“This is everything that was advertised…The queen is not done. Don’t give up on Katie Ledecky. She’s got a lot left.” – Rowdy Gaines on Katie Ledecky and her battle with Australia’s Ariarne Titmus in the Women’s 400m Freestyle Final
“When you’re the greatest ever, you want everything you do to be the greatest ever, and we haven’t seen that from her tonight.” – Tim Daggett on Simone Biles’ qualifying performance
Monday’s Competition Headlined by Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy and Lilly King Seeking Medals in the Pool; Brody Malone and Sam Mikulak Lead Team USA in Men’s Gymnastics Team Final Live Tomorrow at 6 a.m. ET on Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – July 25, 2021 – NBC Olympics continued its primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics tonight on NBC. Mike Tirico serves as NBC Olympics primetime host and opened coverage on NBC.
Highlights of upcoming coverage include:
- In the pool tomorrow, five-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky, Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy and two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King will lead Team USA as swimming medals will be awarded in the men’s 200m freestyle, women’s 100m backstroke, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m breaststroke live on NBC in primetime;
- Brody Malone and Sam Mikulak lead Team USA in Men’s Gymnastics Team Final live tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. ET on Peacock;
- U.S. Women’s Basketball begins its quest for a seventh consecutive gold medal when they play Nigeria live at 12:40 a.m. ET (9:40 p.m. PT Monday) on USA Network;
- Preliminary pool play continues in women’s beach volleyball when April Ross and Alix Klineman face Elsa Baquerizo and Liliana Fernandez of Spain live at 8 p.m. ET on CNBC.
Following are highlights from tonight’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal:
SWIMMING – NBC
Dan Hicks on the women’s 400m freestyle final featuring Katie Ledecky and Ariarne Titmus: “We have been waiting for this one ever since we arrived to Tokyo…It features greatness, it features a rivalry, it features the United States and Australia, and anytime you get them together in the pool with a lot on the line, it is fireworks.”
Hicks as Titmus won gold and Ledecky took silver: “Ariarne Titmus is going to get that gold for Australia and knock off the legend in the biggest stage of the sport!”
Rowdy Gaines on the 400m freestyle and Ledecky: “This is everything that was advertised…The queen is not done. Don’t give up on Katie Ledecky. She’s got a lot left.”
Hicks on Titmus’ coach Dean Boxall’s reaction to her win: “He is going crazy, my goodness. He’s putting on a show like Mick Jagger.”
Ledecky to Tafoya on her and Titmus driving each other: “We’re really friendly. She’s said, ‘She couldn’t have done it without me,’ and I could say the same about her. She’s really pushed me and I think it’s really great for the sport. It was a really fast field overall and I think we both pushed this event forward.”
Michael Phelps to Tirico on Katie Ledecky: “When she has a goal, she knows exactly what she needs to do to reach that goal. She knows that there are probably going to be steps along the way that are going to be difficult, but her mental toughness is better than anybody I’ve seen in the game right now.”
Gaines on performances of Zach Apple and Bowe Becker and Team USA winning gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay: “What a big anchor from Zach Apple, and how about Bowe Becker? This is a rookie! ... This was just a magnificent swim. Not a lot of people picked (Becker) to even make the Olympic team, much less the relay here.”
Hicks on Caeleb Dressel winning gold as part of the relay team: “Dressel cheering (Apple) home. It reminds you a little bit of Michael Phelps through the years, right? Caeleb Dressel has been waiting, what seems like, a long time to start off another Olympics after the two golds on the relay in Rio.”
Phelps on why significance of winning the 4x100m freestyle relay: “That’s one of the important things that we always want going into a meet. Relays are so big – they’re big momentum builders. Being able to win that one especially...those boys are excited and they’re ready to swim.’
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GYMNASTICS – NBC
Nastia Liukin on Simone Biles: “I think what she is doing off of the competition floor, using her voice and having the platform that she has, is creating such an impact not just for herself and her team, but the future – the next generation and the next generation after that as well.”
Tim Daggett on Biles: “She’s really set an example for athletes across all sports that they have the power to effect change. So, use your platforms, do some good.”
Daggett on Biles’ performance and qualifying for each individual final: “When you’re the greatest ever, you want everything you do to be the greatest ever, and we haven’t seen that from her tonight…She had not a good day for her at all, and still that just demonstrates how great she is.”
Liukin on Biles: “She does some of the most difficult skills in the entire world, but what sets her apart beyond just the difficult skills is the way that she performs them, the execution. When you take a look at both of the scores, execution scores are just as high as some of the athletes doing half the difficulty.”
Daggett on what separates Biles from the other gymnastics greats: “Everything. She has every single quality that you need to be a great gymnast. She’s unbelievably quick, super powerful, flexible enough, and she has incredible air awareness. She’s like a cat – she knows where she is.”
Liukin on Team USA’s Jordan Chiles: “Three years ago she wanted to quit the sport, and now she’s competing and shining so bright on the world’s biggest stage.”
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TRIATHLON – NBC
Tirico on the boat interrupting the start of the men’s triathlon: “You always want to get your week off to a good start, right? Somebody didn’t get their 6:30 a.m. wake-up call. Who? The person running the boat. This is the start of the triathlon. The 50-plus athletes are ready to jump in and the boat’s in the way! Get out of the way and get out of the water!”
Steve Schlanger on Kristian Blummenfelt: “Kristian Blummenfelt is soaring to gold, he puts his hands on his head, he can’t believe it! … A guy notorious for his rigorous training regimen – some eight hours a day – it only takes an hour and 45 minutes to win his first-ever Olympic gold medal.”
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ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic 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.
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