“Doubted and dismissed, Team USA will not be denied!” – Bob Fitzgerald on U.S. Men’s Basketball winning their fourth consecutive gold medal
“When so many people counted her out, she gets another medal…She has a lot of medals, but I’m sure this one will be the sweetest.” – Sanya Richards-Ross on Allyson Felix winning bronze in the women’s 400m final
“Cue the champagne in Wisconsin! I can’t even explain how incredible this performance is…This will inspire the next generation of runners.” – Kara Goucher on American Molly Seidel winning bronze in the women’s marathon
Saturday Highlights: U.S. Women’s Basketball Team Goes for Gold in Final vs. Japan Live in Primetime Tomorrow at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC; Final Day of Track & Field Competition Features Women’s and Men’s 4x400m Relay, Including Allyson Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, and More, Live at 6:35 a.m. ET on Peacock
STAMFORD, Conn. – August 7, 2021 – NBC Olympics continued its primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics tonight on NBC. Mike Tirico serves as NBC Olympics primetime host and opened tonight’s coverage on NBC.
Tirico closed out tonight’s primetime broadcast with a salute to Peter Diamond, NBC Olympics executive vice president of programming, who has worked more Olympic Games than any broadcast network executive in television history and will be retiring after the Tokyo Olympics.
Highlights of upcoming coverage include:
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- In pursuit of a seventh consecutive gold medal, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and the U.S. women’s basketball team play Japan in the final live in primetime Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBC;
- The last day of track & field competition will feature a number of medals being awarded in final events Saturday morning live at 6:35 a.m. ET on Peacock. Among those in consideration for Team USA in the women’s and men’s 4x400m relay include Allyson Felix, Tokyo gold medalists Sydney McLaughlin, Athing Mu, Tokyo silver medalist Dalilah Muhammad, Michael Norman and Michael Cherry. Coverage of the final day of track & field competition will air in primetime Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC;
- Team USA, featuring former MLB players Todd Frazier and Edwin Jackson, plays Japan in the baseball final with a gold medal on the line live Saturday morning at 6 a.m. ET on NBCSN. The U.S. is looking to win its second gold medal in baseball after winning gold at the 2000 Sydney Games.;
- The women’s volleyball final between the U.S. and Brazil will be presented live at 12:30 a.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT Saturday on USA Network as the U.S. seeks it first women’s volleyball gold medal.
Following are highlights from tonight’s primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal:
MEN’S BASKETBALL – NBC
Bob Fitzgerald on Team USA winning the gold medal: “Doubted and dismissed, Team USA will not be denied!”
Vince Carter: “You could tell in warmups that Team USA wanted this game, wanted this opportunity again because of all the variables that were thrown in their way in the beginning. They were able to step up and get the job done.”
Fitzgerald: “You could just tell, for these NBA players, how important it was to come together as a group, to come here for their country.”
Fitzgerald on Kevin Durant and Team USA: “I think when Kevin Durant said, ‘I’m playing in Tokyo,’ other guys said, ‘I want to play with.’ It was a huge decision by Kevin. I don’t think people really realize that for the coaches, the players, there’s no compensation. It’s the pride of the United States and to represent your country. Kevin Durant has done it beautifully every time he has worn that Team USA jersey.”
Durant to Maria Taylor following the win: “We went through some real adversity. We lost a game in the tournament, we lost two exhibition games, we had some unusual circumstances with COVID, guys playing in the Finals and coming in late, and we just fought through everything…everybody sacrificed from Day 1, put the team first, and we were able to get the gold.”
Jayson Tatum to Taylor on how it feels to win a gold medal for Team USA: “It’s an incredible feeling, something you always dream about. I can remember in high school watching these guys win a gold medal, and to play alongside of them and win one in a climate like this with everything we went through and not being able to bring our family – I know Deuce is watching – so this is an amazing feeling.”
