Who will replace Savannah Guthrie at Olympics 2026? 5 facts about Mary Carillo

Mary Carillo is replacing TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, who is missing the Olympics 2026 assignment after mother, Nancy, was kidnapped.

Published on: Feb 05, 2026 2:30 AM IST

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Mary Carillo has been tapped to replace TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Guthrie is missing the assignment as her mother, Nancy, has been kidnapped.

Mary Carillo is replacing Savannah Guthrie at the Milan Olympics. (X/@Dan_Hoard)

The search is on for the 84-year-old who was taken from her home in Tucson, Arizona. Carillo's appointment was announced by NBC Sports PR.

“Mary Carillo, in her 17th Olympic assignment, will join Terry Gannon as hosts of the Opening Ceremony. Ahmed Fareed will host Olympic Late Night from Feb. 7-9,” they wrote on X.

Also Read | Tommaso Cioni update: Why cops spoke to Savannah Guthrie's brother-in-law in Nancy Guthrie case; ‘may have had contact’

Molly Solomon, Executive Producer and President, NBC Olympics Production issued a statement about Guthrie, as she remains with her family during this difficult time. “Our hearts go out to Savannah and the entire Guthrie family. They continue to have our full support. We are fortunate to have a deep bench of talented commentators who will step in and fill these roles. Mary 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. 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 before heading to Los Angeles for NBA All-Star Weekend,” she said, as per the press release.

Mary Carillo: 5 things to know

Carillo is of Italian descent and has a personal connection to Milan, the host city, where she lived for two years as a child.
This marks Carillo's 14th Olympic assignment with NBCUniversal and 17th overall.
She has hosted three Closing Ceremonies (Salt Lake City 2002, Beijing 2008, and Rio 2016), and had prominent roles in opening ceremonies - Athens 2004, Torino 2006, and Vancouver 2010.
Carillo was a former professional tennis player before her broadcasting career. However, as a broadcaster, she's won two Peabody Awards and a Sports Emmy.
Carillo was a longtime correspondent for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel until it ended in 2023.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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