St. Louis native Steve Schlanger had what many consider the highlight of the 2018 Winter Olympics, perhaps one of the best in the history of the Games, when he and analyst Chad Salmela combined to deliver an epic description of Jessica Diggins closing out the final of the women’s cross-country team sprint. It was a frenetic comeback that gave the Americans a huge upset victory in a discipline they had never won before.

Schlanger was on hand again on Sunday for another epic performance by the United States, as Kristen Faulkner became the first American in 40 years to win a gold medal in the women’s road race and secured the title unchallenged at the end of the cycling race.

Eight years earlier, the scene looked very different. Diggins had to make a dramatic run in the final seconds to win gold, overtaking Sweden’s Stina Nilsson with the last few steps.

“A milestone that will go down in US Olympic history!” Schlanger announced on the radio at the time. “The very first gold medal in cross country for the USA!”

Faulkner, on the other hand, won by a large margin – 58 seconds ahead of the Dutchwoman Marianne Vos, one of the best cyclists of all time. This time, Schlanger got off to a much earlier start than Faulkner launched her big attack 3.3 kilometers from the finish.

“There goes Faulkner! She’s launching the attack on the left side of the road!” Schlanger shouted. “…Nobody is chasing her. Nobody is chasing the American.” The gap explodes! … It’s breathtaking. A breathtaking acceleration! An attack for all time. In a city of artists, this is a true avant-garde performance by Kristen Faulkner!”

She was not originally scheduled to race, but competed for the United States in track cycling’s team pursuit event, where she won gold as the U.S. beat New Zealand on Wednesday. She had only added the women’s road race to her repertoire a month earlier after a teammate dropped out to focus on another event.

As the race came to an end on Sunday and the finish became disappointing, Schlanger captured the moment as she rolled to victory in front of a picturesque backdrop:

“She is about to give you the surprise of her life! … Kristen Faulkner from the small town of Homer, Alaska, turns across the Seine (river). She’s the original. And Kristen Faulkner in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower with a groundbreaking US gold medal in the women’s road race!”

It was so impressive that NBC opened its prime-time show that evening with this clip.

“It was definitely one of my favorite Olympic moments,” Schlanger told the Post-Dispatch. “It was the confluence of circumstances that made it so exciting. An unexpected American winner with an incredible history competing against much more experienced champions, the 40th anniversary of the last U.S. gold medal and then the fact that the tension built up until the final minutes on the sport’s biggest stage. As a commentator, I couldn’t write a better script.”

Schlanger and analyst Bob Roll were not in Paris to make the call, not even close. They were some 3,600 miles away, at the NBC broadcast facility in Stamford, Connecticut — where many of the commentators worked during the Olympics.

“Our broadcast was not affected by the remote transmission because in cycling, even if you are there, you commentate on the race via a monitor at the finish line,” said Schlanger. “The race is constantly moving and the cameras cut to different places along the course. You only see the athletes in person when they reach the finish line. That’s just the nature of broadcasting certain Olympic sports. It’s the same with alpine skiing. I’m used to it.”

Schlanger also broadcast the triathlon competitions, which came under criticism because the swimming part of the competition was held in the Seine, a river known for its pollution.

“It was one of the most important stories of these Olympics and the bosses at NBC told us right from the start not to shy away from talking about it,” he said. “We covered it pretty extensively on every show and sometimes even tried to have a bit of fun with it. We pointed out that it might not be as bad as Andy Duphresne’s escape through the sewer tunnel from Shawshank Prison (in the movie The Shawshank Redemption), but it was far from ideal for athletes who have trained their whole lives for this one big day.

“All in all, it was not a big editorial effort for us.”

The Games are coming to a close, but Schlanger has a busy schedule for the final stretch. While all Olympic competitions will be streamed on Peacock, some of the competitions he covers will also be available on traditional channels when the Games conclude this weekend.

On Friday, he is scheduled to broadcast five cycling races, concluding with the 11:20 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. races on cable channel E. Then, on Saturday, there are two more races, including the men’s Madison final at 1:30 p.m. on CNBC. His schedule ends on Sunday, the last day of the Games, when he will broadcast the men’s keirin, women’s sprint and omnium finals on NBC (KSDK, Channel 5 locally). Coverage begins at 8 a.m.