FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 10th, 2021
TONY HAWK, STEVE KORNACKI, TARA LIPINSKI & JOHNNY WEIR JOIN NBC OLYMPICS TEAM IN TOKYO THIS SUMMER
Hawk & Kornacki Make NBC Olympics Debuts
Lipinski & Weir Earn Fourth Consecutive NBC Olympics Assignments
The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is Friday, July 23 on NBC
STAMFORD, Conn. – June 10, 2021 – Tony Hawk, Steve Kornacki, Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir will serve as NBC Olympics correspondents this summer in Tokyo, it was announced today. The Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics is Friday, July 23 on NBC.
Hawk, Kornacki, Lipinski and Weir join Mary Carillo and Jimmy Roberts, who were previously announced as Olympic commentators. With their unique presentation styles, the correspondents will tell stories about the athletes, competition, culture, and history, as the Olympic Games return to Tokyo for the first time since 1964.
“With a group of correspondents familiar with intense competition – on wheels, on ice, or on election night – we look forward to their unique commentary and perspective in Tokyo this summer,” said Rebecca Chatman, Vice President and Coordinating Producer of NBC Olympics production.
Following is a closer look at this summer’s NBC Olympics correspondents:
Tony Hawk, a 12-time world skateboarding champion and one of the world’s most recognized action sports figures, joins the NBC Olympics team for the first time this summer as skateboarding makes its debut as a medal sport at the Tokyo Olympics. In 1999, Hawk, who turned professional at age 14, became the first skateboarder to land a “900,” which at the time was considered the holy grail of vert skateboarding. That same year, Tony Hawk’s™ Pro Skater™ video game debuted to great success. Hawk continues to skate demos and exhibitions internationally.
Steve Kornacki, NBC News’ and MSNBC’s celebrated national political correspondent, makes his NBC Olympics debut this summer in Tokyo. Last fall, he brought his election-style coverage to NBC Sports’ Football Night in America to break down the NFL playoff picture, before serving as an insights analyst on this spring’s Triple Crown horse racing coverage. Kornacki, who joined NBC News and MSNBC in 2012, provides real-time analysis of voting patterns, exit polls, and electoral data on the networks’ election coverage.
Tara Lipinski, a U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer who won gold at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, earns her fourth NBC Olympics assignment this summer in Tokyo. Previously, she served as a figure skating analyst at the 2018 PyeongChang and 2014 Sochi Winter Games, and a correspondent at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Lipinski has also served as a fashion, lifestyle, and social media correspondent for NBC Sports events including the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl, the Beverly Hills Dog Show, and the National Dog Show.
Johnny Weir, a two-time Olympian and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer, makes his fourth NBC Olympics appearance this summer in Tokyo. He twice has served as an NBC Olympics figure skating analyst (2018 PyeongChang and 2014 Sochi Winter Games), as well as a correspondent at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Weir has also served as a fashion, lifestyle, and social media correspondent for NBC Sports events including the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl, the Beverly Hills Dog Show, and the National Dog Show.
For a complete archive of Tokyo Olympics press releases, click here.
ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. NBC Olympics 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. NBC Olympics also produces thousands of hours of Olympic sports programming throughout the year, which is presented on NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, Peacock and NBC Sports digital platforms.
–NBC OLYMPICS–
