Transcript

Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics

From NPR · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 29 min · 6,281 words · 38 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics", an episode of NPR published February 6, 2026 (29 min, about 6,281 words). It mentions 21 people, works and ideas, including Lindsay Vonn, Winter Olympics, Italy, Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim.

What this episode is about

Lindsey Vonn faces a challenging road to the 2026 Winter Olympics after suffering a severe ACL injury, but remains determined to pursue her Olympic dreams. Meanwhile, as the Olympic torch approaches Italy and the U.S. delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, prepares for the opening ceremonies, various storylines and political dynamics surrounding the games are highlighted.

Key takeaways

  • Lindsey Vonn proves that age is just a number—41 and still chasing Olympic gold despite a torn ACL.
  • A knee injury could bench most, but Vonn's determination defies the odds—her spirit is the real medal.
  • The figure skating community's resilience shines as athletes honor lost friends—skating becomes a tribute during this Olympics.
  • Maxim Naumov's journey, from grief to the Olympic stage, highlights the power of sport in healing and remembrance.
  • Ilia Malinin, aka 'Quad God,' is redefining figure skating's limits—who knew quads could also mean gold medal potential?

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Lindsay Vonn, Milan, Cortina, Italy
  2. – 10:00: Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim, Ilia Malinin, Lindsay Vonn
  3. – 15:00: Chloe Kim, Jesse Diggins, Lindsay Vonn, Winter Olympics
  4. – 20:00: Lake Placid, Four Nations Tournament
  5. – 25:00: Winter Olympics, Peacock, Italy, Allianz Travel Insurance
  6. – 29:00: Winter Olympics

Notable quotes from "Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics"

  • It's the comeback within a comeback for U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn, who after another crash and another injury, says her Olympic dreams are not over.
    about Lindsay Vonn · at
  • How are y'all feeling? What's up? Hey, A. The sun has come out in Milan and, Becky and I had some of the best pizza of our lives last night, so things are great in Italy. Nice.…
    about Milan · at
  • It a go. The first downhill training run was supposed to be today, and I think we were going to learn a little bit more about how she was feeling, but it was canceled because…
    about Cortina · at
  • Known as Ilia Malinin — his legal name — he is a — I like Quad God better, though. — I think he does too. It's his Instagram handle. he is from Virginia. He is sort of the one…
    about Ilia Malinin · at
  • All right. So Becky, we can't also talk about skiing and not mention Mikaela Shiffrin. Yeah, we got to, yeah. This is, she's — Brian, I think, said that Lindsey Vonn's the…
    about Mikaela Shiffrin · at
  • Each other, especially in this case. Go ahead, Rachel. Oh, I was just going to say, Brian, mentioned this — that Chloe Kim is going for her third gold. When I was doing some…
    about Chloe Kim · at
  • The Olympics and is now making a huge bet that they can actually still deliver a mass audience in a fragmented media world. David Folkenflik is here. He's NPR's media…
    about Winter Olympics · at
  • Linear television is troubled enough that I think they're happy to have five hours of, of programming that they can just turn over to NBC Sports and the Olympics. and they're…
    about Peacock · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Lindsay Vonn — Person · Referenced athlete / central storyline · 6 mentions · first at
    Her late-career comeback and pre-Games ACL rupture is framed as the biggest early storyline and a major draw for viewers.
  • Mikaela Shiffrin — Person · Referenced athlete / major contender · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as a dominant World Cup winner whose Olympic outcomes have been complicated by crashes and pressure; positioned as a favorite in slalom.
  • Chloe Kim — Person · Referenced athlete / star profile · 5 mentions · first at
    Highlighted as a marquee U.S. snowboarder aiming for a third Olympic halfpipe gold while managing a shoulder injury; also noted for celebrity relationship.
  • Jesse Diggins — Person · Referenced athlete / profile + advocacy angle · 3 mentions · first at
    Presented as the most decorated U.S. cross-country skier, a potential multi-medal driver, and an athlete using her platform for mental health and anti-discrimination messaging.
    Chloe Kim wants it to be her. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Now, Brian, Jessie Diggins is a cross-country ski racer. you've been profiling her for a long time. What drew you in?…
  • Ilia Malinin — Person · Referenced athlete / must-watch figure skater · 3 mentions · first at
    Featured as the men’s figure skating favorite due to unprecedented technical difficulty (quadruple axel) and winning streak; framed as a marquee TV draw.
  • Maxim Naumov — Person · Referenced athlete / human-interest story · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed as a Team USA men’s figure skater competing while grieving parents/coaches lost in a plane crash, symbolizing resilience and remembrance within the skating community.
    Maxim Naumov is one of the men representing Team USA, and his parents were on that flight — his parents who were also his coaches. And so the fact that he placed third at…
  • Alysa Liu — Person · Referenced athlete / part of U.S. women's trio · 1 mention · first at
    Named as part of the U.S. women’s figure skating group and described as a top титlist/contender in the episode’s framing.
    Rachel? The women's side is stacked. there are three ladies representing the U.S., and they're kind of being advertised as a trio. They're all immensely talented, but they all…
  • Amber Glenn — Person · Referenced athlete / part of U.S. women's trio · 1 mention · first at
    Named as one of the three U.S. women in figure skating (the 'Blade Angels'), positioned as a potential medal contender.
    Rachel? The women's side is stacked. there are three ladies representing the U.S., and they're kind of being advertised as a trio. They're all immensely talented, but they all…
  • Isabeau Levito — Person · Referenced athlete / part of U.S. women's trio · 1 mention · first at
    Named as the third member of the U.S. women’s figure skating trio highlighted as potential medal threats.
    Rachel? The women's side is stacked. there are three ladies representing the U.S., and they're kind of being advertised as a trio. They're all immensely talented, but they all…
  • J.D. Vance — Person · Referenced public official · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as arriving in Milan as part of the official U.S. delegation, tying the Games to U.S. political presence and diplomacy.
    We have our gold medal team in Italy, and they are here to talk about the big storylines, the athletes and the games to see and the politics you can't unsee. The famed Olympic…
  • Miles Garrett — Person · Referenced celebrity athlete (non-Olympian) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as Chloe Kim’s boyfriend, adding celebrity context and cross-sport interest.
    Well she's able to move. but, but with these top tier, skiers and snowboarders, we have a real shot at picking up a harvest of gold here despite these injuries. And, one of the…

