Mike Tirico Will Join Rowdy Gaines in NBC Announcing Booth for Olympic Trials
Mike Tirico will be the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Wave II Olympic Trials, which will be held June 13-20 in Omaha, Neb. Tirico will work alongside analyst Rowdy Gaines and reporter Michele Tafoya. Tirico will replace Dan Hicks, who will miss the Trials while calling the French Open tennis championship June 12-13 and the U.S. Open (golf) June 17-20.
Tirico is entering his first Summer Olympics as NBC’s primetime host for Olympics coverage. He first filled that role at the 2018 Winter Olympics, replacing longtime host Bob Costas, and Tirico was a daytime host for Olympic coverage during the 2016 Rio Games.
Gaines has called Olympic swimming at every Games since 1996 (as well as dozens of other meets including World Championships, Nationals, the NCAA championships, Pro Swim Series meets and the International Swimming League), and he has teamed with Hicks on play-by-play at all five Olympic Games and Olympic Trials during that span. Hicks and Gaines will reunite for the Olympics in Tokyo, and Tafoya will provide reports and conduct on-deck interviews for her second Trials and Games after previously filling the role in 2016.
“I am thrilled to be in Omaha for such an important phase on the road to Tokyo,” Tirico said, in a statement provided to Swimming World. “Swimming has traditionally been a huge part of our primetime Olympics coverage on NBC, so this will be a great chance to see Team USA come together in person. I have always loved the scene in Omaha and can’t wait to be in the middle of the excitement. Plus, as a fan of Rowdy Gaines for many years, it will be cool to be next to a legend in Olympic television to call these races.”
Tirico joined NBC Sports in the summer of 2016 after working for ESPN/ABC for 25 years, including 10 as the voice of Monday Night Football. He also was involved in NBA, golf, tennis and soccer coverage for ESPN, and since moving to NBC, he has called NFL and college football and served as the host of the Triple Crown in horse racing, the Indianapolis 500 and Sunday Night Football, in addition to his Olympics work.
All eight nights of the meet will be broadcast live, seven of them on NBC (June 13-16 at 7 p.m. CT, June 18-19 at 9 p.m. CT June 20 at 7:15 p.m. CT) and one on NBCSN (June 17 at 7 p.m. CT).
He’s bound to get hooked 🙂
Leif Hanisch Kyle Silbernagel
Wow, the best of the best for swimming.
Please give Michele some different questions yo ask swimmer.
Who is the announcer who yells the whole event? He sounds like the typical reality tv overly excited at everything Gen Xer. It’s annoying
I request that the swimming announcers to refer to the female swimmers as women, not girls! A bit annoying, especially since no one speaks of the males as boys… it is 2020 and the announcers are of an age to be more aware….
Michele Tafoya was awful after the men won the gold and WR for the medley relay . All 4 are standing there very excited for what they just accomplished and she asks Caleb Dressel if he could have ever imagined all of HIS success at these games?how rude and stupid at that moment to ignore what just happened . Shame on you