FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021

TOKYO OLYMPICS – AUGUST 3 PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS ON NBC

“On and off the competition floor, she is the epitome of what the next generation of role models should be.” – Nastia Liukin on Simone Biles winning bronze in the women’s balance beam final

“There’s no more talk about the promise of the young superstar. The dream has been realized…Breathtaking performance.” – Sanya Richards-Ross on Sydney McLaughlin winning gold and setting a world record in the women’s 400m hurdles final

 “She’s shrugged off youth and inexperience, and delivered a virtuoso performance…Athing Mu has arrived.” – Ato Boldon on Mu winning gold in the women’s 800m final

Wednesday Highlights: U.S. Men’s Basketball vs. Australia in Semifinals Live Wednesday Evening at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. ET on Peacock; Allyson Felix (Women’s 400m Semifinals) and Noah Lyles (Men’s 200m final) Expected to Headline Live Track & Field Coverage Wednesday Morning at 6 a.m. ET on Peacock

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 3, 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, 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 in pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal;
    • The U.S. men’s basketball team, aiming for its fourth consecutive gold medal, face Australia in the semifinals live Wednesday evening at 12:15 a.m. ET/9:15 p.m. PT on Peacock, with a berth in the gold medal game on the line;
    • Live track & field action in primetime Wednesday night on NBC and USA Network will feature the men’s 110m hurdles final as well as qualifiers in the men’s 4x100m relay. American Grant Holloway, the reigning world champion, aims to contend for the gold medal in the 110m hurdles final;
    • Allyson Felix (women’s 400m semifinals) and Noah Lyles (men’s 200m final) are expected to headline American contenders in track & field action live Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. ET on Peacock;
    • Live coverage of women’s beach volleyball semifinal action will feature Americans April Ross/Alix Klineman (vs. Switzerland) Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
    • Four Americans – Nelly Korda, Jessica Korda, Danielle Kang and Lexi Thompson – headline the 60-woman field in the women’s golf competition, as the second round from Kasumigaseki Country Club is presented live Wednesday 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

Tim Daggett on Simone Biles’ winning bronze in the balance beam: “As soon as I saw her today, I had absolutely no doubts that we would see what we typically see from this young woman…She doesn’t just do a double pike, she soars.”

Nastia Liukin on Biles competing in the balance beam: “She has nothing left to prove to anyone but herself, but once again, final standings, medals, or medal counts will never define the legacy that Simone Biles has already created. On and off the competition floor, she is the epitome of what the next generation of role models should be.”

Liukin on Biles: “It is not even necessarily what happens on this beam routine, it is the fact that she feels confident, she feels safe.”

Biles to Andrea Joyce on winning bronze: “I’ve been through so much this whole week and this past five years, so to come away with a medal when I didn’t think I was even going to get cleared to compete means a lot, and the outpouring of support means the world to me.”

Biles to Tirico on competing in the balance beam: “I just felt like I wanted to do this for me. I really wasn’t medically cleared to do the other events that I had qualified into, so tonight I just wanted to get out there have fun, do my beam routine and then just see what happens.”

Biles to Tirico on the difficulty of being expected to win: “It’s hard, but it’s harder being a female athlete because, you know, everybody prays for your downfall and wants you to mess up and all of that stuff. I don’t think they take into consideration of our mental state…because at the end of the day, we’re not just athletes or entertainment. We’re humans too and we have emotions and feelings and things that we’re working through behind the scenes that we don’t tell you guys about, and so I just think it’s something that people should be more aware of.”

Biles to Tirico on what she’s taking away from her experience in Tokyo: “Put your mental health first, it doesn’t matter if you’re on the biggest stage. That’s more important than any other medal you could win.”

Terry Gannon on Brody Malone finishing fourth in the men’s horizontal bar: “Brody Malone is just getting started. He may be a star in Paris.”

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TRACK & FIELD – NBC

Sanya Richards-Ross on Sydney McLaughlin winning gold in the women’s 400m hurdles final: “There’s no more talk about the promise of the young superstar. The dream has been realized. Sydney McLaughlin, Olympic champion and world record holder! Breathtaking performance.”

Ato Boldon on the women’s 400m hurdles: “Dalilah Muhammad I thought ran the best race should could possibly given all she’s come back from, but sort of like Athing Mu, (McLaughlin) has so much flat speed in reserve that she was able to pull on that speed and get past the defending champ…These two are starting to separate themselves from everybody else on the planet now.”

Richards-Ross on McLaughlin setting a new world record: “Iron sharpens iron. This record does not fall without Dalilah Muhammad going for broke out of Lane 7. But what I admire so much is the patience and the poise of the youngster…she’s never been in this position before, but she was able to run her best race, the best race we’ve ever seen at 400m hurdles for women.”

Boldon on Athing Mu winning gold in the women’s 800m final: “She’s shrugged off youth and inexperience, and delivered a virtuoso performance. I think it’s safe to say the United States is not going to wait 53 more years for another gold medal. Athing Mu of Trenton, New Jersey, has arrived and there’s so much more to come from the new 800m queen.”

Richards-Ross: “This is what dreams are made of…Athing Mu – you are a thing of beauty. You are an Olympic champion at 19 years old.”

Richards-Ross on Noah Lyles in warmups: “He still talks about how the pressure sometimes feels heavy, but what we like to see is this Noah Lyles. He’s having fun in the back. He’s having fun on the track and when he does that, he runs light and he runs fast.”

Boldon on Noah Lyles finishing third in the 200m semifinal: “Noah Lyles knows better. You can get off the gas, sure, but you cannot get off the gas if two people are catching you like this.”

Richards-Ross on Gabby Thomas winning bronze in the women’s 200m final: “From Harvard to a bronze medal at the Olympic Games, and she ran the race of a lifetime. She wasn’t looking this good through the rounds.”

Boldon on Elaine Thompson-Herah winning gold in the women’s 200m and the historic double-double: “This is one of the best 200m turns I’ve ever seen…what she just did is to put herself in very remarkable company. She’s the only woman to win the 100m and 200m in back-to-back Olympic Games.”

Richards-Ross on 17-year-old Erriyon Knighton qualifying for the final in the men’s 200m: “You know who he just looked like? Usain Bolt…He looked like a young Usain Bolt. He controlled, dominated the final 100m of this race.”

Boldon on Knighton: “I think you’re right…the only thing Usain would not have done was spot them this much distance. But the young kid not looking like somebody in his Olympic debut. The thing is though. if he’s going to be on the medal podium, you cannot spot anybody in the final that much space.”

Boldon on Grant Holloway winning his men’s 110m hurdles semifinal heat: “The ones who are going to be on the podium go through their rounds looking like that. There was nobody in the frame. As confident as ever, and making these rounds look effortless.”

Boldon on Devon Allen qualifying for the men’s 110m hurdles: “When the U.S. failed to medal in Rio, I knew it would not last…and the way Devon Allen looks, the U.S. may be looking at multiple medals in the final.”

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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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