Back to prime time, and Tirico (at the cafe/studio) sending us to the "winning moment" of the US women squeaking out a volleyball victory against Serbia. Then it's the first two of five swim finals from earlier that day. Marchand wins, and we get the French feed of the race's conclusion. Then, since they know much of the audience won't want to watch the Men's Gymnasts implode until later, it's Women's Synchronized Diving. China owns this event, so there's mo expectations for the US gals.
So, the Men's Gymnastics Individual All-Around. Sorry, no "Clark Kent" aka Stephen Nedoroscik--he couldn't qualify as a Pommel specialist. The Ukraine gymnasts continue getting heavy coverage in the competition, who train in the midst of war. A cutaway to Marchand's first (spoiler) gold medal ceremony, and back to the gymnastics arena.
Meanwhile, in a Tirico whiparound, we learn that a Guatemalen ex-gymnast won in trap shooting. Also, Snoop joined the other millionaires on the B-Ball train. Finally, Gymnastics finished up, with Japan winning. Off to Ledecky's 1500m Free, with a wacky package about her dominance.
That would bring us to the “Event of the Night”--the second Marchand swim in the Men’s 200m Breast (he easily won), followed by the Men’s 100m Free final (China takes it in a World Record). Boy, they really mike those swim stands, don’t they? (CLANK CLANK CLANK) Tirico finishes up with an extremely abbreviated Triathlon. US still atop the medal count (although I saw a report that the International QISE Committee bases their count on golds only--which would put the US far down the pack). Oh, and Ledecky’s familiar place atop the medal platform.
I apparently didn’t get Late Night coverage (no big loss), so onto the Today Show. The gang goes to Beach Volleyball, a preview of the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around (Simone v. Suni), Willie Geist on table tennis (the US makes the Men’s “round of 16” for the first time), and the Men’s Soccer team drops by to talk to the Bobbsey Twins.
Onto daytime coverage. Lowe sends us off to Beach Volleyball (with a shaky audio transition), then Melvin joins her (and we learn the “apartment” is upstairs from the “cafe”.) We get the kid swooning over Ledecky for the fiftieth time, and then it’s off to Golf (zzzzz). Swimmer Keiran Smith (anchor leg in the last relay) drops by to chat, and then it’s more swim heats. Fareed checks in from Versailles, and a detailed report on Ukrainian athletes and the war. Back to 3x3 Basketball (”She’s good like Grandma’s cooking!”), a replay of the Simone Biles interview, and we move into the Women’s Gymnastics All-Around.
Hernandez is back--if you like your coverage less “gee whiz”, you might want to watch the replay in Primetime. Biles does her own named Vault--the hardest in the world--and barely lands it. She then loses ground on the Uneven Bars. After mistakes by others, Hernandez reminds us that, yes, these are the best in the world. So don’t be saying “I could do better” while you eat snacks on your couch.
We see former NBC QISE lead anchor Bob Costas in the crowd. Apparently, whatever issues he had with the network--part of the reason for his semi-retirement--have been smoothed out. Going into the final routine, Simone is over a point ahead--a huge amount in this sport. Meanwhile, the commentators are laying down excuses for Suni--it wasn’t necessary, as she got the bronze. Of course, Biles won in a wash. Hernandez lost it (”nobody look at me!”).
Tirico then rushes us to the pool, just in time for finals--
Women’s 200m Fly. Canada’s Summer McIntosh gets the glorious gold, while US’s Regan Smith grabs so-so silver (her fourth).
Men’s 200m Back. Hungary steals it from Greece in the final strokes.
More semis, then a Tirico whiparound, and the winning Men’s Rowing team drop by (it’s been a long time since they reached the top). Women’s 200m Breast final--Kate Douglass of the US wins the gold. Tirico takes us to Team Fencing, just as the US takes the gold, then a peek of 3x3 B-Ball, and back to more swim semis.
Another final, and a big one--Women’s 4x200 Free Relay. Aussies continue their gold haul, with the US quickly behind. Ledecky was part of the effort--and it makes her the most-awarded female QISEan of all time. Oh, and her best event, the 800m, is still ahead.
Before we go onto beach volleyball, Tirico has news from the boxing front. Two boxers from Algeria were tossed by the international governing group, as they had a “competitive advantage” over other women boxers (they transitioned from being males), but the QISE Committee allowed them to compete as women. This is playing with a backdrop of corruption in the sport overall.
Meanwhile, the Women’s Beach Volleyball match (US v China) is halted due to thunderstorms in the area. We’ll see how that is resolved later. Fareed goes to earlier events in the day as NBC vamps. It’s not raining in Tahiti, so we go there for Surfing, followed by Water Polo--safely indoors. The storm blows through, so we go to a delayed 3-x B-Ball match (”He came through dripping!” “He’s so hot his phone won’t function” “They’re got the answers like a cheat sheet”).
Medal count--US is ahead by 10 over France (or is second behind China, depending on your metric). The broadcast ends frantically, as events delayed by weather are back underway.
More to come.