Meet the NBC anchors hosting the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Savannah Guthrie’s absence

Mary Carillo was announced as Savannah’s replacement for the opening ceremony in Milan. Mary first came to prominence as a professional tennis player, her highest rank being world no. 33, and winning the French Open mixed doubles title with John McEnroe. She played from 1977 to 1980 until she was sidelined by an injury.

She then began appearing as an on-air tennis commentator for the likes of CBS, ESPN, HBO and The Tennis Channel. She began hosting for NBC Sports and Tennis on NBC starting in 1996, first commentating on the Winter Olympics for the network in 2002. She has achieved fame and notoriety for her opinionated yet hilarious style.

Terry Gannon was previously announced as one of the hosts for the opening ceremonies for NBC. Terry started out as a collegiate basketball player for North Carolina State University before transitioning to on-air anchor and analyst for several local TV networks. He rose to prominence when he began working for ABC in 1991.

Beyond basketball, though, his coverage of figure skating, golf and gymnastics in particular earned him acclaim and fans in other athletes-turned-commentators like Tara Lipinski and Nastia Liukin. After working with ESPN as well, in 2010, he first started commentating for the NBC Sports Group, even winning a Sports Emmy for his coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Shaun White will join the commentators during the Parade of Nations portion of the opening. In 1995, following an initial interest in skiing and skateboarding, Shaun decided to try snowboarding. He made his X Games debut in 2003, winning two gold medals. In 2006, he made his Winter Olympics debut in Torino, winning gold on the halfpipe.

He holds the record for most Olympic golds by a snowboarder (three) and most X Games gold medals (15, 13 for his snowboarding and two for his skateboarding). He announced his retirement from competitive snowboarding during the 2022 Olympics. Shaun also plays guitar for the band Bad Things and started his own snowboarding league in 2025.

Ahmed Fareed will now host Olympic Late Night during the Games, along with his other daytime coverage, in Craig Melvin’s place. Savannah’s co-anchor announced he too will not be traveling to Milan for the Olympics. “With his skill and versatility, Ahmed has proven time and again he can step into any hosting role, and we’re thrilled he’s available to handle our late night coverage,” Molly’s statement read.

After several years working with a variety of cable networks, Ahmed became a host for NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California, maintaining that position until 2018. He then moved to the east coast in 2019 to expand his coverage for NBC Sports. He now hosts the network’s College Countdown and has three Emmys for his work.

After Ahmed’s tenure with Olympic Late Night ends on February 9, as he heads back to the States for NBA All-Star Weekend coverage, Maria Taylor will step in as Olympic Late Night host from February 10 onwards, also serving as Craig’s replacement. Maria also comes from the world of collegiate basketball, playing for the University of Georgia.

She became a well-known analyst due to her work with ESPN, which began in 2013. However, following a reported dispute over her place with the network, she left in 2021 and joined NBC Sports, kickstarting with their coverage of the 2020 Summer Olympics. She is now the lead studio host for the network’s NBA and WNBA coverage.