“The coronation is complete. Long live the Queen.” – NBC’s Tom Hammond on Kim Yu-Na winning gold

KIM YU-NA CORONATED WITH GOLD; US WINS GOLD & SILVER IN NORDIC COMBINE; SPEEDY RIDES A HURRICANE TO SILVER

“The coronation is complete. Long live the Queen.” – NBC’s Tom Hammond on Kim Yu-Na winning gold

“We’re green light for flight but there’s a hurricane in the forecast.” – NBC’s Todd Harris on Speedy Peterson

VANCOUVER – Feb. 25, 2010 – Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, the reigning world champion, won the ladies’ figure skating gold on the 14TH day of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, handily defeating Mao Asada of Japan and Joannie Rochette of Canada. Mirai Nagasu and Rachael Flatt of the US finished fourth and seventh, respectively. The program ended with the medal ceremony and the national anthem of South Korea.

The US increased its historic medal haul in Nordic combined to four. In the individual large hill/10km cross country event, Billy Demong won the first gold in the sport in US history and Johnny Spillane earned his third silver of the Games. Until Vancouver, the US had never medaled in Nordic combined. The medal ceremony and US national anthem were aired during the program.

In men’s freestyle aerials, Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson won silver by landing the hurricane – a risky five-twist, three-somersault maneuver. Alexei Grishin of Belarus won gold and Zhongging Liu of China earned bronze. Peterson attempted the hurricane in Torino in 2006 but did not land it cleanly, costing him a medal. Ryan St. Onge from the US finished fourth.

On MSNBC, the host nation Canada defeated the US – the reigning world champions –  in the highly anticipated women’s hockey gold medal game by a score of 2-0. It was Canada’s third consecutive Olympic gold. The medal ceremony and Canadian national anthem aired in primetime on NBC. On CNBC, Canada defeated Sweden, 6-3, in the semifinals of men’s curling. The host nation will face Norway in the gold medal final on Saturday.

FIGURE SKATING:
Play-by-Play: Tom Hammond
Analysts: Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic
Reporter: Andrea Joyce

Bezic on Flatt during her skate: “She is really doing it.”

Bezic: “She’s had a long season with many great performances but she has saved her best one for the Olympic Games.”

Hamilton: “She is a rock. She is so consistent.”

Hammond: “It’s called rising to the moment and Rachel Flatt has just done it.”

Bezic on Ando: “This is the strongest we’ve seen Miki perform in a long time as well.”

Hamilton as Kim Yu-Na took the ice: “My heart just started beating a little faster.”

Bezic during Yu-Na’s performance: “Oh my goodness, this is glorious. This is one of the greatest Olympic performances I have ever seen.”

Hammond: “And the crowd mesmerized during her skate, leaping to their feet. The coronation is complete. Long live the Queen.”

Hamilton on the pressure: “No one can walk a mile in those shoes.”

Hammond on Kim Yu-Na’s record-setting score of 228.56: “That blasts the old record. That destroyed the old record.”

Hamilton on Asada: “The first woman to do three triple axels in a competition ever.”

Bezic on Asada: “What she has done in the wake of Yu-Na’s ovation is extraordinary.”

Bezic on Joannie Rochette’s performance: “A kiss for her father. A performance for her mom.”

Hamilton on Rochette’s performance: “I’ve never seen such a superhuman amount of courage and determination. What an inspiration.”

Hammond on Rochette’s performance: “It is the stuff of Olympic legend.”

Hammond on Nagasu: “Not intimidated at all by the stage of the Olympics.”

Bezic on Nagasu: “She just made herself her own Olympic moment.”

Hamilton on the final results: “Everybody’s happy.”

NORDIC COMBINED:
CROSS COUNTRY
Play-by-Play: Al Trautwig
Analyst: Chad Salmela

Trautwig on Demong: “And now Billy Demong is having his own little miracle.”

Trautwig on Demong and Spillane: “For the first time in Nordic combined, the United States wins a gold and they’re going to add a silver as well.”

Trautwig on Spillane’s three silver medals: “Let future generations chase that.”

Salmela: “The United States has been waiting for that moment for so long.”

Spillane on strategy: “Bill and I just kept trading off and kept taking turns pushing the pace and relaxing. We knew that eventually he’d break and Bill had a very strong finish on that last hill. I also felt really good and we were able to get clear. To finish 1-2 is awesome.”

Demong on the future: “I know we’re both planning on skiing next year in the world championships. And I don’t think anyone’s thought that far ahead. Right now our commitment is to enjoy these weeks here and do our best. And we’re also going to start laying the groundwork for the next generation.”

FREESTYLE SKIING:
Play-by-Play: Todd Harris
Analyst: Jonny Moseley
Reporter: Tina Dixon

Moseley on Canada’s Warren Shouldice: “He looks like a two-by-four getting flung through the air and the judges love that.”

Harris on Japan’s skiers: “They’re so young, but with so much poise.”

