FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 12th, 2018
2018 PYEONGCHANG OLYMPICS – FEB. 12 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL
“You work so hard for four years, and when you are able to pull everything together it’s the best feeling in the world.” – Canadian Olympic Gold Medalist Mikael Kingsbury
“For the French all is back in order in the biathlon world.” – Chad Salmela on Martin Fourcade’s Gold Medal Performance
NBC’s Primetime Coverage, Live Across All Time Zones, Begins at 8 p.m. ET Tonight Featuring Team USA’s Chloe Kim, Shaun White & Ted Ligety
All Events Live Streamed on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 12, 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 17-year-old snowboarding phenom Chloe Kim and 2002 Olympic gold medalist Kelly Clark aiming for gold in the women’s halfpipe final;
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White making his PyeongChang debut in men’s halfpipe qualifying live in primetime on NBC;
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety leads the U.S. in the downhill portion of the men’s super combined live in primetime on NBC;
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 MOGULS – NBCSN
Play-by-play commentator Trace Worthington as Canadian Mikael Kingsbury wins gold: “The world’s most decorated mogul skier of all time, Mikael Kingsbury was missing one thing from the resume. The final piece of the puzzle is now complete.”
Kingsbury to reporter Kelli Stavast following his gold medal performance: “When I was nine years old I printed the Olympic rings out and I wrote on it ‘I will win’ and I put it on my ceiling. I woke up to it every day, and today I did it. It’s the best day of my life. There are so many legends who have won and now my name will forever be with theirs. I’m just very proud.”
Stavast on Team USA’s Casey Andringa: “He started skiing when he was just 16-months old. He loved it so much he insisted on eating dinner in his ski boots and would cry when he had to take them off. Clearly that passion has stayed with him.”
Worthington on Andringa: “Over the summer, he and his brother Jessie spent about five months training out of Steamboat Springs Colorado. They lived out of a pop up camper the entire summer and trained. I’ll tell you what, as the lone American in the final, that stay in Steamboat Springs is paying off.”
NBC Olympics’ daytime host Rebecca Lowe interviewed 29-year-old Canadian skier Mikael Kingsbury following his gold medal win in men’s moguls. Below are excerpts from their conversation.
Lowe: “You got the silver medal in Sochi. Going into these Games you were the gold medal favorite. Last night when you went to bed how were you dealing with that pressure?”
Kingsbury: “There was so much pressure. I was a little nervous last night, and especially this morning when I woke up because it was a night event. We had to wait until 9 p.m. to start competing. I was thinking too much. Once I put my helmet and skis on I became more confident. Every time I was skiing down the slope I felt better and better. You work so hard for four years and when you are able to pull everything together it’s the best feeling in the world.”
Watch Mikael Kingsbury’s gold medal-winning men’s moguls performance here.
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LUGE – NBCSN
NBC Olympics’ daytime host Carolyn Manno interviewed 29-year-old American luger Chris Mazdzer following his silver medal win in the men’s singles luge Following are excerpts from their conversation.
Mazdzer: “To also be the first male Olympic medalist in men’s singles in 54 years. It has been generations of luge athletes trying to get on the podium. We have had two fourth places finishes, so to be the guy that breaks it. Man! It still hasn’t fully kicked in.”
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WOMEN’S SPEED SKATING – NBCSN
Host Liam McHugh on the Netherlands’ speed skating dominance: “After a record eight speed skating gold medals in Sochi, the Dutch dominance continues in South Korea thanks in large part to Ireen Wust.”
Analyst Joey Cheek on the tough speed skating conditions: “We have seen in the long distance races, and now here in the Women’s 1500, the ice is just brutal to the skaters. It’s not the ice – it is actually the altitude. We are down near sea level which means you are pushing through very, very dense heavy air. The 1500m rewards brave bold attacks and so far no one has had incredibly fast lap times.”
Netherland’s Ireen Wust on how she felt waiting for the final results to determine whether she had won the gold: “Terrible. Today was exactly 12 years ago that I won my first gold medal. For me, it’s now like a circle. It’s round. It’s my fifth gold medal and fourth in a row in every Olympics. It’s an incredible feeling.”
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MEN’S BIATHLON – NBCSN
Analyst Chad Salmela on France’s Martin Fourcade’s gold-medal performance: “For the French, all is back in order in the biathlon world.”
Salmela on Fourcade taking control of the 12.5km pursuit: “Just like that, as the pressure mounted, he took position and let everyone know he was back. And now, everybody is in trouble…It’s Martin Fourcade game for the rest of these Olympic biathlon sessions, because he’s back in control.”
Watch Martin Fourcade make Olympic biathlon history here.
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WOMEN’S SKI JUMPING – NBCSN
Play-by-play commentator Paul Burmeister on Norwegian ski jumper Maren Lundby’s gold-medal jump “Love the reaction from the coaches almost as much as the jump. It has to be a combination of joy and relief. How about the normal hill competition for the Norwegians? In the men they go silver and bronze, and Maren Lundby takes care of the gold.”
Burmeister on American ski jumper Abby Ringquist: “The 28-year-old out of Park City, after barely missing out on the 2014 Games, said this is her final night of competition. We see her doing what she loves the most and what she says she is going to miss the most, and that’s, ‘the feeling of flying.’”
Analyst Johnny Spillane added: “You can see the big smile on her face. It took her so long to get to this point. You can just see how happy she is, and how much joy she has in ski jumping.”
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WOMEN’S HOCKEY – NBCSN
Studio analyst Erika Lawler on the Swedish women’s hockey team: “I expected to see this team at the Olympics. They came out flying, they did all of the simple things right, they went back to the basics.”
Analyst AJ Mleczko on Team Korea’s performance: “There have been huge blowouts in women’s Olympic hockey, so for Korea to qualify as the host country, come in with very little experience and hold both games under double digits, I think they can be very proud of themselves.”
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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 —
