Last Night At The Olympics…and More Updates

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:

• • Four swimming medal events live in primetime on NBC on Thursday, featuring American contenders including Lilly King, Annie Lazor, Ryan Murphy, Chase Kalisz, and Michael Andrew;
  • The gymnastics women’s all-around competition, expected to feature Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Suni Lee and Jade Carey of Team USA, will be presented live Thursday morning at 6:50 a.m. ET on Peacock, and in primetime Thursday evening at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.;
  • The opening track & field qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympics will be presented live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network, which are expected to feature American medal contenders Rai Benjamin, Athing Mu, and Ajee’ Wilson;
  • In pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball team face Japan in group play live at 12:40 a.m. ET (9:40 p.m. PT Thursday) on USA Network.

 

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

SWIMMING – NBC

Rowdy Gaines on Dressel’s start in the 100m freestyle: “I can’t begin to tell you how many times Caeleb and I have sat down together and talked about his start. He just explodes off the back foot…He wins the race in the first 15 meters. But who cares? Who cares how he won it? He won it!”

Gaines on Dressel joining him as a gold medalist in the men’s 100m freestyle: “My man, welcome to our club, buddy. So glad you can join us.”

Dan Hicks on Bobby Finke’s surge in the final to lap to win gold in the men’s 800m freestyle: “He just bided his time. It looked like he wasn’t going to have it, but Finke was saving something we didn’t know he had.”

Rowdy Gaines on Finke’s final lap: “I knew he had gas left in the tank. I didn’t know he had that much…He goes by those guys like they’re standing still. What a swim! … That last 50 meters will be remembered for a long time in USA Swimming history.”

Gaines on Katie Ledecky in Team USA’s silver in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay: “She gave it a run. How do you measure the heart of a champion? … She was running her down all the way. That made for a great race.”

Gaines on Ryan Murphy in the 200m backstroke semifinal: “Ryan Murphy has looked so good here in Tokyo…I don’t want to overstate this, I thought Ryan Murphy looked better in this 200 than he did in Rio five years ago.”

***

GYMNASTICS – NBC

Nastia Liukin on Sam Mikulak and the looseness he brings to Team USA: “He said that after these Olympic Games, he will be retiring from the sport and so he has realized that there’s so much more life beyond gymnastics, and that is what he is trying to figure out and find.”

Tim Daggett on Brody Malone in his first Olympics: “He is something else. I don’t know if I’ve seen anybody do it better than him, being just a novice in this arena and being able to deal and deliver…I don’t think (the pressure) is affecting him at all.”

***

DIVING – NBC

Cynthia Potter on Andrew Capobianco and Michael Hixon’s final dive en route to a silver medal in the men’s synchronized springboard: “That is amazing composure. And as they walked up, it reminded me of what Tiger Woods did before this last injury, of when he would walk up the fairway very  slowly. They controlled their breathing and their composure through all the things that they’ve been working on.”

***

BEACH VOLLEYBALL – NBC

Kevin Wong on Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena’s victory over Argentina in pool play: “What’s bigger than any of the blocks for me, it’s the passion, it’s the energy, it’s the excitement. We haven’t seen this level of fire from the Americans maybe in eight years.”

 

Suni Lee became the fifth consecutive U.S. gymnast to win the gold medal in the women’s all-around competition earlier today at the Tokyo Olympics. Her performance and the gymnastics all-around competition will be featured tonight in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Team USA won the silver medal in the women’s team final earlier this week.

Americans will be well represented in the pool tonight in Tokyo with contenders in four medal events live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC: the women’s 200m breaststroke, men’s 200m backstroke, men’s 200m individual medley and women’s 100m freestyle. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke earlier this week, will be a gold medal contender alongside Annie Lazor in the women’s 200m breaststroke. Three-time Olympic gold medalist and bronze medalist in the men’s 100m backstroke in Tokyo, Ryan Murphy, aims for his second consecutive gold medal in the men’s 200m backstroke. The men’s 200m individual medley American contingent will include Chase Kalisz, who has won gold in the men’s 400m individual medley in Tokyo, and Michael Andrew. Team USA has won 21 medals (six gold) in swimming in Tokyo.

In pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball team face Japan in group play tonight live at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. PT on USA Network. Team USA began their Tokyo campaign with an 81-72 victory over Nigeria.

