Monday, August 13, 2012
Nadezhda Ostapchuk tests positive
Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus tested positive for metenolone, an anabolic steroid, and was stripped of her gold medal in the women's shot put. Valerie Adams of New Zealand now wins her second consecutive gold medal in the event. Ostapchuk is the first London gold medalist to test positive, and let's hope she is the last. I am being very optomistic here that all the other athletes competed cleanly, perhaps a little naive on my part. Ostapchuk, age 31, is the married mother of three.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Top Twenty Moments of the Games
I would normally create a top 10 list, but there were so many indelible and exciting moments that I have decided to create a top 20. These are my personal choices and I am sure I have left out some moments and events others would include.
#20 - Women's 1500 Meter Run - To me the most heartbreaking moment of the Games. Last year at the world championships, Morgan Uceny was the best 1500 meter runner in the world when she was tripped up in the finals and finished tenth. Heading into the final lap at Olympic Stadium, Uceny once again fell, leaving her in tears on the track. There is no telling how she would have done over the last lap, but there is the unfortunate part of it. We will never know if she could have had the crowning moment of her career and at age 27, Rio is four very long years away.
#19 - Women's Water Polo Final - United States vs. Spain. While their more celebrated counterparts were winning a third consecutive gold medal in soccer, the women of water polo captured a first gold medal after two silvers and a bronze. Heather Petri and Brenda Villa finally brought home gold after appearing in all four Olympic tournaments.
#18 - Women's Judo 78kg. The United States had never captured a judo gold medal in the previous ten Olympiads they had participated in. Kyla Harrison, the 2010 world champion, had moved to Massachusetts to train with double Olympic bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro, and put her life back together after acknowledging sexual abuse by a previous coach. Harrison did capture a first ever U.S. gold and was jubilant in her celebration.
#17 - Men's Basketball Final - Twenty years after the Dream Team, the United States sent a men's squad loaded with superstars and punctuated with role players. The tenacious Spaniards showed how far the international game has come by keeping the game very close through the third quarter before Kobe, LeBron and Kevin Durant took charge and led the Americans to a 14th gold medal.
#16 - Women's Singles Tennis Final - Serena Williams gave one of the most dominating performances of the Games by thoroughly pasting Maria Sharapova in the final 6-0, 6-1. Serena completed the career Golden Slam and then teamed with sister Venus to win a third doubles gold and become the only player to win the Golden Slam in singles and doubles.
#15 - Women's Floor Exercise - During the qualifying round of women's gymnastics Aly Raisman almost seemed like the villain when her performances on balance beam and floor exercise propelled her into the all-around ahead of team headliner and defending world all-around champion Jordyn Wieber. After delivering a decisive final performance in the team final, Raisman lost a bronze in the all-around on a tiebreaker. Returning for the event finals, Raisman was spectacular in the floor final, with a scintillating performance to easily capture the gold.
#14 - Women's 200 Meter Backstroke - Missy Franklin showed her promise in winning the world championship in this event last year as a 16 year old. The extremely likeable teenager was the swimmer of the Olympics and punctuated it with a world record.
#13 - Men's 100 Meter Final - Always one of the highlights of the Olympics, the 100 meters is so perfectly simple, a footrace from point A to point B, fastest takes the gold. Usain Bolt quieted the doubters with the second fastest performance in history ahead of a stellar field and won the first of his three gold medals that cemented his status as the greatest sprinter in history and begins to put him in the upper echelon of all Olympians.
#12 - Men's 200 Meter Butterfly - Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut in this event in 2000 as a 15 year old, finishing fifth. He hadn't lost a final in this event in over a decade, but just as things all went Phelps's was four years ago, he was a little too long on the final stroke and got edged out by South African Chad le Clos who had previously won a gold medal...at the 2010 Youth Olympics.le Clos will be able to tell his grandchildren one day that he beat Michael Phelps in the Olympics.
#11 - Women's All-Around Gymnastics - Ever since Olga Korbut came out of nowhere to charm American TV audiences 40 years ago, the women's all-around has been one of the most featured events on the program. Gabby Douglas, the youngest and least renowned member of the world championship team a year ago, Douglas was the steadiest and best under pressure of the contenders. For the rest of her life, she will be known in gymnastics circles simply as Gabby.