Companies & orgs

  • NPR — Company · Host · 4 mentions
    NPR is hosting the podcast 'Up First Winter Games', providing coverage and analysis.
    We have a QR code on the screen to get in touch with Rachel to see and read her stuff. All right, Brian Mann, Rachel Treisman and Becky Sullivan, thank you. And we are going to…

Concepts & topics

  • Trump administration — Concept · Referenced concept · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of immigration enforcement and its impact on athletes.
    For decades. but in the year that he's been in office, President Trump, of course, has challenged many of those international institutions. He's threatened the territorial…

Places & events

  • Winter Olympics — Event · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at
    The main event being discussed, with focus on athletes, events, and broadcasting.
  • Italy — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Host country for the Winter Olympics, providing the backdrop for the events.
    We have our gold medal team in Italy, and they are here to talk about the big storylines, the athletes and the games to see and the politics you can't unsee. The famed Olympic…
  • Milan — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    One of the host cities for the Winter Olympics, where events and delegations are based.
  • Cortina — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Location where women's alpine events are held during the Winter Olympics.
  • Lake Placid — Place · Referenced location · 1 mention · first at
    Historic site of the 1980 Winter Olympics, referenced in the context of hockey.
    That the NHL put on instead of an all-star game, called the Four Nations Tournament. It came down to overtime in the final, for Canada to take that one. and so I think anything…
  • Four Nations Tournament — Event · Referenced event · 1 mention · first at
    A hockey tournament mentioned in the context of Team USA's performance.
    Count out the Americans. it's a really great, group this time. We've got stars like Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. We've got stars, like Auston Matthews. The goaltending for the…

Sponsors

  • Peacock — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions · first at
    NBC's streaming service, used to broadcast live and on-demand Olympic events.
  • Allianz Travel Insurance — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Sponsor of the 'Up First Winter Games' podcast, providing travel insurance services.
    We have a QR code on the screen to get in touch with Rachel to see and read her stuff. All right, Brian Mann, Rachel Treisman and Becky Sullivan, thank you. And we are going to…

Full transcript with timestamps

Big news this week from one of the Olympics' biggest stars. I completely ruptured my ACL. It's the comeback within a comeback for U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn, who after another crash and another injury, says her Olympic dreams are not over. I know what my chances were before the crash. And I know my chances aren't the same, as it stands today, but I know there's still a chance. And as long as there's a chance, I will try. We have our gold medal team in Italy, and they are here to talk about the big storylines, the athletes and the games to see and the politics you can't unsee. The famed Olympic torch is en route to kick off the opening ceremony, and Vice President JD Vance is arriving in Milan this morning as part of the official U.S. delegation.

