FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, July 26th, 2021

TOKYO OLYMPICS – JULY 26 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC

“Alaska has an Olympic gold medalist!” – Dan Hicks on Lydia Jacoby winning gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke

“They have one 50-meter pool in the entire state of Alaska!” – Rowdy Gaines on Jacoby

“To see a 17-year-old accomplish a lifetime dream – the future of our sport in the U.S. is phenomenal.” – Michael Phelps following Jacoby’s gold medal win

“The shot of the Olympics so far? Seward, Alaska!” – Mike Tirico on Jacoby’s hometown celebration

“It’s almost two different strokes…If I had to pick right now, I don’t think she’s going to lose the (1500m).” – Michael Phelps on Katie Ledecky going for the double in the 200m and 1500m freestyle finals tomorrow

Tuesday – Simone Biles & Team USA in Women’s Gymnastics Team Final Live at 6:45 a.m. ET on Peacock; Katie Ledecky & Caeleb Dressel Highlight Team USA Medal Contenders in Swimming Beginning Live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – July 26, 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:

    • Simone Biles will lead Team USA in the women’s gymnastics team final competition Tuesday morning live at 6:45 a.m. ET on Peacock. The competition will also air in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • In the pool tomorrow, Katie Ledecky, who will compete in both the 200m and 1500m freestyle finals, and Caeleb Dressel headline a number of Team USA medal contenders in swimming across five medal events beginning live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • The U.S. Women’s soccer team plays its final match in group stage play against Australia live Tuesday morning at 4 a.m. ET on USA Network. The U.S. will advance to the quarterfinals with either a win or draw;
    • The American softball team, which has gone undefeated during Olympic play, faces Japan in the gold medal match on Tuesday morning live at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

 

Following are highlights from tonight’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal:

SWIMMING – NBC

Dan Hicks on 17-year-old Alaska-native Lydia Jacoby winning gold in the women’s 100m breaststroke: “Alaska has an Olympic gold medalist! … Lydia Jacoby just shocked the field.”

Rowdy Gaines on Jacoby: “Oh my gosh. They have one 50-meter pool in the entire state of Alaska!”

Tirico on the reactions of Lydia Jacoby’s family and friends in Alaska: “We just wished mom would put the iPad down so we could see her face. We’ve got this recorded for you, Leslie! Congratulations. Their elation was extraordinary. But the shot of the Olympics so far? Seward, Alaska! About 6:30 on Monday night – go crazy, folks. One of your high schoolmates, Lydia Jacoby, is a gold medalist for Team USA. What a sweet moment.”

Michael Phelps on Jacoby and Team USA: “I look at our team and there are so many young rookies. Our team is just under 70% rookies, so for me to be able to see something like that, see a 17-year-old accomplish a lifetime dream – the future of our sport in the U.S. is phenomenal.”

Gaines on Katie Ledecky placing first in her women’s 200m freestyle semifinal heat: “She’s right up there with a great sprinter on reaction times. How about that for a middle distance and distance swimmer?”

Michael Phelps on Ledecky going for the double in the women’s 200m and 1500m freestyle finals tomorrow: “The hardest part is really just making sure you’re taking care of yourself. Making sure you’re getting the rest you need, the recovery – the ice tub, massages, food right into your system. You have to be on top of all those small things, especially when you have a double like she has tomorrow.”

Phelps on Ledecky’s 200m and 1500m freestyle races: “It’s almost two different strokes…If I had to pick right now, I don’t think she’s going to lose the (1500m). I think the 200 free, that’s a good field. Obviously, we saw (Ariarne) Titmus swim a great 400m, a perfect race in that 400, so it will be fun to watch.”

Gaines on Ryan Murphy winning bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke: “This sport is draining because of the tightness of these races. How close was that? 21 hundredths of a second between first and third…Bronze medal, nothing to shake your head about, but I know he wanted the gold there.”

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GYMNASTICS – NBC

Nastia Liukin on Team USA men’s gymnastics through the high bar portion of the final: “So far, they have been as consistent as we have ever really seen them in an international team competition.”

Tim Daggett: “They have been consistent. The problem is they started the competition about four points behind the top three teams in terms of difficulty.”

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DIVING – NBC

Cynthia Potter on Great Britain’s Tom Daley, who won gold in the men’s 10m synchronized platform with Matty Lee: “I think Tom Daley is a different diver with that balance in his life, and (his husband) Dustin Lance Black told me that his job is to take the pressure off of Tom when he’s diving and when he’s at home concerning diving.”

Potter on Daley and Lee’s final dive: “This was spectacular. You could see it as pressure or an opportunity, and I have to believe that Tom Daley, in his more-balanced life than he’s ever had, saw it as an opportunity.”

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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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