COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The United States men’s curling team is one of the favorites to bring home a medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

After winning the gold medal in 2018, the entire roster returns for this year’s games in Beijing except for one athlete, Tyler George.

George recently visited the Columbus Curling Club as part of his new mission to grow the sport throughout the country. It was during that visit that George learned he’d be trading in his curling gloves and broom for a microphone and headset to join the NBC broadcast team at the 2022 Winter Games.

With his expert analysis and personal insight, George spend an evening with the members of the curling club rewatching the U.S. men compete for the medal four years ago in PyeongChang.

“I can remember standing on the medal stand and looking up at the audience and family and friends and having your mind go blank,” he said. “Like, what just happened?”

As a member of the first U.S. team to win the gold medal in curling, George’s life has changed since the moment he returned home in 2018.

“The doors it opens up for you, the opportunities that you get through it, it’s really incredible, but it’s really what you do with that platform,” he said.

George now uses his platform to travel the country, visiting local curling clubs, gold medal in hand, giving advice to local athletes to hopefully inspire the next generation of Olympic curlers.

“The most meaningful thing that can come from it, the accomplishment’s great, but seeing the impact it has on something you love is easily the best part,” George said.

Now, millions of viewers will get to see and hear his passion for the sport as a member of the 2022 NBC Olympics broadcast team.

“To be able to show the world our game and why we love it as much as we do and to describe it and make it fun,” George said.

So, how would he describe curling?

“It’s really a thinking person’s game,” George said. “It’s ‘chess on ice,’ we call it, but the chess pieces weigh 42 pounds, and the board is made of ice and it’s 150 feet long.”

After visiting amateur curlers across the country, George is ready to analyze the best in the sport at the Olympics, and he believes the 2022 U.S. men’s team is in prime shape to defend its gold medal in Beijing.

“It’s the toughest men’s field that we’ve ever seen for an Olympic field, but I think they’re going to go in relaxed and confident because of their success in 2018,” he said.

The mixed doubles curling teams are currently competing in Beijing, with the U.S. men’s team starting its quest to defend its gold medal this Wednesday.