I'm A Martínez, and this is a special edition of 'Up First Winter Games.' NPR's Becky Sullivan, Brian Mann and Rachel Treisman are in Italy, and they're with us now. Hello, everyone! How are y'all feeling? What's up? Hey, A. The sun has come out in Milan and, uh, Becky and I had some of the best pizza of our lives last night, so things are great in Italy. Nice. Rachel, you got to get in on some of that pizza, alright? I was going to say, I will have pizza after this and then I'll be feeling even better. All right. So, uh, Becky Sullivan, let's start off with you, because, really the big story of the first week, really, is Lindsey Vonn — suffered another really bad knee injury, but she's going to give it a go. First off, I want to know, will she be wearing a cape with an "S" on it? Because she is absolutely super human at this point. But tell us about what her situation is.

Yeah, she won't be wearing a cape with an "S" on it, but she will be wearing a knee brace, because she tore her ACL in a race last week — uh, that was last Friday, so just on the eve of the Olympics. It was literally the last downhill race before the Olympics. Honestly, so devastating. And I think, like, 90-plus percent of other athletes would have been, like, I gotta sit this one out. But Lindsey Vonn ain't going to do that, because she is 41, as you said, making an insane comeback out of retirement. She retired, uh, like, six years ago, um, and then she got a knee replacement in 2024, has been working ever since then to come back. And, really, this season was her first season where she was in full swing, and it's been amazing. A, like, you know, I don't know what she reasonably could have expected, but she came in last fall, won her first downhill World Cup race of the season, became the oldest person ever to win a World Cup race — by four years. 41 years old. It's nuts. Um,

so yeah, so this week, she's been talking about her ACL tear. She said she completely ruptured it, but the knee, she says, is stable, tt's not swollen, it's not causing her pain. So she's going to give it a go. The first downhill training run was supposed to be today, and I think we were going to learn a little bit more about how she was feeling, but it was canceled because it was snowing too much in Cortina, which is where the women's alpine events are getting held. Um, so she's going to ski for this first official training run tomorrow. We'll learn more then, but, uh, she says she's going to really try to to ski on the downhill race, which is on Sunday.

Yeah. And most people can't even walk with a torn ACL. But Brian, I'm sure NBC is very happy that she's giving it a go. Yeah, A, it's really important to say that she is really the big star here in Milan Cortina — her story, uh, her comeback — and so the fact that she is going to give it a go, it's a huge relief for everybody, uh, who's watching for her — obviously, she's at the center of this, uh, but she's that important to these Games. Alright, Rachel, now, you're keeping track of a very much of a fan favorite kind of sport, which is figure skating. But, uh, we have to acknowledge, too, that this is going to be the first Olympics since that tragic plane crash in D.C. that took a large part of the ice skating community. Tell us about how that is being felt at this Olympics.

Absolutely, yeah. Uh, 67 people died in that crash, um, 28 of them were members of the figure skating community, and a lot of the people on board that jet from Wichita were really young, promising skaters coming back from a training development camp, um, held right after nationals and so, um, I think any one-year anniversary would be a heavy time, but it's um even more interesting and bittersweet and painful in an Olympic year, right? Because these are some of the skaters that could have been, maybe not in these Olympics, right? But the next ones, or they could have been at nationals this year, so the community has really — I talked to a bunch of skaters and coaches and club presidents, and they all talked about people initially being hesitant to get back on the ice and not knowing how they could move on after a loss like this, and a year out, that tone has sort of shifted to, the best thing that people can do to honor those they lost is keep skating. And I think a story that

really encapsulates that is, um, someone that we have here representing Team USA at the Olympics. Maxim Naumov is one of the men representing Team USA, and his parents were on that flight — his parents who were also his coaches. And so the fact that he placed third at nationals and got his ticket to Milan and will be here honoring them on the world's biggest stage is, um, something that I think means a lot both to him, as he's talked about, and, of course, the whole skating community. All right, Rachel, let's stay with the men for a second: Tell us about the "Quad God." Okay, the "Quad God," also known as Ilia Malinin — his legal name — um, he is a — I like "Quad God" better, though. — I think he does too. It's his Instagram handle. Um, he is from Virginia. He is sort of the one to watch. And that is because, as his name might suggest, he is the only skater in the world that can land a quadruple axle,

a quad axle, um, which for those uninitiated, that's four and a half rotations. So, he spends a lot of time in the air. Um, he did not make the Olympic team in 2022. He was an alternate. But he hasn't lost a competition since 2023. So, he, uh, he'll be someone to watch. He's heavily favored for gold. Um, if he lands a quad on Olympic ice, that'll be a record in and of itself. So there's a lot to look forward to there. I gotta say, Ilia Malinin is must-watch — he's must- watch TV. I mean, you can't miss this. This is like Simone Biles, you know? You tune in the summer Olympics to see what Simone's gonna do that nobody else has ever done before. And it just, like, blows everybody's minds — everybody in the arena, her teammates, her competitors, everybody watching at home. That's what Ilia Malinin is gonna be like, this. So you gotta tune in, A.

