Mary Carillo has covered numerous Olympics for NBC. She will stand in for Savannah Guthrie, who will miss the games while dealing with the disappearance of her mother.
Who is Mary Carillo? Meet NBC's Savannah Guthrie replacement as host for Winter Olympics opening ceremony originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
NBC will be without "Today Show" host and lead Winter Olympics commentator Savannah Guthrie. Guthrie has been in Arizona with her family, as investigators are still searching for Guthrie's 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who has been missing since Sunday, Feb. 1.
In her place, NBC is turning to longtime Olympic journalist Mary Carillo, who will fill in for Guthrie for the Milano Cortina games. Here's everything you need to know about Carillo, her sports broadcasting career and more.
MORE: Updates on the investigation into Savannah Guthrie's missing mother
Who is Mary Carillo?
Mary Carillo is a longtime sports journalist, who started her career covering professional tennis in 1980. Carillo was born and raised in New York City, and was a former singles and doubles tennis player herself, turning pro in 1977 when she was just 20 years old.
After spending four years on the WTA tour, she retired from tennis due to several knee injuries she experienced throughout her career. In 1980, she joined USA Network as a tennis commentator from 1980-87. She worked for other networks such as PBS and Madison Square Garden Network.
She had a pair of stints with ESPN, working for the network from 1988-1997 and 2003-2010. She has also worked several Grand Slam tennis tournaments for the likes of CBS for the U.S. Open, as well as covering Wimbledon for HBO and Turner Sports in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
She has been an analyst for NBC's coverage of the French Open since 1996, and began covering the Olympics for the network during the 96 Summer Games in Atlanta. Her 2026 Winter Games from Italy will mark her 17th Olympics she has covered across her wide-ranging career.
Carillo has also contributed to HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," winning a Sports Emmy for her feature the Hoyt Family, and has covered the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
Mary Carillo tennis career
Carillo played professionally from 1977-1980. Playing alongside John McEnroe, Carillo won the mixed doubles title at the 1977 French Open. She made it to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open in doubles in 1977, and reached the quarterfinal in mixed doubles at Wimbledon that same season.
Her highest WTA ranking was No. 33 overall from January to March 1980. She retired from professional tennis in 1980.
What happened to Savannah Guthrie?
Guthrie was scheduled to be the lead commentator for Friday afternoon's opening ceremony, but she remains in Arizona with her family. Savannah has been absent from the "Today Show" since Monday. Feb. 2.
On Feb. 3, NBC Sports confirmed that Guthrie would not be joining the network's Olympic coverage "as she focuses on being with her family during this difficult time," per Brian Stelter.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, NBC Olympics Production president and executive producer Molly Shannon released an official statement regarding Guthrie's absence, adding that the network has her full sport:
“Our hearts go out to Savannah and the entire Guthrie family. They continue to have our full support,” Molly Solomon said in the statement. “We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented commentators who will step in and fill these roles. Mary [Carillo] is one of the most experienced Olympic commentators ever and a master storyteller. She and Terry will lead the American audience through one of the world’s greatest global moments.”
How many Olympics has Mary Carillo covered?
Carillo has covered 17 Olympics in her career, both Summer and Winter ones. Her first Olympics she covered were the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Ga., assisting in tennis coverage. During the 2004 Summer Games in Sydney, Carillo went viral for her four-minute rant on badminton:
Category: General Sports
