NBC will air a one-hour documentary Friday about USA women’s gymnastics titled “The Ranch: Home of an American Sports Dynasty,” the culmination of an eight-part series documenting the towns and places that helped create the U.S. Olympic team. The feature will take a close look at the USA Gymnastics’ team training center in Huntsville, Texas, built and managed by coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi. It will air on NBC at 8:00pm ET, immediately before the P&G Women’s Gymnastics Championships. NBC Senior VP/Original Productions & Creative Mark Levy said the documentary will give viewers a look at the history of the ranch, the Karolyis’ long record of contribution to the sport and how athletes develop bonds with each other and their coaches while training. NBC Sports Group and the USOC began jointly producing a series called “Team USA Hometown Stories” earlier this year, producing digital short documentaries about places like Princeton, N.J. (home of USA Rowing) and Iowa City, Iowa (a hotbed of amateur wrestling). Most have run on the USOC’s sites; "The Ranch" is the first to air on television. It will include interviews with Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas, three-time world champion Simone Biles and others.