Harris on the hurricane: “We’re green light for flight but there’s a hurricane in the forecast.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a category five hurricane, but that was pretty nice.”

Moseley: “You don’t get extra points for originality but he does it anyway.”

“One of the best I’ve seen him do.”

Harris on Peterson: “And the hurricane is good for silver.”

ALPINE SKIING:
Play-by-Play: Tim Ryan
Analysts: Christin Cooper
Reporter: Steve Porino

Cooper on gold medalist Victoria Rebensburg of Germany: “That was a hard fight from top to bottom. She never gave up.”

Ryan: “And now she’s showing the world she’s a gold medalist in the giant slalom.”

Cooper on the technique of silver medalist Tina Maze of Slovakia: “It’s just a thing of beauty.”

Cooper on the Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso relationship: “These are two characters with polar opposite personalities. They approach their personal lives and their ski careers differently. They have different goals. That’s just the realities of life on the national team. Rivals are not always your best friends. The point is to put that aside and make it work.”

Cooper on Mancuso: “What a fighter she’s been.”

Mancuso on her race: “I’m psyched I was able to lay down a pretty good second run today. It wasn’t enough but I really went out and did my best so I’m really proud of that.”

On her alleged feud with Lindsey Vonn: “It’s been taken out of proportion. It’s really about both of us going out and skiing. I respect her. I said earlier in some interviews that of course she deserved the attention. She really is the greatest female American skier that we’ve had — two overall titles, numerous Globe. That’s really a huge accomplishment. We’re both very different. We both have gotten here to these Games and gotten our medals in completely opposite ways. I’m sure that fuels the fire even more. But of course it’s always good to see your fellow American on the podium.”

On the death of her friend: “I found out yesterday after my race that my friend C.R. Johnson passed away skiing in Squaw [Valley]. It just really reminds me that skiing is so much fun and I love it. It’s all about the skiing and nothing else.”

MSNBC, Women’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game:
Canada 2 vs. United States 0
Bill Patrick (Host), Cammi Granato (Studio Analyst), Mike Emrick (Play-By-Play), AJ Mleczko (Analyst), Pierre McGuire (Analyst), Joe Micheletti (Reporter)

Patrick: “What we saw today was really unique. Before today, no women’s hockey team had ever won Olympic gold on home ice.”

“The party has just begun here at Canada hockey place.”

Patrick on Canada: “Their 15th straight Olympic victory. Their third straight gold medal.”

Granato on Canada: “They have the crowd here supporting them. It can’t be more special.”

“They had a flawless game.”

Mleczko: “It was a battle as expected.”

Emrick on Canada: “What a wonderful feeling it is for them, to not only win, but to win at home.”

McGuire on Canada’s Szabados: “She is the most consistent goaltender Canada has right now.”

Patrick: “The Canadian team has this building behind it and that’s a big factor.”

Canada’s Gillian Apps on playing well under pressure: “It is something that we have worked on all year just making sure that we have a strong, solid penalty kill. Our defense and our goalie are playing great, so it’s a huge help.”

Mleczko on USA and Canada: “These two teams are ‘it’ in terms of rivalries.”

Granato: “This is four years of work coming down to one game.”

McGuire on USA and Canada: “A lot of tension on both benches.”

Granato on USA: “They’re the most together I have seen a team since the 1998 team.”

Granato On USA Head Coach Mark Johnson: “They absolutely love playing for him. This guy is so well decorated. He was the leading scorer of the 1980 Olympic team that won the gold medal. His father was a legendary coach. He just has loads of experience. He has won three NCAA championships with Wisconsin. He knows how to win. He knows how to coach and they follow him.”

Granato: “For the U.S., you can sense the disappointment. You can see the disappointment. Lots of tears. I have been there. I know what that feels like. In time, they will come to appreciate the silver medal. It is hard for them right now, but they will.”

USA’s Natalie Darwitz on the game: “We played hard, but we just didn’t execute.”

“We have a young team and at times I feel we played that way.”

CNBC, Men’s Curling Semifinal:
Canada 6 vs. Sweden 3
Fred Roggin (Host), Andrew Catalon (Play-By-Play), Colleen Jones (Analyst), Don Duguid (Analyst), Elfi Schlegel (Reporter)

Jones: “What a moment for this Canadian team to now be able to play for the gold medal in front of this crowd.”

“This place is going to be absolutely electric.”

Canada’s John Morris: “I think it’s a good energy in the building. We have had that pressure on us for the last couple of years. The Olympics is a whole new ball game.”

“Curling and hockey to Canada is kind of like baseball and basketball to the States. Where the pressure is on to win the gold. We knew that pressure coming in, and we definitely expected it for ourselves. So we are definitely going for that gold.”

On playing Norway in the gold medal final: “We know we will have our hands full, so we expect a good battle on Saturday that’s for sure.”

Duguid: “There’s nobody that knows the angles more than Kevin Martin.”

Jones on Sweden: “Coming in, they thought if they finished middle of the pack that would be good.  They have been awesome.”

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