Well, if anything, just to see the quads. I mean, if you got a name like "Quad God," I want to see the quads. Another cool thing he does is a backflip. And there's already been video of him doing them here. Um, specifically in front of Snoop Dogg. So, like Becky said, never a dull moment. You're gonna wanna watch. All right, what about the women's side, Rachel? The women's side is stacked. Um, there are three ladies representing the U.S., and they're kind of being advertised as a trio. They're all immensely talented, um, but they all now have a group name: the Blade Angels. So the Blade Angels are Amber Glenn, Alysa Liu and Isabeau Levito, um, and they have tons of titles between them, right? Amber is the two-time reigning national champion; Alysa is the reigning world champion. Um, they, any of them could medal, and if they do, that would be the first U.S. woman to win a medal in figure skating since 2006. And if one of them wins

gold, that would be the first time since 2002. Brian, what are you going to be watching? One other fun thing about this moment for these figure skaters is that, four years ago in Beijing, a big doping scandal really took attention away from the ice — a Russian skater, uh, had a positive doping test and it threw the sport into into a tailspin. A lot of our athletes didn't get their gold medals until two years later, at the Paris Summer Games. And so I, I was in the room with the skaters the other day and asked them about this, and you could tell, they're just so excited that the, the focus now is on quads; it is on back flips; it's on their performances — it's not on the politics; it's not on that doping stuff and, and hopefully, that's exactly where the spotlight will remain.

All right. So Becky, we can't also talk about skiing and not mention Mikaela Shiffrin. Yeah, we got to, yeah. This is, uh, I mean, she's — Brian, I think, said that Lindsey Vonn's the biggest star of the Olympics. I think Mikaela Shiffrin might have something to say about that. She is a huge star in her own right. And, in fact, she has won way more World Cup races than anybody else alive — any other skier. Uh, Lindsey Vonn used to have that record for women's skiing, but Mikaela has long since crushed it. She has 800 — 108 World Cup wins, which is nuts. Um, but actually the Olympics have kind of stymied her, um, especially back in 2022. Uh, she was in Beijing, and she was, like, at the peak of her powers then, uh, it seemed. She was skiing in all four alpine disciplines, which is, like, pretty rare. Usually, you're more of a speed specialist or you're a little more of a technical specialist,

meaning the slaloms. The slalom is her best event, but she was skiing all four of those disciplines then, and she entered all four of those individual races, and she came away with no medals at all. And she, she crashed in a couple races. Um, and, I think she, like, that's been sticking with her ever since then. She was also injured really badly just over a year ago, uh, in a race in the U.S., um, when she took a tumble and something, whether it was the slalom gate or the nets or something actually punctured, uh, her abdomen, which is nuts. It took her a few months to get back on the slope. She still says that she deals, deals with a little PTSD from that. But this season she's been amazing. Um, there have been eight sl- — I'm just going to tell you this dom — this is, like, this stat is crazy, A. There have been eight slalom World Cup races this winter. Mikaela Shiffrin has won seven of them. And in the eighth,

she came in second place by 14-hundredths of a second. So I think she's definitely going to be the favorite in the slalom, but we'll see her a little sooner, probably, in the team event, uh, here in just a few days. All right. Now, uh Brian Mann, I'm, I'm sure I've mentioned to you and everyone here that I am a very proud person from Los Angeles. So I gotta bring up Chloe Kim. She's from Torrance, California, which is right outside Los Angeles. I mean, Brian, she is one of the biggest stars of these Games. Yeah, that's right. She's going to be big, too — has a huge social media following. Of course, uh, a snowboarder on the halfpipe. And, um, I went back and watched some of her performances in Beijing — just to kind of refresh my memory — and I was blown, blown away again — the, the kind of poetry, uh, the really balletic moves that she pulls as she's kind of floating above the snow. Unfortunately, with Chloe Kim, who's 25 years old as she seeks a third gold

medal in these Games, we have to talk again about injuries. This isn't as dramatic as some of the other things we've been talking about, but in the lead up to these Games, she was in a training run and she just had this kind of fumbly little fall, where she banged into the wall of the halfpipe and dislocated her shoulder. She's talked about this — that her shoulder is sore. She's wearing a kind of brace. Um, and so one of the things that we're going to be watching in practice runs is how well she's able to move. Um, you know, but, but with these top tier, uh, skiers and snowboarders, we have a real shot at picking up a harvest of gold here despite these injuries. And, you know, one of the things with Chloe Kim, she has a very famous boyfriend, and that's Myles Garrett, the defensive end for the Cleveland Browns. One of the best players in the NFL. I'm wondering if anyone has seen him in Italy anywhere. I mean, he's hard to miss. He's, like, 6'4", 275 pounds. We'll keep our