#10 - Men's 200 Meter Individual Medley - After finishing fourth in the 400 IM and second in the 200 butterfly, it looked as though the magic of Beijing was gone for good. Phelps turned things around with this event, winning the second of his four gold medals, by dominating the field including teammate Ryan Lochte who had beaten him in the 400 IM and in this event at the 2011 worlds.
#9 - Women's Soccer semifinal - They are the best known women's team in the country. A heartbreaking loss to Japan at the 2011 World Cup left Team U.S.A. pointing to London for redemption. A rematch with Japan and eventual gold medal almost never happened, until Alex Morgan scored a goal in the 123rd minute to overcome a hat trick from Canadian superstar Chrstine Sinclair, leaving the Canadians devastated in a controversial loss.
#8 - Women's Beach Volleyball Semifinals - Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings captured a third straight gold medal in the finals over fellow Americans April Ross and Jenn Kessy. The May-Traenor/Walsh Jennings semifinal win over Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China, 22-20, 22-20 was as exciting a contest as you will see on the beach.
#7 - Men's 10 Meter Platform Diving - The Chinese have dominated diving for twenty years and had won six of the first seven events. Qui Bo entered as the heavy favorite, the 2011 world champion had won that event by 41.2 points over silver medalist David Boudia. The Brits had a special interest as 2009 world champion Tom Daley was facing enormous pressure as one of the most recognizable athletes in Great Britain. The level of diving was exceptional and entering the final dive Daley led Boudia and Qui by 0.15 points. Daley had a lower degree of difficulty on the final dive which left the door open. Boudia scored three 9.5's which meant that Qui would need at least one 10 to win. The final dive from Qui was excellent, but fell just short of the scores needed, making Boudia the first American male diver to win gold in twenty years.
#6 - Men's Cycling Time Trial - Just a week before the Games, Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to capture the Tour de France. With the pressure of expectations and tens of thousands lining the course, Wiggins delivered a gold, the fourth of his career and a momentary British record seventh medal overall.
#5 - Men's 10000 Meters - Mo Farah of Great Britain was the favorite, but the traditional powers Kenya and Ethiopia were going to try to control the race and keep Farah from winning. Showing great patience, Farah outkicked the field over the final lap with the crowd roaring to bring him home to the first British 10K gold in history. Behind him, Farah's training partner Galen Rupp captured the first American medal in the event in 48 years.
#4 - Men's Singles Tennis - A month before the Olympics, Roger Federer captured his seventh Wimbledon title over British hope Andy Murray, who came so close yet again. After two thrilling semifinals set up the rematch on Centre Court, Murray was never in jeopardy, winning Olympic gold at home before winning a Grand Slam event and preventing Federer from winning the Golden Slam.
#3 - Men's 800 Meter Run - Kenyan David Rudisha was the heavy favorite, the world champion and world record holder. World records in events over 400 meters are rare in championship races as there are no pace setters. It hasn't happened since the 1980 Olympics when Nadezhda Olizarenko of the Soviet Union established a new world record over 800 meters. Rudisha took the lead from the beginning, but was a second behind pace after 400 meters. He surged away from the field over the next 200 meters and maintained his form to establish a new world record and led the field to the best ever marks-for-place from 1st to 8th. A truly epic race.
#2 - Women's Team Gymnastics - Despite NBC's overselling of the American team and the endless hillbilly musical montages, the American women were spectacular. They hit every one of the twelve routines to capture the first American gold since 1996. These five teenagers, with no Olympic experience were wonderful. Even McKayla was impressed, before her peevish behavior on the vault medal stand went viral (http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/)
#1 - Women's 4x100 Meter Relay - After years of poor handoffs, dropped batons and injuries, the Americans finally got it right, very right. The performance was astonishing. When the Soviets set a world record in the 4x400 meter relay at the 1988 Olympics, the world record book was essentially closed for women. World records in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 100 hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, heptathlon and both relays all survived since the Reagan administration. The fall of communism in eastern Europe and random, out-of-competition drug testing were the two big factors in those records remaining. The world record in the 4x100 by and East Germany squad had lasted since 1985, before three of the American relay members were born. The Americans shattered the record and captured their first gold in the event in 16 years. Lauryn Williams ran the anchor leg in the heat and captured her first gold medal in her third Olympics. The perfection of the race and the breaking of one of the 24 plus year old world records made me jump off my couch in amazement and excitement.
