FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, February 18th, 2018

2018 PYEONGCHANG OLYMPICS – FEB. 18 DAYTIME HIGHLIGHTS ON THE NETWORKS OF NBCUNIVERSAL

 

“We have been waiting for a finish like this all Olympic Games, and we are finally going to get a humdinger.” – Chad Salmela on the men’s 15km biathlon

 

“That is the Bill Belichick of bobsledding.” – John Morgan on South Korean bobsled coach Pierre Lueders

 

NBC’s Primetime Coverage, Live Across All Time Zones, Begins at 7 p.m. ET Tonight Featuring Maia and Alex Shibutani & Jamie Anderson

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

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 18, 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 7 p.m. ET live across all time zones, featuring three-time world medalists Maia and Alex Shibutani competing in ice dance;

 

  • Coverage of the inaugural Olympic big air competition in primetime on NBC, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Jamie Anderson plus Americans Julia Marino and Hailey Langland;*

 

  • Coverage of the women’s ski halfpipe in primetime plus on NBC, as Maddie Bowman begins her quest for gold.*

 

*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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BIATHLON – NBCSN

 

Analyst Chad Salmela during the final moments of the men’s 15km: “Martin Fourcade is all in. He is going all out for the finish line and Simon Schempp is sitting back lurking trying to take the gold from Fourcade. We have been waiting for a finish like this all Olympic Games, and we are finally going to get a humdinger.”

 

Salmela on the photo finish: “I think if the line had been another meter further, Schempp’s outstretched foot would have beaten him. But he was a little late on his foot throw. It is so important to know when to throw your foot for the line.”

 

Watch French biathlete Martin Fourcade edge out German biathlete Simon Schempp in a photo finish here.

 

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MEN’S TWO-MAN BOBSLED – NBCSN

 

Play-by-play commentator Leigh Diffey on the first runs of men’s two-man bobsled: “We now have five sleds covered by 14 hundredths of a second over this amazing race track in PyeongChang. Oh, boy, we’ve got a race on our hands and it’s not even medal day.”

 

Analyst John Morgan added: “This is the real deal. This is four years of hard work that all these athletes have committed. The Super Bowl is every year. The World Series is every year. These athletes, it’s once every four years.”

 

Diffey on the track: “The wonderful thing about this PyeongChang track is the variance. Nobody can predict what is going to happen. We’ve seen it in luge, skeleton and now bobsled.”

 

Morgan added: “There are such challenges as soon as you get in the sled. Some tracks it takes you 30 seconds before you find a pivotal part of the track. Here, there is danger all over the place.”

 

Morgan on Austrian bobsledder Markus Treichl: “You can tell in his eyes, he’s drank the bobsled Kool-Aid and he’s in for another four years for sure.”

 

Morgan on South Korean bobsled coach Pierre Lueders: “That is the Bill Belichick of bobsledding.”

 

Diffey on the German two-man bobsled team’s finish line crash: “What a spectacular way to go into the lead. Crossing the line sideways, Nico Walther and Christian Poser are okay, in fact they are great. They are leading.”

 

Watch Germany crash into the top spot in two-man bobsled here.

 

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MEN’S CROSS-COUNTRY – NBCSN

 

Play-by-play commentator Steve Schlanger on Norwegian cross-country skier Johannes Klaebo: “At 21 years of age Johannes Klaebo, who earlier in these games became the youngest cross-country skier in history to win an Olympic gold, is now skiing the anchor leg in the relay, trying to deliver Norway their fifth Olympic gold medal of these Olympics alone.”

 

Analyst Chad Salmela as Klaebo pulls way from Russian competitor Denis Spitsov: “It’s all over. He has made his decision. It is time to go.”

 

Watch Johannes Klaebo secure Norway’s 11th cross-country skiing medal of the PyeongChang Games here.

 

 

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WOMEN’S SPEED SKATING – NBCSN

 

Tom Hammond as Japanese speed skater Nao Kodaira wins gold in the women’s 500m: “Still undefeated the last two years in 500m, she is the Olympic gold medalist. Nao Kodaira. The first Japanese women to ever win gold.”

 

Watch Nao Kodaira take gold in the 500m here.

 

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MEN’S HOCKEY – NBCSN

 

Play-by-play commentator Gord Miller on 17-year-old Rasmus Dahlin of Sweden: “I think he is the best prospect that we’ve seen since Connor McDavid, and he might be the defense version of McDavid.”

 

Analyst Pierre McGuire on the Sweden-Finland rivalry: “Alabama – Auburn. They get after one another. It’s very much the same thing. It’s a border war and they love to get after one another so you will see the physical play start early and often.”

 

Studio analyst Anson Carter on Finland’s hockey team: “They’re sticking with what works best for them. We heard Pierre during the broadcast talking about Finland’s grit, and he’s absolutely right. This Finnish team, when you put on that blue and white jersey you better bring your hard hat to the table.”

 

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MEN’S HOCKEY – USA

 

Play-by-play commentator Kenny Albert on South Korea’s loss to Canada: “South Korea certainly with nothing to be ashamed of. Following an 8-0 loss yesterday to Switzerland, they hold Canada to four goals. The crowd rises here in PyeongChang to salute the South Korean Olympians.”

 

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MEN’S SPEED SKATING – NBC

 

American short track speed skater John-Henry Krueger joined NBC Olympics’ daytime host Rebecca Lowe to discuss his dramatic silver medal win in the men’s 1,000m short-track speed skating event. Following are excerpts from that conversation:

 

Krueger on his emotion crossing the finish line: “It was a huge moment of disbelief and just relief in general. There has been so much time and effort put into this, and being able to cross the line with a silver medal, that is an amazing thing.”

 

Krueger on his mental preparation for the sport: “It’s definitely not a mindset that you just enter a sport with. It’s something that you have to cultivate and mature. There’s lots of room for personal growth and development in this sport. Learning your weaknesses physically and mentally on and off the ice is very important to developing your character. For me, I just try to focus on each individual race at a time and not think about future or past events that could take away from my racing.”

 

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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 —