eyes out. So far, no sightings. All right. Well, I mean, that fellow athletes, they always root for each other, especially in this case. Go ahead, Rachel. Oh, I was just going to say, um Brian, mentioned this — that Chloe Kim is going for her third gold. When I was doing some research myself, I had to refresh my memory too — she already has two, and she made history just by becoming the first woman to win a second. So a three-peat would be a really big deal. Um, and she does have some competition, because there are two other women from other countries that are looking to become the first female snowboarder to three-peat in their event. So we'll have to look at the schedule and see who could be first, but it could be a really huge year, um, for any of them. And obviously, Chloe Kim wants it to be her. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Now, Brian, uh Jessie Diggins is a cross-country ski racer. Uh, you've been profiling her for a long time. What drew you in? Yeah, Jessie

Diggins is a remarkable athlete. She's 34. She's skiing healthy. Uh, she's the winningest cross country ski racer in U.S. history, A. She's won a gold, a bronze, a silver medal. She's also won, uh, a couple dozen World Cup races, which is unheard of in this sport — this is a sport that's been dominated by Scandinavians. Uh, she's also someone who's really taken that platform, uh, to join other athletes who've advocated for mental health. She's struggled with an eating disorder that she talks about. Uh, and, uh, it's been fascinating to see how she, uh, sort of uses that. Another thing that I think is going to be really intriguing about Jessie Diggins: She's going to ski in six events here.

And she has a chance to win a bunch of those. So again, I want to keep bringing up this idea that this could be a big year for the U.S. for medal count and for gold medals. And Jessie Diggins, who skis first this weekend, she, she could really lead the way there. Yeah, just to just to add to that: I mean, the U.S. record for gold medals at the Winter Olympics is 10 — 10 gold medals. Jessie Diggins, she is so dominant — she's skiing in six events. I mean, she could single-handedly bring a handful, uh, to that count. And I think there's a real sense here that this could be a year where the U.S. just smashes that record of 10 gold medals. Becky, so speaking of Diggins, uh, she's one of the athletes that is from Minnesota, where everyone's attention is, when it comes to politics and also the story with ICE. Tell us about some of the things that she has been saying and speaking out.

Yeah, you know, she is among a handful of athletes from Minnesota. You know, Lindsey Vonn is also from Minnesota, was asked about this yes- uh, on Tuesday. Um, but basically, they're saying, uh, they're taking the opportunity, leading up into these Olympics, they're pulling out their Team USA uniforms. They're thinking about holding up that American flag, and they're, they're saying, "What does this mean to me at this time?" when there are things, um, happening in their city that they're not comfortable with? Um, and we're talking, of course, about the Trump administration stepped up enforcement of immigration there. Um, that's kind of, has tapered down a little bit since then, as, as the White House has announced that some several hundred agents are being withdrawn from the city. But, uh, what Jessie Diggins wrote on her Instagram, you know — and there have been some other statements like this — but basically, what she says that she is going to represent,

you know, are people who, uh, take care of their neighbors, take care of their community, and that she does not stand for hate or discrimination. Um, that's just, that's the kind of theme that we're hearing from athletes who are from Minnesota — and from outside Minnesota too — um, the, the handful who have made statements coming into these Games. Yeah, and in case, uh, people watching aren't aware, ICE is in Italy. Uh, ICE agents are going to be in Italy serving diplomatic U.S. missions only — not in the way they are working in the United States. Uh, Brian, though, their presence there has sparked some protests. What have you seen? Yeah, there have been protests here in Milan and across Italy. There was a big one over the weekend here and, uh, people are watching their TV and social media feeds here, as well. They're seeing that unrest in Minneapolis. They've seen the violence, the two deaths, um, there. And a lot of the Italians I spoke with say that they're really uncomfortable

with ICE's present here here. Uh, it was a it was an emotional gathering of people. Uh, a lot of them said they're troubled by the direction that they see the United States going. How is America being seen in Italy? I mean, it's got to be a little bit different from the last Winter Games. Yeah, it it's a, it's a fascinating contrast between this gathering and the Paris Summer Games just two years ago, A. There, the United States was kind of the bell of the ball. Uh, the the U.S. was seen as sort of the center of this democratic free trade, global, uh, arrangement that had existed for decades. Uh, but in the year that he's been in office, President Trump, of course, has challenged many of those international institutions. He's threatened the territorial sovereignty of countries, including, uh, Denmark and Canada, who will be prominent competitors here, and so there is a lot of tension around this. There have been questions about whether the U.S. contingent at the

