FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, February 24th, 2018

2018 PYEONGCHANG WINTER OLYMPICS – FEB. 24 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC AND NBCSN

“The Olympics are about unity and sportsmanship and so much more than the medal count. You can show kids what it’s like to be a true sportsman, a true champion.” – Lindsey Vonn

“How he rebounded from those low points is just as inspiring in many ways as winning a gold medal.” – Tanith White on Nathan Chen

“Such an extraordinary talent. She did things on this ice that I’ve never seen before in all of my years.” – Scott Hamilton on Alina Zagitova

“What this will do for the sport of bobsled in Korea.” – John Morgan on South Korea winning silver in four-man bobsled

Tara Lipinski, Johnny Weir, and Terry Gannon Host NBC Olympics’ Primetime Coverage of the Closing Ceremony on Sunday Night

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 24, 2018 – Sunday’s coverage of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, the final day of the Games, is highlighted by:

  • NBC’s primetime presentation, which begins at 7 p.m. ET live across all time zones, featuring the Closing Ceremony for the XXIII Olympic Winter Games. NBC Olympics’ figure skating commentating trio of Tara Lipinski, Johnny Weir, and Terry Gannon will host Closing Ceremony coverage, which will feature the Parade of Athletes, interviews, profiles, musical performances, and more;

 

  • A chance for viewers to relive the top performances and moments of the Games on Olympic Gold at 7 p.m. ET on NBC;

 

  • The cross-country women’s 30km event during daytime coverage on NBC. American Jessie Diggins, who helped the U.S. win its first-ever gold medal in cross-country skiing at these Games and will serve as flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony, is expected to compete;

 

  • An encore presentation of the U.S. women’s hockey team’s historic victory against Canada in the gold medal game, airing Sunday at 3:45 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

 

  • NBC Olympics’ documentary 1968, which chronicles that tumultuous and politically-charged year, as the Mexico City Games became a stage for the collision of sport and politics, airing at 4:10 p.m. ET on NBC.

 

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

 

NBC Olympics’ primetime host Mike Tirico interviewed Team USA’s Lindsey Vonn during tonight’s primetime show. Following are excerpts from their conversation:

Vonn on takeaways from PyeongChang: “There were a lot of times that I didn’t know if I was going to make it here, especially at the beginning of this year when I crashed at Lake Louise. My knee was not doing well. I’ve had such bad luck getting hurt at the wrong time that just making it here was a huge relief. I was healthy in the starting gate this time, and I gave it everything I had. I charged and that’s something that I haven’t been able to really do over the past few years.”

Vonn on impact of her grandfather at these Games: “I actually questioned whether I should continue racing when I crashed in Lake Louise. But knowing that I needed to win for him, or try to win for him, that’s what really kept me going. In his spirit, I never gave up, and I’ve enjoyed this time here in South Korea where it’s meant so much to him, his life and his service. It’s been emotional, but I’m glad I got this time here.”

Tirico: “In 20 years, when family, whoever it is, they sit down and they ask you, ‘What can you tell me about Lindsey Vonn’s career in the Olympics?’ What will you tell them?”

Vonn: “I’d say I was an Olympic champion, but I was someone that embodied the Olympic spirit, more so than how many medals I got.”

Tirico: “How so?”

Vonn: “The Olympics are about unity and sportsmanship and so much more than the medal count. We’re athletes, we all want to win, that’s a given, but at the same time, I don’t think there’s any other competition in the world that really brings everyone together like the Olympics. You can show kids what it’s like to be a true sportsman, a true champion, not just because you’re a winner, but because of how you conduct yourself.”

***

FIGURE SKATING – NBC

Analyst Scott Hamilton on Team USA’s Maia and Alex Shibutani in the figure skating gala: “They are so approachable and so generous with their fans. They absolutely peaked at the perfect time. They saved their best skating for here in PyeongChang.”

Hamilton on gold medalist Alina Zagitova: “Such an extraordinary talent. She did things on this ice that I’ve never seen before in all of my years.”

Play-by-play commentator Andrea Joyce on North Korea’s Ryom Te-ok and Kim Ju-sik: “Their appearance at these Games transcended the competition.”

***

CURLING – NBC

Tirico spoke with the U.S. men’s curling team that won the first-ever Olympic gold medal in curling in U.S history. Following are excerpts from their interview.

