. Here they came out and played the game the way you are supposed play it.”

 

Analyst Pierre McGuire: “This is more like the Canadian team we saw against the Finland. Gridding it out, getting pucks deep, supporting their defense, doing all the little things well.”

 

Analyst Mike Milbury on Canadian forward Chris Kelly: “One of the guys that they can lean on here to be cool under pressure. The Canadian team has to continue to attack the puck carrier. They have done a great job of forcing the puck carrier to make quick, and sometimes hasty decisions. That is just diligent hard work.”

 

McGuire on Canadian forward Eric O’Dell: “If I were an NHL manager, I would sign this guy to a short deal and he would be on third or fourth line. I’m telling you he is coachable. He has got the right attitude.”

 

Milbury on the reversal of Czech Republic’s goal: “For Team Canada having seemingly dodged a bullet, time for a good, steady shift. That reversal of the (Czech Republic’s captain Martin) Erat shot from goal to no goal has seemed to have really zapped the energy from the Czech squad.”

 

Albert on Canada’s bronze medal win: “Most of these players never thought they would represent their country until the decision made by the NHL. And although gold was the goal, they will take home bronze medals.”

 

Watch Canada defeat Czech Republic to win the bronze medal here.

 

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SPEED SKATING – NBCSN

 

Analyst Joey Cheek on Japanese speed skater Nana Takagi’s gold-medal performance: “This is the finish everyone wanted to see for a mass start event. Close, tight. (Nana) Takagi in front. What a race.”

 

Cheek on the state of U.S. speed skating: “Well, with the exception of that one bright spot, the ladies’ team pursuit, U.S. speed skating has two enormous challenges going. The first is, the talent they have, they’re not maximizing it. There are multiple skaters on the U.S. team who have won international world championship titles who haven’t medaled here in PyeongChang. The other problem is, in my opinion even worse, and it is a pipeline problem. There is so little talent coming into the sport, so few new athletes taking it up. For the next several years there’s going to be a real challenge finding future champions.”

 

Olympic contributor Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined play-by-play commentator Tom Hammond and analyst Joey Cheek in the booth to discuss men’s and women’s mass start speed skating. Below are excerpts from that conversation.

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the similarities between speed skating and NASCAR: “Especially the strategy. This is the semi-finals we have been watching there is a lot of gamesmanship, and there are a lot of guys out there pacing themselves. Joey Mantia did just enough to get into the finals. He is doing enough to get in and try to save what he can for the finals. It seems like it will be a completely different race for the finals…This is the first time this event has been in the Olympics, and I think it is going to be a very popular sport.”

 

Hammond: “Olympic athletes work basically their whole lives for one moment at the Olympic games. Is there anything comparable in NASCAR?”

 

Earnhardt: “I’d say the Daytona 500. All the drivers put that at the top of races you want to win.”

 

Watch Nana Takagi win gold in the women’s mass start here.

 

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MEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING – NBCSN

 

Play-by-play commentator Steve Schlanger on the difficulty of the men’s 50 km cross-country race: “How grueling is this…total length is some five miles longer than a marathon. It is like skiing from Midtown, Manhattan to Greenwich, Connecticut. And it comes at the end of two weeks of hard racing on the biggest stage in the sport at the Olympics.”

 

Analyst Chad Salmela on 26-year-old Iivo Niskanen in the final stretch of the men’s 50 km cross-country race. “No Fin has won an Olympic 50k since 1960 in Squaw Valley. Niskanen is about to change that but he has got to hold it together.”

 

Watch Niskanen capture Finland’s first PyeongChang gold here.

 

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WOMEN’S CURLING – NBCSN

 

Play-by-play commentator Jason Knapp on Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead’s final throw: “A tight, tenuous, stressful event for both and Eve Muirhead cannot convert on the last chance.”

 

Analyst Kevin Martin added: “She took a great risk on that last shot, gave it all she had, rock did not come enough, jammed it and lost the game.”

 

Knapp on Japan’s success: “Another great story in curling at these Games. Japan has an Olympic medal for the first time in the sport as the game continues to grow globally. The Japanese are ecstatic. They are on the podium here in 2018.”

 

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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 —