opening ceremony could face boos and jeers. Uh, we'll see how much of that actually materializes, but some of the athletes speaking — just today — have said that they're uncomfortable with some of that. Some of the U.S. athletes. And so that's going to be something we're going to be watching very closely. How does that diplomatic and international tension play out here on the ice and on the snow? All right. Now, Becky, if people in the United States are looking to go to an NHL game anytime soon, uh, they probably won't be able to get a ticket because the NHL, for the first time in 12 years, has decided to let their players — their pros — play in the Olympics, which is really cool, because, I think, they're the best, right? So they should be somewhere where the best are playing each other. Yeah, it's absolutely going to rock. Yeah. I mean, there are these issues with these sort of international tournaments, whether it's the Olympics or other things, are always a little

complicated. Obviously, hockey players are worth a lot of money to the teams they play for, and so there's always some complicated issues there. But as you say, the last time NHL players took part in the Olympics, that was back in 2014, uh, and that was a great tournament then. Now they're back for the first time since then. It's going to be what's called a best-on-best tournament. Um, the one thing to note is that we're missing Russia, uh, here at these Olympic Games, in terms of the, the hockey tournament. Um, and that's because, of course, uh, Russia, along with Bellarus were banned, from the Olympics for a period of time after Russia, uh, invaded Ukraine, um, back in 2022. So, uh, of course, that, you know, that, that military invasion is still ongoing there. Um, and so Russia is not fielding a team. Typically, they would be, um, in that, in discussion for a gold medal, but instead, uh, I think Team Canada is probably the strongest team in this field, but you can't

count out the Americans. Um, it's a really great, uh, group this time. We've got stars like Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. We've got stars, um, like Auston Matthews. The goaltending for the U.S. is really great. U.S. actually came very close, um, to beating Canada last year in this really awesome tournament that the NHL put on instead of an all-star game, called the Four Nations Tournament. It came down to overtime in the final, um, for Canada to take that one. Um, and so I think anything could happen this year. And Brian, you happen to live in Lake Placid, where the it was the last time the Americans won a gold medal — 1980 — and they beat, yeah, I mean that, that, what an amazing connection there for you. Yeah, it's amazing to think that the U.S. has had a gold medal drought in this sport for half a century, on the men's side. Uh, and, uh, so it was, um, there's a big, uh, tradition in Lake

Placid, honoring that moment. Of course, a very different sport at that time. Amateur Americans, uh, from colleges, uh, going up against the great Russians in that semifinal Miracle on Ice match. Uh, but it's still going to be very exciting to see whether this is a year when we actually could return, uh, to that finals match. A finals match would be a powerful thing to see, and if we could add another gold medal to the tally on that ice, it would be history-making. Now — definitely gonna have to wait there, A, though, because if the U.S. were to make a gold medal match, I think everybody, uh, in USA hockey, in Canada, maybe broadcasters, NHL — I think maybe everybody in the hockey world is kind of wanting to see, hoping that it might come down to a USA versus Canada gold medal match. And if that happens, it'll happen on the afternoon of the very last day, one of the very last events before

closing ceremony. So you're going to be waiting on the edges of your seat for a long time. Can you imagine? I'm almost rooting for that, in a weird way, but we'll see. We'll see what happens. Now, uh, every Olympics, whether it's winter or summer, I always have my favorites that I'm always going to watch. But one of the things that I'm a sucker for are new sports. And Brian, there is a new one at this Winter Games. Tell us about "skimo." Yeah, "skimo" — uh, ski mountaineering. Um, when I was a lot younger, I was a big backcountry skier. Uh, and this is what these guys and, and women do. They use the techniques and the strength, uh, that take them up into mountains.

They literally skin up using special gear where they're climbing. Uh, then they do downhill skiing — it's sort of a combination of different sports, uh, different, uh, endurance and strength, and it's going to be a powerful way, uh, not just to see these athletes compete, but it's going to be one of the very best ways to see the Alps during, uh, this competition. It's going to be beautiful backdrop for this new sport — the first full, new, uh, Winter Olympic sport in a long time being added to these Games. Um, and so, uh, this is going to be really fun to see. All right, Rachel, let's end with you, because you're covering the games for the first time, right? This is the first time you're actually going to go to Games. So, I mean, this has got to be an amazing experience for you.

