Premiering this week, Universal Sports begins “Countdown to Sochi,” a weekly show that will introduce viewers to some of the athletes competing in the 2014 Winter Olympics. The show will run 15 weeks and air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and end on February 5, 2014.
Craig Hummer and Jenny Cavnar will co-host the show each week. Hummer has been part of NBC’s Olympic coverage in Vancouver and London. Cavnar comes to Universal Sports from Root Sports Rocky Mountain and has been a part of the RSN’s Colorado Rockies broadcast team.
Here’s the press release from Universal Sports.
Universal Sports Premieres Countdown to Sochi This Wednesday at 8 PM ET
Studio News Show to Follow Olympic and Paralympic Hopefuls and Storylines Leading up to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi
Alpine Skier Steven Nyman Takes US Wind Tunnel Training and U.S. Figure Skating Champion Max Aaron Sits Down for Exclusive “Countdown Conversation”Los Angeles, CA (October 29, 2013) – Universal Sports Network will debut Countdown to Sochi, a weekly show capturing the most compelling stories leading up to the 2014 Sochi Games tomorrow, October 30, at 8 PM ET – just 100 days from the start of the opening ceremonies. The 15-week show will air every Wednesday at 8 PM ET until February 5, and showcase Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls through exclusive interviews and profiles like the new “Train Like a Champion” and “Countdown Conversation” segments. The show will also have extensive coverage of recent winter sports competitions and Olympic qualifying events and “Sochi Social,” a weekly roundup of the hottest topics and trends on social media.
Wednesday’s premiere episode features alpine skier and two-time Olympian and World Cup gold medalist, Steven Nyman, in the Countdown to Sochi “Train Like a Champion” series. Every week, Universal Sports reporter Nick Gismondi literally steps into the shoes, boots or skates of a different athlete to experience what it really takes to perform at an elite level. This week, Nyman takes Gismondi along for a 60 mph ride during wind tunnel training to show him the efforts he takes to increase speed on the slopes.
Also featured in the premiere episode is U.S. Figure Skating men’s champion Max Aaron for the show’s exclusive “Countdown Conversation.” Aaron sits down in-studio to talk about his love of ice hockey and how he overcame a devastating back injury, which put him in a body cast for four months, and left the sport to ultimately pursue his Olympic dream in figure skating.
“Countdown to Sochi will bring viewers closer to Olympic hopefuls and familiarize them with their stories, and is an essential guide for those who want to know what to watch this February,” said Dean Walker, SVP of production, Universal Sports Network. “Universal Sports airs the most Olympic sports programming of any network year in and year out, so no one is better positioned than we are to tell the stories of these athletes and to deliver all the news leading into Sochi over the next 100 days.”
In addition to each week’s half-hour show, universalsports.com will have bonus content and outtakes from interviews and features in addition to extensive highlights from upcoming Alpine Skiing, Figure Skating, Bobsled, Skeleton, Luge, Speedskating, Snowboarding, Ski Jumping and Curling international events.
The show’s hosts include veteran sportscaster and the network’s Countdown to London host, Craig Hummer, who has covered the past five Olympic Games, and sports reporter Jenny Cavnar. The show will also feature a mix of analysts, along with a number of other studio guests.
Universal Sports Network is now available on Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon FiOS, satellite providers DIRECTV and DISH and numerous regional cable and IPTV operators in markets across the country.
TALENT BIOS
Craig Hummer – Host
Craig Hummer is the host for Countdown to Sochi on Universal Sports Network after hosting Countdown to London in 2012 and Vancouver NewsDesk for the network in 2010. In addition to covering the past five Olympic Games from Athens to London, the Emmy-nominated sports broadcaster has also anchored and hosted some of the world’s top sporting events while working with networks like NBC, ESPN, ABC, FOX, CBS, Universal Sports, Versus, OLN, and more. Using his professional ocean racing background and versatility as a sports commentator, Hummer has covered more than 50 different sports including the Olympics, The Tour De France, America’s Cup, Professional Bull Riding Tour, MMA, World Series of Poker, and many others.
