FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 2nd, 2021

TOKYO OLYMPICS – AUGUST 2 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC

“There’s no words to describe this feeling right here when the final scores come up. Olympic champion for the rest of your life, and you get to share that moment with your dad.” – Nastia Liukin on Jade Carey’s gold medal in the women’s floor final

 “Most prodigies in this sport don’t go all the way, so Allyson Felix is the exception by being here in her fifth Olympic Games.” – Ato Boldon on Allyson Felix

“The matchup between Sydney and Dalilah in the final is going to be another electric matchup. We might be on world record watch again.” – Sanya Richards-Ross on Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad qualifying for the women’s 400m hurdles final

“We are witnessing sweet, sweet history…What we just saw, we may never see again. That was as fast as men run in the open 400m with no hurdles!” – Richards-Ross on Norway’s Karsten Warholm’s world record in the men’s 400m hurdles

Upcoming Highlights: U.S. Men’s Basketball vs. Spain in Quarterfinals Coming Up Live Tonight at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. ET on Peacock; Simone Biles and All-Around Gold Medalist Suni Lee in Apparatus Final Live Tuesday Morning at 4 a.m. ET on Peacock

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 2, 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:

    • Coming up next, Kevin Durantand the U.S. men’s basketball team, aiming for its fourth consecutive gold medal, face Pau and Marc Gasol and Spain in the quarterfinals live at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. PT Monday on Peacock. The game will also be presented Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • The most decorated American gymnast in history and four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles returns to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in the balance beam final Tuesday in primetime on NBC. Suni Lee will join Biles in the balance beam final looking to win her fourth medal in Tokyo, having already won gold in the all-around, silver in the team event and bronze in the uneven bars. Live coverage of the apparatus final will be presented Tuesday morning at 4 a.m. ET on Peacock. Coverage will also be presented in primetime Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • Americans Brody Malone (horizontal bar) and Sam Mikulak (parallel bars) look to contend for a medal in the men’s apparatus finals live on Tuesday morning at 4 a.m. ET on Peacock. Coverage will also be presented in primetime Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • A number of American medal contenders will be featured during track & field finals, semifinals and qualifiers Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and USA Network. Live in primetime on NBC, Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad will go for gold in the women’s 400m hurdles final and Grant Holloway is expected to race in the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals;
    • In pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball team face Australia in the quarterfinals live Tuesday evening at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. PT on USA Network.
    • Four Americans – Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, Danielle Kang and Lexi Thompson – headline the 60-woman field in the women’s golf competition, as the first round gets underway from Kasumigaseki Country Club live Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel.

 

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

GYMNASTICS – NBC

Terry Gannon on Jade Carey’s gold medal-winning floor routine: “From Arizona to Tokyo, they applaud and hug for Jade Carey!”

Tim Daggett on Carey: “That was fabulous, incredible. She’s so powerful…After all that tumbling you are exhausted if you’re normal, but she’s not – she’s superhuman.”

Nastia Liukin on Carey’s routine: “What a great moment for Jade right there…That is the best that she could possibly have done. Huge hug from Dad, of course. These are the moments that you will remember…Every single thing that she does, it is flawless.”

Liukin on Carey sharing the moment with her father and coach, Brian: “There’s no words to describe this feeling right here when the final scores come up. Olympic champion for the rest of your life, and you get to share that moment with your dad.”

Daggett on Carey’s performance in yesterday’s vault: “Talk about the range of emotions. Yesterday was devastating, and today, exuberant.”

Carey to Andrea Joyce on what the gold medal means to her: “This means everything to me. It’s all I ever worked for and dreamed of and I’m just very proud that it happened tonight.…I’m just going to remember everything that I went through and how I never gave up and just pushed through to the very end.”

Liukin on Simone Biles competing in tomorrow’s balance beam event and the twisties: “I think probably about 90% of all gymnasts have experienced (the twisties). When you just bring it up amongst any gymnast, it’s almost like you want to walk away from it because it’s quite scary not being able to be in sync with your mind and your body…Not only is it scary, but it’s also dangerous. ”

Daggett on Biles: “As for balance beam tomorrow night, I don’t think she’ll have any problem with the bulk of the routine. Where she might run into an issue is on the dismount.”

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TRACK & FIELD – NBC

Leigh Diffey on Allyson Felix in the women’s 400m heats: “Watching her on this comeback…this is unquestionably Allyson Felix’s crowning moment and she has another chance to create even more track history. Really special Games, these ones.”

Ato Boldon on Felix: “Her first Olympics was 2004, she came straight out of high school…Most prodigies in this sport don’t go all the way, so Allyson Felix is the exception by being here in her fifth Olympic Games.”

Sanya Richards-Ross on Felix winning her 400m heat: “Allyson has so much experience on Olympic tracks. She was completely in control…Her stride looks long and comfortable, and Allyson looks really good. (Felix’s daughter) Camryn, get excited. Mommy’s looking good.”

Boldon on the 400m qualifying heats: “The ones who eventually end up on the podium are the ones who in the early rounds control the race, usually from the front. Allyson Felix had that really strong second 100 meters to get the distance that she’d need to hold the lead late, and that’s what you’re looking for.”

Richards-Ross on Noah Lyles qualifying for the men’s 200m semifinals: “He looked good. He got out hard, got very relaxed, and looked comfortable…He looked like the world champion on the track.”

Boldon on Lyles: “When Noah Lyles is fluid in his movement, like he is (in this race), he is very hard to beat.”

Boldon on Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad qualifying for the women’s 400m final: “It’s just interesting how much better Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad are than everybody else in the world. ”

Richards-Ross on the women’s 400m final: “The matchup between Sydney and Dalilah in the final is going to be another electric matchup. We might be on world record watch again with these two women, I cannot wait.”

Boldon on Dalilah Muhammad finishing first in the women’s 400m hurdles semifinal: “There’s not too much that you can say other than perfection in how you run an Olympic semifinal, that’s why she’s the defending champion.”

Diffey on Karsten Warholm’s world record in the 400m hurdles: “The world has never seen a run like that before in 400m men’s hurdles! Incredible!”

Boldon on Warholm and silver medalist Rai Benjamin: “He has taken this event somewhere that we didn’t think it would be for decades. Under 46 seconds flat. Are you kidding me? …  Here’s the best part of what we just saw: these two are just 24  and 25 years of age. We are going to see more records int his event.”

Richards-Ross: “We are so fortunate. We are witnessing sweet, sweet history. These two men went to bed last night and knew what the world expected and they did not disappoint. They are champions but we are winners too. What we just saw, we may never see again. That was as fast as men run in the open 400m with no hurdles!”

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BEACH VOLLEYBALL – NBC

Kevin Wong on April Ross’ performance in the quarterfinal win vs. Germany: “It’s about April Ross raising her game to what’s needed. It hasn’t been a big storyline in Tokyo, they’ve been breezing through, but in this situation, she’s upped her service pressure.”

Wong on Alix Klineman: “It’s mind boggling how much her game has transitioned. That looks like a young Kerri Walsh-Jennings patrolling off the net…The big presence – she’s starting to take more space, she’s starting to take a bit longer. The evolution of Alix Klineman’s beach volleyball game.”

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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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