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Post by Admin on Sept 20, 2014 5:47:59 GMT
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi seem like they took place a decade ago. Two of the brightest American stars of the most recent Olympiad were former athletes turned broadcasters – figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. It took several months, but the pair is being rewarded for their work there. Weir, Lipinski, and Gannon have received the promotion to NBC’s #1 figure skating announcing group. The three were tasked with delivering live daytime figure skating coverage for the first time ever at an Olympics. The trio proved to be a revelation as they made an immediate connection with viewers and became the darlings of Sochi as the network’s #2 figure skating broadcast team. That work has led NBC to move them into primetime and to become the lead voices for the sport beginning next month. The trio were a revelation doing live coverage in Sochi. If there’s one question for NBC it’s this – can they do the same in primetime for the 2018 Winter Olympics? The strength of Gannon, Weir, and Lipinski was their ability to analyze the figure skating competition in real-time. Even for someone who can’t tell a triple lutz from a triple axel, they were able to help explain the thought behind the programs and what the skaters were doing well or not so well. Lipinski and Weir were actually willing to provide critical analysis for a sport that doesn’t offer it very often while also being extremely likable. And Gannon’s work as the ringleader of it all was insanely underrated. Will they have the ability to make the same impact in taped primetime coverage with the manufactured drama ratcheted up infinity notches and their commentary elbowed out of the way by pre-produced packages? For figure skating fans, hopefully the answer is yes and they’re given the freedom to make that same connection as the new #1 broadcast team for figure skating for the Olympics and all the other competitions that will take place until then. There’s no question that Weir, Lipinski, and Gannon deserve this promotion. It’s refreshing to see a network reward a group based on merit and be willing to break from the years-long status quo. It’s not an easy decision to break from network stalwarts that have been the face of your coverage for a particular sport for years. Weir, Lipinski, and Gannon are more than ready to take the torch, though. With their critical analysis, chemistry, and relatability in the broadcast booth they very well could be the best figure skating broadcast booth, well, ever.
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Post by Admin on Dec 24, 2015 1:28:34 GMT
Tara Lipinski will soon be skating down the aisle. The former Olympic gold medal figure skater revealed via Instagram Tuesday that she's getting engaged to longtime boyfriend Todd Kapostasy. The 33-year-old celebrated the big news with her fiancé, a feature producer at Fox Sports, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. "My life changed forever last night. I feel so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life loving my best friend and love of my life. I've had many monumental happy days in my life, but this by far is my happiest. I love you @toddkap," she wrote to her Instagram followers. In 1998, Lipinski won the ladies' singles Olympic gold medal in figure skating at the XVIII Winter Olympics in Japan. Just 15 years old at the time, she became the youngest Olympic gold medalist in ladies' figure skating.
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Post by Admin on May 3, 2016 1:42:15 GMT
NBC Sports figure skating analysts Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir will cover the Rio Games for NBC in August, exploring the culture, sights and sounds and fashion of the Brazilian city. Lipinski and Weir spent part of February in Rio for the famous Carnival, filing this video report on the first South American city to host an Olympics. The Olympians will cover the Kentucky Derby for NBC for a third straight year this week. They also covered Super Bowl XLIX, the 2014 Academy Awards red carpet and the 2015 National Dog Show.
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Post by Admin on May 23, 2016 1:54:47 GMT
Colorful former Olympic figure skaters turned sports commentators Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski will act as NBC culture correspondents for the highly anticipated 2016 summer Olympic games – and the best friends couldn't be more excited. "We are going to bring our A-game!" Weir tells PEOPLE. "You can definitely expect some costuming and craziness." "We can't wait, this is a dream come true for us," adds Lipinski. The duo, who refer lovingly to each other as "honey" and "hon" will report from Brazil in August covering fashion, food and the more fun side of the games. "We aren't giving technical analysis. Johnny and I will bring all of the amazing culture of the Olympics to viewers at home," says Lipinski.
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Post by Admin on Jul 1, 2016 1:39:19 GMT
The former Olympic figure skater, 33, and her husband-to-be, Fox Sports producer Todd Kapostasy, celebrated their engagement party with family and friends at Mr. C Beverly Hills, according to her Instagram. "Todd and I have been living up the engaged life but now to celebrate with all of our friends and family at our engagement party it finally feels so real and official!" Lipinski wrote. She continued, "I say this all the time but you make me happier than I've ever been...here's to forever!"
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