What are you going to be watching out for? Yeah, first time in person. I'm really excited to not be on my couch and a few time zones away. Um, what am I most excited for? In two words, Mariah Carey. She is going to be performing at the opening ceremony. Um, what were we talking about? The opening ceremony or all the sports? Because I'm excited about everything, but for the opening ceremony, I'm excited to be there. I'm excited about the new sports. Like Brian said, I actually wanted to just throw in there that "skimo" is the only entirely new sport that we're seeing these Games, but there are a bunch of new events within existing sports. So think, like, dual moguls — instead of just one person skiing moguls, now we're going to see two side by side. Or, um, women's doubles luge. Or mixed team skeleton — all these people sharing sleds. So there are a lot of new things I'm excited to see.

It won't just be me seeing them at the Olympics for the first time. Um, and I do think one thing that's already been really exciting, I say as people are walking past me, constantly, is just, um, the excitement that everybody has here — particularly the athletes. A lot of people, um, if it's not their first Games, it's their first since 2022, when there were a lot of restrictions on crowds and spectators because of the pandemic. And so many of the athletes, figure skaters, other sports have just been so, probably, excited to be able to share in these Games with their loved ones. I talked to, um, a skier yesterday who has 22 friends and family members coming to support her. Um, so I think it's going to be really, really thrilling — not just for me, as a newbie, but for people who haven't had this opportunity before or in a while to get to experience it in person and, of course, to watch from home — it's still going to be just as exciting for all of the reasons

that we've talked about. And Rachel, people can obviously see and hear you here, but they can also read you. Please, read me! I am writing stories and a newsletter! Um, the newsletter is called "Rachel Goes to the Games." Uh, starting Friday, the day of the opening ceremony, it will be a daily newsletter throughout the entire Olympics. Um, I'll be sharing what it's like to be here — so, behind-the-scenes stuff; not just the biggest sports headlines, but, um, things that I find quirky and interesting and fun. So if you want to follow along, that's at npr.org/wintergames. And we have a QR code on the screen to get in touch with Rachel to see and read her stuff. All right, Brian Mann, Rachel Treisman and Becky Sullivan, thank you. And we are going to be hanging out a lot over the next few weeks. Thank you, A. Looking forward, A. Support for "Up First Winter Games" comes from NPR sponsor Allianz Travel Insurance. Get ready to give ordinary the cold shoulder with protection

for adventures that give you the best kind of chills. Learn more at AllianzTravelInsurance.com. As the Winter Games get underway in Italy, there's another competition unfolding at home. And that's for your ears, your eyes and your attention. NBC has spent billions for the rights to carry the Olympics and is now making a huge bet that they can actually still deliver a mass audience in a fragmented media world. David Folkenflik is here. He's NPR's media correspondent. So David, the Olympics really have been NBC's thing for a while now. The Summer Olympics they had in 1988. They had the Winter Games in 2002. They had to drop a bag of dough to have that privilege.

Yeah, they've basically locked it in for the past generation and they, they spent essentially a total of 10 billion dollars to wrap it up through 2036. This is a defining thing for NBC. Uh, they get to use it on the main network, they're using it on a couple of their, uh, the cable channels that were spun off of them — uh, USA Network and CNBC — and they're really using it to try to drive attention to Peacock, their fledgling streaming service, but it's, it's a big play. Uh, NBC really sees itself, uh, its identity, currently, as a broadcast network wrapped up in delivering this to us every, every two years.

Yeah. You mentioned attention because that's what we're all in, in broadcasting, right? We're, we're out for everyone's attention. But with NBC, I mean, what kind of hurdles or challenges might they be facing, uh, in this situation? Well, you've got a bunch. I mean, the key one, of course, is that we all have these phones on which we're scrolling the whole time and, you know, you get, we get, uh, alert notices all the time about what just happened. The nightmare for NBC is that we keep seeing the results of the events and people say, "Eh, I don't need to tune in." So what happens? Well, what NBC does is they're, uh, devoting what they're saying is a record amount of coverage during the day from Italy, uh, of live events. So, five hours a day on NBC. There — you know, at this point, linear television is troubled enough that I think they're happy to have five hours of, of programming that they can just turn over to NBC Sports and the Olympics. Uh, and they're also going to have an, an

intense amount of live, uh, events coverage during the day on their cable channels. On Peacock, the special appeal is you can see everything live — every event. You can tune in, your choice. Uh, and you can also watch all of it on delay. I mean, it is an obsessive's dream, right? Uh, and it also means that if you're super interested in curling, they're there for you. If you want cross-country skiing, they're there for you. If you want, you know, whatever, uh, uh, snowboarding events happening, they're there for you. It's all going to be there on streaming. And that's what they're counting on for this to drive subscriptions and help them out, as they're trying to make, uh, the jump across this digital divide that's also challenging their old-fashioned TV process. How is NBC handling the time difference? Italy and the United States are not in the same time zone, and as you said, people, if they want results, they can get them on their phone as quickly as possible. Well,