Carter on Draymond Green’s impact on Team USA: “You look up on that scoreboard, you see zero points from Draymond, five assists, two rebounds – but the deflections, his voice. He’s doing the intangibles, doing the little things to help your team win, which we all know he’s done that for many, many years…But what he’s done for this team that will not be talked about, it’s always amazing.”
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TRACK & FIELD – NBC
Sanya Richards-Ross on Allyson Felix winning bronze in the women’s 400m final, her 10th Olympic medal: “What a night for Allyson. She was so tough to be able to hang on, when so many people counted her out, she gets another medal. You can never count this woman out in a final…She only ran under 50 seconds one time this year, and she found her best race in the final…She has a lot of medals, but I’m sure this one will be the sweetest.”
Ato Boldon: “Look at Allyson Felix. Yes, she’s under duress, and yes, she’s fighting for that bronze, but her form does not falter. And as long as you keep your form, you are expecting that someone else is going to blink first. The reason that she has this 10th Olympic medal is because she resisted the urge to fall apart while everyone else was.”
Felix to Lewis Johnson on the message she hopes to send to her daughter Cammy with her bronze medal performance: “No matter what it feels like is stacked against you, you go out with character, integrity, you give it your all and that’s all anybody else can as of you…years down the way, I hope she understands that.”
Kara Goucher on Molly Seidel winning bronze in the women’s marathon: “Cue the champagne in Wisconsin! … I can’t even explain how incredible this performance is. This is one of the best fields ever assembled, these are some of the toughest conditions they have ever faced in a marathon, let alone an Olympic Games…This will inspire the next generation of runners.”
Leigh Diffey: “I tell my kids every night: sleep well and dream big. Dare to dream, be a dreamer, think as big as you want, kids, if you’re watching this broadcast, because that’s what Molly Seidel did…She dreamt big, and she has won big.”
Goucher: “She put herself in it from the beginning. She was always cautious to hit the shade, but she wasn’t afraid to run from the front…When she sees the shade, she moves to that side of the road. She’s running and using tricks that veterans of the marathon know, and this is only her third marathon.”
Seidel to Steve Porino on winning bronze: “I can’t believe it. Just getting here was already a dream come true, and to be able to come today against a field like this and to be able to come away with a medal, with a bronze for the U.S., I’m in shock. I’m in disbelief right now. I’ve worked so hard for this…I’m so grateful for everyone who got me here and I’m so happy.”
Seidel to her family on the phone after the race: “We did it! I’m so tired. Please drink a beer for me.”
Tirico: “That’s the greatest soundbite of the Olympics. That’s awesome.”
Diffey on Team USA’s Paul Chelimo winning bronze in the men’s 5000m final: “What a finish from the American! That was guts and determination to the max!”
Goucher: “That was all heart in those final 20 meters. His body was shutting down and he could see the medal was about to slip away, and he did everything he could to get his body across the line. He even leaned like a sprinter to clinch third place.”
Boldon on Jamaica winning the women’s 4x100m relay: “Jamaica just gave their country one heck of an Independence Day present – their first 4×100 Olympic win since 2004…this team has not been able to practice at all because they were busy running their individual events. They practiced for the first time today and somehow managed to get the baton around.”
Boldon on Team USA winning silver: “They substituted in Jenna Prandini and Gabby Thomas and it paid off. They get a season’s best and an Olympic silver medal.”
Richards-Ross on Team USA advancing to the final in the men’s 4x400m relay: “Sometimes Team USA makes it look so hard…they have so much depth in this event, it should be easy for them to navigate and they did really well tonight, setting themselves up for a great performance in the final.”
Boldon on Italy winning gold the men’s 4x100m relay: “This may be a bigger shock than the 100m. Italy has no Olympic medals in recent history, but they have the gold now…What a Games this has been for Italy…This is why they run the race…Not only do they have the fastest man in the world in the 100m, they now have the 4×100 gold medal at the Olympic Games.”
Tirico on Carl Lewis’ comments on Team USA failing to qualify for men’s 4x100m relay final: “Carl Lewis did not hold back…strong words from one of the best of all time. Maybe Carl can come coach the U.S. team the next time around.”
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