Alex Flanagan

Alex Flanagan was an American sports reporter who served as a general analyst at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Born and raised in the small Arizona town of Sonoita, Flanagan always had a desire to be a television journalist. She got her start working as a college intern at the local NBC affiliate in Tucson. Flanagan was majoring in journalism at the University of Arizona at the time, and the hands-on experience would prove to be extremely beneficial as she embarked on a professional career as a TV journalist. After graduation Flanagan bounced around the country, working as an assignment reporter for TV stations in Minnesota and Alabama, before landing her first big break as a sports journalist for Fox Sports Net. While reporting for Fox Sports, Flanagan received on the job training as a television sportscaster. She quickly made a name for herself, and in 2000 ESPN came calling. Flanagan was hired as a sideline reporter for college football games, and from 2000 to 2006 was an almost constant presence on the 24-hour sports channel during college football season. Flanagan left ESPN in 2006 to join the upcoming NFL Network. Working as a sideline reporter for the NFL, Flanagan quickly became one of the most visible female reporters in the male-dominated world of sports journalism. In addition to reporting for the NFL Network, Flanagan also reported on the sidelines for the home games for Notre Dame Football, and beginning in 2008, started serving as an analyst for the Olympics. In 2016 she served as an analyst for the Rio Olympics - her third consecutive Summer Olympics.