Paralympic coverage airs on NBC for the first time on Sunday

NBC's Olympics sum has agelong been built connected a instauration of human-interest stories and showcasing athletes' roadworthy to the Games. The aforesaid philosophies volition use to the sum of Paralympics, which volition aerial connected the web for the archetypal time.

Sunday volition people the archetypal clip that Paralympics sum volition aerial connected the main NBC web and is portion of 1,200 hours of programming airing crossed NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel and integer properties. The Paralympics began successful Tokyo connected Aug. 24 and continues done Sept. 5.

NBC volition person 3 play docu-follow bid episodes which volition amusement the stories and performances of athletes competing successful Tokyo. Sunday's episode, which volition aerial astatine 7 p.m. EDT, volition diagnostic U.S. squad flagbearers Melissa Stockwell (triathlon) and Chuck Aoki (wheelchair rugby), on with swimmer Jessica Long.

NBC's Mark Levy, the SVP of Original Production and Creative, said the one-year hold of the Games owed to coronavirus allowed them to beryllium capable to dive deeper into athletes' backmost stories.

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“We truly privation our viewers to consciousness connected to the Paralympians. We privation to springiness them a accidental to attraction and cheer for them,” Levy said. “It’s our accidental done the primetime shows to scope a batch of radical and stock these backmost stories.”

Long — who entered Tokyo with 23 vocation medals, including 13 golden — has had portion of her communicative shown connected Toyota ads that premiered earlier this twelvemonth during the Super Bowl. Sunday, though, volition let viewers to spot her sojourn to Russia for the archetypal clip successful 2013 and gathering her commencement parent for the archetypal time.

Long was calved with fibular hemimelia, a familial abnormality which caused her little legs to not make properly. She was fixed up for adoption and was adopted astatine 13 months old. Her little legs were amputated 5 months later.

Future episodes volition amusement Long successful competition, arsenic good arsenic however her Toyota advertisement has inspired people.

Stockwell is the archetypal pistillate American worker to suffer a limb successful progressive combat erstwhile a roadside weaponry exploded portion she was starring a convoy successful Iraq. She was besides the archetypal Iraq War seasoned who qualified for the Paralympics successful 2008.

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Aoki and the wheelchair rugby squad are looking to triumph golden aft a pugnacious nonaccomplishment to Australia successful Rio successful 2016.

The shows volition besides amusement swimmer Abbas Karimi, who is portion of the six-member Paralympic Refugee Team

“To beryllium capable to showcase each these athletes with disabilities and the accidental to make a dialogue, we’re hoping that people’s perceptions mightiness change,” Levy said. “That’s truly compelling for america and a existent important crushed wherefore we’re sharing these stories.”

Levy is besides hoping that radical who ticker Sunday volition perchance tune successful astatine immoderate constituent to the 12 hours of regular sum that is connected NBCSN. NBC's different Paralympic docu-follow bid volition aerial connected Sept. 4 and 5.

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