NBC Sports Group will present the Best of U.S. Awards Show, the United States Olympic Committee's inaugural event honoring outstanding U.S. performances from the Sochi 2014 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, on Monday, April 7 at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. TODAY's Willie Geist will serve as the host for the one-hour special, while former Olympic figure skaters Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski will host red carpet coverage.
The event took place on last night at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. The winners of the Best of U.S. awards were determined via fan voting at Facebook.com/USOlympicTeam (http://www.facebook.com/USOlympicTeam) and Facebook.com/USParalympics (http://www.facebook.com/USParalympics). Featured athlete and celebrity presenters include U.S. Olympic figure skaters Evan Lysacek and Michelle Kwan, Team
USA women's ice hockey captain Julie Chu, San Francisco 49ers TE and honorary Team
USA men's curling captain Vernon Davis, Team
USA Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman, and Team
USA softball pitcher Jennie Finch-Daigle.
Awards were presented in the following categories: Best Male/Female Olympian, Best Male/Female Paralympian, Team of the Olympic/Paralympic Games, Moment of the Olympic/Paralympic Games, Fan of the Games and the USG Building Dreams Award, which honors an individual who has gone above and beyond in his/her support of Team
USA athletes.
Geist is co-anchor of NBC's TODAY 9 a.m. hour and the co-anchor of MSNBC's Morning Joe. He is also a contributor to
NBC News programs and to the
NBC Sports Group. In addition to his television duties, Geist hosts the video blog "Zeitgeist" on NBCNews.com. Geist's Olympic experience includes anchoring NBCSN's coverage from London 2012 and reporting from Sochi 2014 as a member of NBC's Olympic Sportsdesk and the on-site TODAY team.
The duo of Weir and Lipinski earned rave reviews for their work during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and bring their same enthusiasm and personality to the Best of U.S. broadcast. Weir's distinguished 16-year figure skating career includes two Olympic appearances, three national titles and a world championship bronze medal. He was twice honored by fans with the U.S Figure Skating/Skating Magazine Readers' Choice Award for "Skater of the Year."
U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame member Lipinski became the youngest individual gold medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games when she captured the gold medal in ladies figure skating at the Nagano Games in 1998 at the age of 15. Since then, Lipinski has worked with many of the world's top media outlets.
A nominating committee, comprised of U.S. Olympic Committee, athlete and media representatives, selected the finalists for the individual athlete and team categories, as well as the Moment of the Games, based on nominations from each National Governing Body.
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