NBC Olympics president addresses whether network puts too much pressure on athletes

Ilia Malinin’s shocking eighth-place finish in the men’s individual figure skating competition last Friday immediately became one of the biggest storylines of this Winter Olympics.

Malinin, the American skater whose nickname is “QuadGod” for his ability to perform a quadruple axel, was widely expected to take gold in runaway fashion after dominant performances in the last two world championships. In the lead-up to the Olympics, NBC billed him as one of the stars of Team USA.

Unfortunately, a pair of falls during his routine cost him a chance at the podium.

Speaking with reporters after the event, Malinin mentioned how pressure from the media perhaps impacted his ability to perform on the ice. “I think all of this pressure, all of the media, and being the Olympic gold hopeful, was too much,” the Virginia native said.

NBC has a long track record of heavily promoting athletes it believes will see success during a given Olympics. It’s how the network gets viewers to care, and the formula has proven successful. For a couple of weeks every two years, NBC is able to pull football-sized television audiences to its networks every single day.

But is NBC’s marketing apparatus actually detrimental to athlete performance? NBC Olympics president Gary Zenkel was asked that very question in an interview with Sportico. Here’s how he responded:

All of that [production], of course, is entirely voluntary. Was there a discussion about, ‘is this too much for you?’ Because it puts too much pressure on him? Not to my knowledge, no.

I will tell you that our approach to the ‘before’ [he competes in Milan], which is to introduce the American audience to the athletes that are going to compete, to try to engage the audience in their story, to, the mantra is, ‘make them care,’ has been the same for decades.

I think the pressure of being on that [Olympic] stage and having one opportunity, and then you wait four years, or maybe you never get back, is why it’s such an extraordinary event. It’s why we, as mortals, are so drawn to it. They’re the best in the world. They’re the best in the world in that moment. Or they can be, or they have the potential to be.

In the case of [his skating career until the Olympics], he has been. But it’s on that [Olympic] stage that they’re ultimately, and maybe in their minds, measured. And I’ve heard unbelievable statements from athletes that have competed in the Olympics say, just how extraordinary it is to be in that moment, the greatest on the planet.

…

So, I think the Olympics places an enormous amount of pressure. Does NBC exacerbate that pressure up to the point where they’re unable to perform at their true potential? I don’t know.

Again, the formula hasn’t changed in decades. Michael Phelps participated in all the stuff that you’re describing, at least the version of that that existed in 2000 through the end of his journey. So I’m going say I don’t think so. And by the way, they’re getting a lot of attention from other [media]. And then, of course, Ilia’s desire to participate with us even after the free skate I think is entirely his call.

In reality, it’s probably fair to say that different athletes respond to the spotlight differently. As Zenkel points out, Michael Phelps was given the superstar treatment and won 23 gold medals. But then there are stars like Simone Biles, who even after attaining the highest of Olympic successes in 2016, struggled to perform in 2020, citing mental health struggles associated with the pressure Olympic athletes have on them to perform.

Malinin had a similarly uncharacteristic performance last week, and there’s no doubt that media pressure could’ve contributed to it. But as Zenkel said, participation with NBC is voluntary, and they’re far from the only outlet covering the Olympics. It’s difficult to attribute the added pressure of Olympic competition solely to NBC. And if Malinin thought his unfortunate performance in the men’s individual competition was NBC’s fault, he probably wouldn’t be willingly sitting down with the network for interviews after the fact.