In a rematch of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final (a 2-0 U.S. shutout victory), the U.S. face Netherlands in the Tokyo Olympics women’s soccer quarterfinal Friday morning live at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

The opening track & field qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympics will be presented live tonight in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network. American medal contenders Rai Benjamin (men’s 400m hurdles), Athing Mu (women’s 800m) and Ajee’ Wilson (women’s 800m) are expected to compete in the qualifiers.

THURSDAY, JULY 29

Suni Lee earlier today in Tokyo became the fifth consecutive U.S. gymnast to win the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition (following teammate Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Nastia Liukin, and Carly Patterson). Her performance and the all-around competition highlights tonight’s NBC primetime coverage, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Team USA won the silver medal in the women’s team final earlier this week.

Americans will be well represented in the pool tonight with contenders in four medal events live at 8 p.m. ET on NBC: the women’s 200m breaststroke, men’s 200m backstroke, men’s 200m individual medley and women’s 100m freestyle. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King, who won the bronze medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke earlier this week, will be a gold medal contender alongside Annie Lazor in the women’s 200m breaststroke. Three-time Olympic gold medalist and bronze medalist in the men’s 100m backstroke in Tokyo, Ryan Murphy, aims for his second consecutive gold medal in the men’s 200m backstroke. The men’s 200m individual medley American contingent will include Chase Kalisz, who has won gold in the men’s 400m individual medley in Tokyo, and Michael Andrew.

In pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball team face Japan in group play tonight live at 12:40 a.m. ET/9:40 p.m. PT on USA Network. Team USA began their Tokyo campaign with an 81-72 victory over Nigeria.

The opening track & field qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympics will be presented live in primetime at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network. American medal contenders Rai Benjamin (men’s 400m hurdles), Athing Mu (women’s 800m) and Ajee’ Wilson (women’s 800m) are expected to compete in the qualifiers.

Four Americans — Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Reed — headline the 60-man field in the men’s golf tournament, as the second round from Kasumigaseki Country Club is presented live today at 6:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel. Sepp Straka of Austria currently leads the field after the first round of play.

FRIDAY, JULY 30

In a rematch of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final (a 2-0 U.S. shutout victory), the U.S. face Netherlands in the Tokyo Olympics women’s soccer quarterfinal live Friday at 7 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

On Friday evening, four-time Olympic gold medalist and men’s 100m butterfly world record holder Caeleb Dressel is a gold medal favorite in the men’s 100m butterfly. The women’s 800m freestyle will mark the final time that six-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky will face Ariarne Titmus of Australia in individual competition in Tokyo, with both vying for gold. Dressel is also expected to be a key part of the American contingent to contend for a medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay, an event making its Olympic debut in Tokyo. First-time Olympians Phoebe Bacon and Rhyan White will represent Team USA in the women’s 200m backstroke.

Track & field qualifying rounds of the Tokyo Olympics continue live Friday in primetime on USA Network, including Americans Sydney McLaughlin and Dalilah Muhammad in the women’s 400m hurdles, as well as six-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix, who is expected to be part of the U.S. mixed 4x400m relay team. Select events will air in primetime Friday on NBC. Peacock will also present live coverage of track & field qualifying rounds Friday beginning at 6 a.m. ET.

SATURDAY, JULY 31

Dressel and four-time Olympic medalist Simone Manuel will headline American medal contenders in swimming Saturday evening. Dressel is a gold medal favorite in the men’s 50m freestyle, an event where he is the two-time reigning world champion. Manuel will compete in the women’s 50m freestyle, which she won silver in 2016 in Rio. The U.S. is also expected to contend for the gold medal in the men’s and women’s 4x100m medley relay.

Track & field finals in the mixed 4x400m relay and women’s 100m will be presented Saturday in primetime on NBC beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Six-time Olympic gold medalist Allyson Felix is expected to be a key member of the U.S. mixed 4x400m relay team, which is a gold medal contender in the Olympic debut of the event. Select track & field qualifying rounds will also air live in primetime on USA Network.

Kevin Durant and the U.S. men’s basketball team face Czech Republic in its final game of group play live Saturday at 8 a.m. ET on Peacock. The U.S. will advance to the quarterfinals with a win.

The final round of the men’s golf competition will be presented Saturday live at 6:30 p.m. ET on GOLF Channel.

USA Baseball, led by former MLB players Todd Frazier and Edwin Jackson, plays its second game of group play against South Korea Saturday live at 6 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

The finals in men’s and women’s singles tennis will be presented live Saturday on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, beginning at 2 a.m. ET (11 p.m. PT Friday).