NBC has announced that three former Olympic figure skaters will join its broadcast team for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Johnny Weir who recently announced his retirement today will be an analyst for the Olympics as well as on NBC’s figure skating coverage leading up to Sochi. Tara Lipinski who won the gold medal in the 1998 Nagano Games gets the promotion from NBC’s and Universal Sports World Figure Skating Championships coverage to be on the Olympics. And Tanith Belbin who was a silver medalist in Ice Dancing with Ben Agosto at the 2006 Olympics in Turin, will report for the Olympics Sports Desk and The Olympic Zone, a role she filled for the 2012 Games in London.
We’ll get the full announcement of NBC’s Olympic talent roster for Sochi in the next month or so. Here’s what we have for now.
JOHNNY WEIR, TARA LIPINSKI & TANITH BELBIN TO JOIN NBC OLYMPICS IN SOCHI
Weir & Lipinski to Serve as Analysts for NBC Olympics’ Multi-Platform Figure Skating Coverage
Belbin to Report for NBC Olympics’ Sports Desk & The Olympic Zone
Weir & Lipinski Will Also Serve as Figure Skating Analysts This Sunday at 4 pm ET on NBC’s Skate Canada CoverageSTAMFORD, Conn. – October 23, 2013 – Two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, 1998 Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski, and 2006 ice dance silver medalist Tanith Belbin will join NBC Olympics for its Winter Games coverage in Sochi, Russia, it was announced today.
Weir, the two-time Olympian and three-time U.S. champion who announced his retirement today, and Lipinski, the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games when she won in Nagano in 1998 at the age of 15, will serve as analysts for NBC Olympics’ multi-platform figure skating coverage.
Belbin, a silver medalist in ice dancing at the 2006 Turin Olympics, will serve as a reporter for NBC Olympics’ Sports Desk and will present features for The Olympic Zone, NBC Olympics’ 30-minute daily show for NBC affiliates covering all aspects of the Games.
“Johnny, Tara and Tanith have entertained judges and fans alike with their skill, style and charisma,” said Jim Bell, Executive Producer of NBC Olympics. “We’re confident those same characteristics will entertain Olympic viewers this February.”
Weir and Lipinski will appear on NBC this Sunday at 4 p.m. ET alongside Terry Gannon on the network’s telecast of the 2013 Skate Canada International featuring performances from the men’s and ladies’ free skate competitions.
Weir announced his retirement and that he is joining NBC Olympics on TODAY this morning. Click here to watch the segment: http://www.today.com/video/today/53351157#53351157
THE OLYMPICS BEGIN FEB. 6, 2014
With more Winter Olympic events than ever before, competition for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from Sochi, Russia, will begin one day prior to the Opening Ceremony. As a result, NBC will begin its primetime coverage of the 2014 Sochi Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 6, one night before the broadcast network provides its traditional primetime coverage of the Opening Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 7. This marks the first time NBC will air Olympic primetime coverage before the Opening Ceremony. The primetime broadcast on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, is scheduled to include competition in snowboard slopestyle (men’s and women’s), in which two-time gold medalist Shaun White is expected to compete in the slopestyle’s Olympic debut; team figure skating, which is also in the Olympics for the first time; and women’s freestyle moguls.
Following is a closer look at NBC Olympics’ three new Sochi Winter Games talent:
JOHNNY WEIR
In a distinguished 16-year career, Johnny Weir placed sixth in men’s figure skating at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 and fifth at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. He also won three consecutive U.S. titles (2004-2006), a total of six medals in 10 national championship appearances, and a bronze at the World Championships in 2008.
Weir was twice honored by fans with the U.S Figure Skating/Skating Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for “Skater of the Year” (2008, 2010).
Weir’s broadcast experience includes his own series Be Good Johnny Weir on Logo Network, for which he won the 2010 NewNowNext Award for “Most Addictive Reality Star.” His performance in the documentary Pop Star on Ice by Retribution Media earned the 2009 QFest Philadelphia Viewers’ Choice Award.
For more on Johnny Weir, click here http://www.figureskatersonline.com/johnnyweir/home/bio/.
TARA LIPINSKI
A U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer, Tara Lipinski’s career took off at age 12 when she became the youngest person to win a gold medal at the junior-level U.S. Olympic Festival. At 14 years old, she was the youngest to win the U.S. and World Championships. The following year, she won gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.
For the past several years, Lipinski has served as an analyst for NBC Sports and Universal Sports for the World Figure Skating Championships, the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series and the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships.
For more on Tara Lipinski, click here http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/bio/tara-lipinski/ .
TANITH BELBIN
Tanith Belbin and longtime partner Ben Agosto won the silver medal in ice dancing at the 2006 Turin Winter Games to become the first American couple to win an ice-dancing medal in three decades.
Belbin and Agosto also finished fourth at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, won five U.S. championships, and four World medals (two silver, two bronze).
In 2005, shortly after organizing and performing in Skate Aid for Tsunami Relief, the Belbin-Agosto team was the first ice dancing duo to earn the U.S Figure Skating/Skating Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for “Skater of the Year.”
Belbin’s broadcast experience includes work as a commentator for Universal Sports Network and ABC’s Skating with the Stars, and as a correspondent for Good Morning America.
That’s all for now.
