Ahmed Fareed and 13-Time Paralympic Medalist Chris Waddell to Anchor Opening Ceremony Coverage
Live Competition Coverage Begins Tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, Featuring Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, Wheelchair Basketball and Track Cycling
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 24, 2021 – The primetime presentation of the Opening Ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics will air tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, leading into live competition coverage at 10 p.m. ET. The Opening Ceremony will feature an interview with Team USA flag bearer paratriathlete Melissa Stockwell, opening remarks from IPC President Andrew Parsons, and performances, pageantry and the Parade of Nations. Two-time Paralympic wheelchair rugby medalist Chuck Aoki and Stockwell will serve as Team USA’s flag bearers.
Ahmed Fareed, who will serve as a host in his Paralympics commentating debut, will host coverage of the Opening Ceremony with 13-time Paralympic medalist and Paralympic Hall of Fame member Chris Waddell. Waddell will also serve as a track & field analyst for the Paralympic Games.
Immediately following coverage of the Opening Ceremony, five hours of live competition coverage will begin tonight at 10 p.m. ET on NBCSN, highlighted by swimming, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, and track cycling.
Live coverage of swimming, wheelchair rugby, and track cycling will continue from 3-9 a.m. ET on NBCSN. Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will present encore coverage on Wednesday afternoon from 3-9 p.m. ET.
Team USA teams and athletes to watch this week include:
- 23-time Paralympic medalist and the second-most decorated Paralympian in U.S. history Jessica Long will be competing in the 100m backstroke S8 on Thursday and 200m individual medley SM8 on Friday
- Two-time Paralympic medalist Elizabeth Marks in the 50m freestyle S6 tonight and 200m individual medley SM6 on Wednesday
- Two-time Paralympic medalist Mallory Weggemann in the 200m individual medley SM7 on Thursday and 100m breaststroke SB6 on Friday
- Two-time Paralympic bronze medalist Hannah Aspden in the 100m breaststroke SB8 on Wednesday
- 2016 silver medalist Sophia Herzog in the 200m individual medley SM6 on Wednesday
- Five-time Paralympic medalist Rudy Garcia-Tolson in the 200m individual medley SM7 on Thursday and 100m breaststroke SB6 on Friday
- 2016 bronze medalist Robert Griswold in the 100m backstroke S8 on Thursday and 200m individual medley SM8 on Friday
- The Team USA wheelchair rugby team, headlined by Chuck Aoki, will begin preliminary round play against New Zealand tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN
- 2016 gold medalist Steve Serio leads the U.S. men’s wheelchair basketball team in their opening round game against Germany Wednesday live at 8 pm. ET on NBCSN
- The U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball team, who captured the gold medal in Rio in 2016, face Spain in a preliminary round matchup Thursday live at 4 a.m. ET on NBCSN
See below for Paralympics programming through Monday, Aug. 30 (subject to change):
| Date | Event(s) | Time (ET) | Network/Streaming |
| Tuesday, Aug. 24 | Opening Ceremony | 7-10 p.m.* | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 10 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Wednesday, Aug. 25 | Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling, Goalball | 8 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Thursday, Aug. 26 | Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Track & Field, Wheelchair Tennis, Wheelchair Rugby, Track Cycling, Goalball | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Friday, Aug. 27 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby, Judo | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Triathlon, Track & Field | 5:30-9:30 p.m. | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Saturday, Aug. 28 | Wheelchair Basketball, Wheelchair Rugby | Midnight-3 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Goalball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Triathlon, Table Tennis, Rowing | 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Sunday, Aug. 29 | Wheelchair Rugby Final, Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Tennis, Rowing | 1-8:30 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Wheelchair Rugby Final | 5-7 a.m. | NBCSN, Peacock | |
| Paralympics Highlights Show | 12-1:30 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | 2-3 p.m. | Telemundo | |
| Lo Mejor de los Paralimpicos Tokyo 2020 por Telemundo | 4-5 p.m. | Universo | |
| Paralympics Primetime Show | 7-8 p.m. | NBC, Peacock | |
| Wheelchair Rugby Final (encore), Wheelchair Tennis, Table Tennis | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN | |
| Monday, Aug. 30 | Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball | 3-9 a.m. | NBCSN |
| Swimming, Track & Field, Wheelchair Basketball, Sitting Volleyball | 3-9 p.m.* | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | |
| Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling, Sitting Volleyball | 9 p.m.-3 a.m. | NBCSN |
*Encore
A comprehensive programming schedule can be found here.
2016 Paralympian Scout Bassett has joined NBCUniversal’s Tokyo Paralympics commentary team as a track & field analyst. Bassett will work with Bill Spaulding (play-by-play), Waddell (analyst) and Lewis Johnson (reporter) during track & field coverage. The full commentary roster, who collectively have won 30 Paralympic medals, can be found here.
In its most ambitious effort ever, NBCUniversal will be presenting a record 1,200 hours of Tokyo Paralympic Games coverage. NBCU’s unprecedented coverage will include more than 200 hours of television coverage, the first-ever primetime hours on NBC, live coverage of the Closing Ceremony on NBCSN, and exclusive streaming coverage on NBC Sports digital platforms and Peacock. Click here for more details.
NBCU’s record programming hours for Tokyo is possible because of unparalleled corporate support. Toyota has again signed on as presenting sponsor of NBCUniversal’s Paralympic coverage and will be the exclusive auto advertiser across the linear and digital networks of NBCUniversal. Toyota branding will be included within NBCU’s extensive linear, digital and social media promotional campaigns. Nike, United Healthcare, Salesforce and Eli Lilly join Toyota as exclusive sponsors of NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
A complete archive of Tokyo Paralympics press releases can be found here.
–TOKYO PARALYMPICS–