you know, six hours from Milan's not terrible. You know, NBC felt that it had a great ride in the Summer Olympics of 2024, from Paris — same time zone. Uh, they're figuring, it's ahead of us, people will be able to watch during the day, there are more people working from home than there were, you know, prior to 2020 — so maybe that works in their benefit. People can sleep, slick, a, uh, slip a look at what's going on. But, you know, we all have so many screens, uh, around us at all times anyway, uh, they're hoping that you will watch it in real time, but they also know that there is an audience that doesn't do that and that's going to rely more on the narratives that NBC can spin — rely more on the packaging, the incredible, uh, camera work and that is taken and produced and and presented during prime time television as more of a storytelling. And so they think they're going to have the best of both worlds — the obsessive live viewers, uh, streaming and on TV, uh,

and people who are willing to wait to be told a story, to dive more into the personalities, to focus more exclusively, perhaps, on American events or American, uh, -dominant events, um, and to see what they can get. So I don't think they see this as a terrible time zone difference. This is different than when you had past Olympics in Beijing or Seoul or Sydney — that one was a real challenge, where a lot of events was h- were happening in the middle of the night. Yeah. David, the drones that they have, following the downhill skiers? I am hooked. It's like a video game. It's like they're being chased. It's unbelievable. It's spectacular stuff. Every time, they're coming up with new ways to entertain and entice us, and it really works. Yeah, yeah. So is this worth it for NBC? I mean, we mentioned the money. I mean, is there any way to know if this bet is paying off? Well Comcast, NBC's parent company, last time said that they made an extra 1.5 billion dollars over their costs,

uh, for the Paris 2024 Olympics. I'd say that's worth it. You know, it's an integral part, as I said, of NBC's identity — uh, to the extent where NBC and the International Olympic, uh, Committee are not really, uh, licensing, uh, the Olympics to, to NBC; what they're doing is they're in business together. They are full partners. There is no entity that is more important to the IOC than NBC. Even though there may be larger audiences around the world, there's no audience that's more financially lucrative for the IOC or more important to them. And there are few events, other than NFL television — NFL games — that are more important, uh, to a broadcast outlet. Why is that? Well, you don't know the outcome of the Games, as we've been discussing, and that makes there some urgency and some imminence and some some stickiness to watching. Now, one more thing, uh, David before you go: Savannah Guthrie. Uh, she's one of the co-hosts of the

"Today" show on NBC. She was supposed to be also hosting at the Winter Olympics. She will not. She is back in Tucson. She is trying to find her mother, uh, who authorities say was abducted. Um, how is NBC handling this? Because this happened at the very last minute. Well, from all outward appearances, it's handling it with real humanity. She's obviously stepped away, uh, from hosting the Olympic ceremony. She's stepped away from the the "Today" show, in New York. She's gone out to Arizona, to be with her siblings. We saw, recently, the video they posted on social media appealing to what they believe is her captor. There have been ransom notes received by media outlets. Uh, and they basically are saying please provide us, uh, you know, proof that our mother, Nancy, is still alive. It's a rending story. Mary Carillo has stepped in — a veteran, uh, sports announcer for NBC Sports, and NBC is allowing her to step away. Craig Melvin, her co-host,

who had expected to also be out in, uh, in Italy, uh, is going to stay in New York, uh, to, to hold down the "Today" show. And, you know, there's a lot of concern on NBC. They've covered it as a story, but they've covered it with some heart. And you've seen competing shows also give attention to it, a sign of the importance people attach. Yeah, it's an awful story. Uh, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, thanks a lot. You bet. That's "Up First Winter Games" for Thursday, February 5th. I'm A Martínez. We'll see you right back here Monday — and most days during the Olympic Games.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics"?

A Martínez (Host), Becky Sullivan (Guest), Brian Mann (Guest), Rachel Treisman (Guest), David Folkenflik (Guest).

What is "Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics" about?

Lindsey Vonn faces a challenging road to the 2026 Winter Olympics after suffering a severe ACL injury, but remains determined to pursue her Olympic dreams. Meanwhile, as the Olympic torch approaches Italy and the U.S. delegation, including Vice President JD Vance, prepares for the opening ceremonies, various storylines and political dynamics surrounding the games are highlighted.

What is mentioned in this NPR episode?

21 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Lindsay Vonn, Winter Olympics, Italy, Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim, NPR. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Lindsey Vonn, the ‘Quad God’ and how NBC covers the 2026 Winter Olympics"?

The episode runs 29 min; the transcript is about 6,281 words in 38 timestamped sections.

More from NPR

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 6, 2026.