Jenny Cavnar – Host
Jenny Cavnar is the co-host of Countdown to Sochi on Universal Sports Network. The Colorado native has been a part of Root Sports’ Colorado Rockies team since 2012, and also covers college football, basketball and hockey during the baseball for the network. Prior to her move to Denver, Jenny was a host and reporter for the San Diego Padres for Cox Television, where she also covered college football and the San Diego Chargers as a feature reporter. Jenny’s television experience also includes stints with ESPN, Universal Sports, CBS Sports Network and Fox Sports West. Born and raised in Aurora, Colorado, Cavnar is a 2004 graduate of Colorado State University.
10 Reasons to Watch “Countdown To Sochi” on Universal Sports
Watch Ted Shred
Names like Lindsey Vonn, Shaun White and Apolo Ohno, are synonymous with the Winter Games, but if you haven’t heard of Alpine skier Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), you will come February. Already an Olympic gold medalist, Ligety is in position to win more medals than any other American at the Sochi Olympics.
Ice, Ice Baby
Shani Davis (Chicago, IL) was already roller-skating at local rinks by the age of two, and his early start helped propel him to four Olympic medals. With Apolo Ohno retired to the broadcast booth, will Davis become America’s most decorated male speed skater in Sochi?
Cool Runnings
At the 2010 Vancouver Games, Steven Holcomb (Park City, UT) piloted the United States’ four-man “Night Train” crew to its first men’s bobsled gold medal since 1948. He’s back for Sochi, but can he do it again?
Stars on Ice
Team USA’s best chance for a medal in figure skating falls on Michigan natives Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the reigning Olympic silver medalists and World and U.S. champions in ice dancing. By training 10-hours a day and with new choreography by Derek Hough of “Dancing with the Stars,” will the duo capture America’s – and the judges’ – hearts in Sochi?
Lolo’s Appetite
After finishing fourth in the 100m hurdles at both the Beijing and London Games, Lolo Jones (Des Moines, IA) is hungry for an Olympic medal. In her quest to make the U.S. Bobsled team as a brakeman, she has added nearly 30 pounds to her slender frame by eating 9,000 calories per day. Will her new menu serve up success?
Winter’s Cult Sport
Fans just can’t seem to get enough Curling during the Olympics, the most searched for sport on the Internet during the 2010 Winter Games. Now with a “Men of Curling” charity calendar and personalities like Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud, who made “crazy pants” a global fashion sensation in Vancouver, who knew that sweeping could be so sexy?
The X Files
New extreme sports will make their Olympic debuts in Sochi, including the adrenaline pumping slopestyle and action-packed snowboard cross events. Snowboarding superstar Shaun White (San Diego, CA), who already owns two Olympic halfpipe gold medals, has his sights on winning the inaugural slopestyle gold medal.
Teen Queens
Who will be America’s new sweetheart? Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, CO), who last year became the youngest world slalom champion since 1974 at the age of 18, could be the next U.S. alpine superstar; figure skater Gracie Gold (Chicago, IL), 18, has high expectations training under legendary coach Frank Carroll; already a World Champion, Sarah Hendrickson (Salt Lake City, UT), 19, has her sights set on Sochi where women’s ski jumping will make its debut.
Snowdurance
Known on Twitter as @kikkanimal, Alaskan native and World Champion cross-country skier Kikkan Randall will compete in her fourth Olympics at Sochi. Will her instincts lead her to become the first U.S. female to win an Olympic nordic gold medal?
The Comeback Kids
All eyes will be on skiing superstar Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) this season as she looks to come back from a serious knee injury at the World Championships. Teammate Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) recently returned to competition after a 20 month absence due injury in pursuit of his fifth Olympics. Can they still dominate on the slopes and defend their Olympic titles?
To watch the world’s best athletes and Olympic hopefuls compete for their chance to compete in Sochi, tune into Universal Sports Network over the next 100 days to watch the FIS Alpine World Cup, Grand Prix of Figure Skating, FIBT Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup, ISU Speed Skating World Cup and much, much more!
“Countdown to Sochi” with Universal Sports every Wednesday at 8 PM ET from October 30 to February 5.
There you have it.
