Aly Raisman Joins ESPN! The three-time Olympic gold medalist is set to join the network as an analyst on NCAA gymnastics broadcasts, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.
ESPN will make the official announcement Thursday afternoon. Raisman, 29, will make his debut Friday during a matchup between No. 8 LSU and No. 6 Kentucky.
“I’m so excited,” Raisman tells PEOPLE. “To be honest, I’m also very nervous because I want to do well.” Raisman says the job as an analyst is “very different from anything I’ve ever done,” but will offer “a really cool new chapter for me and a great challenge.”
“I’m just really excited and appreciate the opportunity to stay involved in the sport,” says the two-time world champion.
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Aly Raisman.
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Raisman was a standout member of the 2012 and 2016 US women’s gymnastics teams and captained the famed “Fierce Five” with teammates Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber, who brought home the overall team gold.
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Now, the former U.S. captain will follow along with the sport’s up-and-coming stars to the NCAA. Raisman says she prepared for her debut Friday by watching old gymnastics meets and recording herself commentating on the action, pausing to take notes and evaluate her own performance.
“I probably haven’t watched this much since I was eight, and I watched the ’96 Olympics over and over again,” she laughs, giddy with excitement at the opportunity. “I feel like a little kid again.”
Simone Biles and Aly Raisman Reunite in Glamorous ‘Getting Ready’ Video
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Aly Raisman.
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Raisman’s broadcast career will begin alongside fellow U.S. Olympian John Roethlisberger, who also calls college gymnastics meets for ESPN and helped Raisman prepare for her debut.
Raisman and Roethlisberger are two of several former Olympians on ESPN’s broadcast team, which also includes Bart Conner, Kathy Johnson Clarke, Samantha Peszek, Bridget Sloan and Alicia Sacramone Quinn.
“I just hope I don’t get too nervous at this point,” Raisman says. “I try to think of it as sitting in a living room with friends and people who don’t know anything about gymnastics, and I’m kind of just walking them through it and explaining how things go.” Adds Raisman, “I just kind of want to do my best to just enjoy it and also just be a fan that night and have fun.”
Kentucky vs. LSU airs at 9:00 PM ET. on the SEC Network, part of the ESPN Network.
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Source: HIS Education