“You spend a lifetime training for a week that you hope you’re at your best, and then the Olympics are in your home country, and you deliver this type of performance. The stuff that dreams are made of for Marchand.” – Dan Hicks on French swimmer Leon Marchand
“You have to say right now that that is the greatest female backstroker in history.” – Rowdy Gaines on Australia’s Kaylee McKeown
“This is a huge moment for American distance running.” – Kara Goucher on Grant Fisher’s bronze medal in the men’s 10,000m
Leon Marchand, Kaylee McKeown, and Regan Smith in the Pool, Grant Fisher in the Men’s 10,000m Headline Tonight’s “Primetime in Paris” at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
LIVE TOMORROW: Sha’Carri Richardson and Ryan Crouser Headline Track & Field Action This Saturday, Aug. 3, Live at 1:10 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock; Simone Biles and Jade Carey Compete in Women’s Vault Final Live at 10:20 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 2, 2024 – NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics continues tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock with “Primetime in Paris,” hosted by Mike Tirico and featuring in-depth storytelling and a cinematic main title sequence.
Tonight’s “Primetime in Paris” on NBC and Peacock begins at 8 p.m. ET is headlined by swimming finals featuring France’s Leon Marchand, Australia’s Kaylee McKeown, and Team USA’s Regan Smith, as well as Track & Field events including American Grant Fisher in the men’s 10,000m.
Tomorrow, track & field action, gymnastics, and the penultimate day of swimming headline a busy Olympic schedule. In the pool beginning live at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, Katie Ledecky looks to win the women’s 800m freestyle for a fourth consecutive Games.
In gymnastics, the most decorated U.S. gymnast in Olympic history, Simone Biles, and teammate Jade Carey are expected to compete in the women’s vault final live at 10:20 a.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Click here for more information on tomorrow’s coverage.
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Following are highlights from today’s coverage of the Paris Olympics on the platforms of NBCUniversal:
SWIMMING
Dan Hicks on France’s Leon Marchand’s four gold medals so far in Paris: “One of the greatest swimming performances we’ve ever seen…You spend a lifetime training for a week that you hope you’re at your best, and then the Olympics are in your home country, and you deliver this type of performance. The stuff that dreams are made of for Marchand. And oh, by the way, the president of your country is here for the bookend gold…and oh, by the way, Michael Phelps saw it as well…King Marchand with four gold medals. What a show.”
Rowdy Gaines on Australia’s Kaylee McKeown winning gold with an Olympic record in the woman’s 200m backstroke: “Nobody in history has been able to close like McKeown…It’s impeccable, it’s just different. You have to say right now that that is the greatest female backstroker in history.”
Amy Van Dyken on American swimmer Kate Douglass: “What she’s doing is unheard of. She is, to me, the most versatile swimmer on this team, male or female. She can swim anything from the 50 all the way to the 200 breaststroke. Dare I say she could medal in all of them, obviously winning the 200 breaststroke. She is just spectacular, I’m so glad we get an opportunity to watch a swimmer like her.”
Gaines on Caeleb Dressel not making the final in the 100-meter butterfly: “It’s a shocking moment, I know for a lot of you watching at home. We can’t believe it here either. If you can’t believe it, trust me, we can’t either.”
TRACK & FIELD
Kara Goucher on Grant Fisher on winning bronze and becoming only the second American man in 56 years to medal in the 10,000m: “This is a huge moment for American distance running. Grant said, ‘We believed we couldn’t do this.’ And he just proved we can.”
Goucher on Fisher’s performance: “You can just see the relief on his face. He knew it was possible. He believed. He did everything right. He made all the changes he needed to make in his training, and he came in here with a faith and a belief in himself and we saw it lap after lap and we saw it down that final homestretch and he made this happen.”
Leigh Diffey on Fisher: “The man from Michigan who was laser-focused on turning a fifth place in Tokyo into a medal in Paris has turned concept into reality.”
Ato Boldon on Kaylyn Brown anchoring Team USA’s mixed 4x400m relay to a world record time of 3:07.41 in the prelim: “Well, how about that for the debut of the two women on this team? That was a phenomenal anchor leg by Kaylyn Brown. As Sanya said, she didn’t run that leg as though she had a 10-meter lead when she got the baton.”
Dawn Harper-Nelson on American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson: “When she hits her gears, it just looks different. She pulled away quickly, and then she shut it down.”
Harper-Nelson: “When we get here and that gun goes off, no one can help anyone. It is about execution, and in this first round, you see so many people rise to the moment. This is where Olympic dreams come true – you have to start here in the first round.”
GOLF
John Wood on the mentality of American golfer Xander Schauffele (T-1st, -11): “Everything’s impressive about this guy right now, but it might be his demeanor I’m most impressed with. (He doesn’t) know what kind of shot he just hit, if he just hit the greatest shot of his life or the worst, he just stays the same.”
Karen Stupples on Ireland’s Rory McIlroy being a fan favorite: “The support from the spectators is really something you can feel deep within because they’re all in on Rory. It doesn’t matter what country they’re from, they’re 100% behind him.”
TENNIS
Jimmy Arias on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz’s straight-set semifinal victory: “I don’t see how you beat him unless he’s making some errors and losing concentration at times.”
MEN’S SOCCER
Tim Howard on Team USA’s loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals: “The U.S. just never looked comfortable today…There wasn’t any cleanness or crispness to their passing or passage of play and big credit goes to Morocco for pressing them in every single opportunity.”
Joe Speight: “The U.S. did themselves proud in the final two group games, but they have fallen short at the quarterfinal hurdle of their first Olympics in 16 years. So many of these young players will learn so much.”
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Julie Foudy to Mike Tirico on the current U.S. women’s soccer team: “There is a freedom and a joy to them and creativity and you see it in those front three of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman. Young, fast, transitional, they’re having fun, and you have a coach [Emma Hayes] who came in so late there’s no expectations on them… ‘Le Trois, Ooh La La’, what do you think?”
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ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS
The NBC broadcast network and streaming service Peacock are the company’s primary platforms for its coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024. NBCU owns the U.S. media rights to the Olympic Games through 2032, which are scheduled for Paris (2024), Milan Cortina (2026), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032).
— NBC OLYMPICS —