Skip John Shuster on their win: “It was a huge opportunity for our sport and for ourselves. It’s been such a great moment to be a part of Team USA.”

Vice skip Tyler George on the turnaround after starting 2-4 in round-robin play: “Playing Canada when we did was probably the best thing for us, because when you come up against the best in the world, you relax and say, ‘We’ve got nothing to lose…if we can beat them, we can beat anybody.’ We found that rhythm, it’s the same as any other sport.”

Lead John Landsteiner on the potential long-lasting impact of their gold medal victory: “I think it’s going to expand the number of dedicated facilities and grow the number of people that will be playing…I know there are dedicated clubs being built in the south and the west, and hopefully that continues.”

***

BOBSLED – NBC

Play-by-play commentator John Morgan on South Korean team winning silver in four-man bobsled: “What this will do for the sport of bobsled in Korea. Then you think of the big picture. What is this going to do for the sport of bobsledding in Asia?”

Morgan on the drama of the sliding sports in the PyeongChang Games: “The ‘House of Speed’ has had us on the edge of our seats in every race. History is made here again in the last two sleds.”

Morgan on dominance of Germany in the sliding sports in PyeongChang: “The Germans didn’t win any medals (in the sliding sports) at the last Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, the first time since 1968. They came back with a vengeance, and boy, did they dominate the sliding sports here at the Alpensia Sliding Center.”

Analyst Bree Schaaf on Team USA four-man bobsled pilot Codie Bascue: “Codie is a young athlete with all of the pressure on his shoulders. That is a lot of weight to carry.”

***

SPEED SKATING – NBC

Analyst Joey Cheek on South Korea’s Lee Seung-hoon winning gold in the men’s mass start: “He has been building for four years for this race. He just timed it so well. In front of the home crowd, winning this gold medal. It’s the race he wanted to win all year. He said at the start of the season that this is what mattered to him.”

***

HOCKEY – NBCSN

Roenick on impact of run by Germany in men’s tournament: “Win or lose, they have a lot to be proud of. I have a slight affection for this German squad. I did play in Germany one time during a lockout. I know how much Germans love their hockey, but it’s always taken a backseat to soccer. With this performance here in the Olympics, making the gold medal game, securing themselves at least a silver medal is really going to bring a lot of attention to hockey in Germany.”

Roenick on U.S. women’s hockey team beating Canada to win gold: “This was my Olympic moment by a country mile.”

***

CURLING – NBCSN

Play-by-play commentator Jason Knapp on South Korea’s impact on the sport of curling: “This crowd is in appreciation for Kim Eun-jung, and this entire team, for what they’ve brought to this nation during these Olympics, what they’ve brought to this sport and its continued growth.”

Knapp on Sweden’s gold-medal performance: “The sweet sensation of Olympic curling victory again for this country.”

Knapp as Sweden defeats South Korea in the women’s curling final: “The home crowd with pride. Its team is bringing home its best ever finish in the sport, and best for a nation from Asia.”

***

OLYMPIC ICE PRESENTED BY TOYOTA – NBCSN

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

Hamilton on Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir: “They marked their territory. ‘This is ours.’ And they set it down in a way where they captured the momentum to take into the individual events.”

Hamilton on American figure skater Nathan Chen’s Olympic performance: “All of the hype, all of the attention, all of that coming in is crushing. Just knowing Nathan, and knowing his demeanor, and knowing how he’s sort of unflappable, you couldn’t really tell that he was being crushed under all that expectation and all of that hype. To beat the Olympic champion, arguably the greatest of all-time, to beat him by seven points in the long program shows that it wasn’t hype. This young man is special.”

White added: “Although I wish that Nathan could have had incredible skates throughout the competition, for young skaters at home watching what he did and how he rebounded from those low points, is just as inspiring in many ways as winning a gold medal.”

White on Japanese gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu: “Hanyu sets that standard. He is the embodiment of a balanced skater in terms of bringing artistic merit, skating skill and quality along with, obviously, incredible technical elements.”

Hamilton on 17-year-old American skater Vincent Zhou: “Vincent Zhou here was extraordinary. Short and long, just 17 years old, and he’s going to continue to grow as an athlete and through these intricate things that need time.”

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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 —