So many wonderful memories, I could probably write a different list tomorrow.
Rio... 1,453 days and counting...
#20 - Women's 1500 Meter Run - To me the most heartbreaking moment of the Games. Last year at the world championships, Morgan Uceny was the best 1500 meter runner in the world when she was tripped up in the finals and finished tenth. Heading into the final lap at Olympic Stadium, Uceny once again fell, leaving her in tears on the track. There is no telling how she would have done over the last lap, but there is the unfortunate part of it. We will never know if she could have had the crowning moment of her career and at age 27, Rio is four very long years away.
#19 - Women's Water Polo Final - United States vs. Spain. While their more celebrated counterparts were winning a third consecutive gold medal in soccer, the women of water polo captured a first gold medal after two silvers and a bronze. Heather Petri and Brenda Villa finally brought home gold after appearing in all four Olympic tournaments.
#18 - Women's Judo 78kg. The United States had never captured a judo gold medal in the previous ten Olympiads they had participated in. Kyla Harrison, the 2010 world champion, had moved to Massachusetts to train with double Olympic bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro, and put her life back together after acknowledging sexual abuse by a previous coach. Harrison did capture a first ever U.S. gold and was jubilant in her celebration.
#17 - Men's Basketball Final - Twenty years after the Dream Team, the United States sent a men's squad loaded with superstars and punctuated with role players. The tenacious Spaniards showed how far the international game has come by keeping the game very close through the third quarter before Kobe, LeBron and Kevin Durant took charge and led the Americans to a 14th gold medal.
#16 - Women's Singles Tennis Final - Serena Williams gave one of the most dominating performances of the Games by thoroughly pasting Maria Sharapova in the final 6-0, 6-1. Serena completed the career Golden Slam and then teamed with sister Venus to win a third doubles gold and become the only player to win the Golden Slam in singles and doubles.
#15 - Women's Floor Exercise - During the qualifying round of women's gymnastics Aly Raisman almost seemed like the villain when her performances on balance beam and floor exercise propelled her into the all-around ahead of team headliner and defending world all-around champion Jordyn Wieber. After delivering a decisive final performance in the team final, Raisman lost a bronze in the all-around on a tiebreaker. Returning for the event finals, Raisman was spectacular in the floor final, with a scintillating performance to easily capture the gold.
#14 - Women's 200 Meter Backstroke - Missy Franklin showed her promise in winning the world championship in this event last year as a 16 year old. The extremely likeable teenager was the swimmer of the Olympics and punctuated it with a world record.
#13 - Men's 100 Meter Final - Always one of the highlights of the Olympics, the 100 meters is so perfectly simple, a footrace from point A to point B, fastest takes the gold. Usain Bolt quieted the doubters with the second fastest performance in history ahead of a stellar field and won the first of his three gold medals that cemented his status as the greatest sprinter in history and begins to put him in the upper echelon of all Olympians.
#12 - Men's 200 Meter Butterfly - Michael Phelps made his Olympic debut in this event in 2000 as a 15 year old, finishing fifth. He hadn't lost a final in this event in over a decade, but just as things all went Phelps's was four years ago, he was a little too long on the final stroke and got edged out by South African Chad le Clos who had previously won a gold medal...at the 2010 Youth Olympics.le Clos will be able to tell his grandchildren one day that he beat Michael Phelps in the Olympics.
#11 - Women's All-Around Gymnastics - Ever since Olga Korbut came out of nowhere to charm American TV audiences 40 years ago, the women's all-around has been one of the most featured events on the program. Gabby Douglas, the youngest and least renowned member of the world championship team a year ago, Douglas was the steadiest and best under pressure of the contenders. For the rest of her life, she will be known in gymnastics circles simply as Gabby.
#10 - Men's 200 Meter Individual Medley - After finishing fourth in the 400 IM and second in the 200 butterfly, it looked as though the magic of Beijing was gone for good. Phelps turned things around with this event, winning the second of his four gold medals, by dominating the field including teammate Ryan Lochte who had beaten him in the 400 IM and in this event at the 2011 worlds.
#9 - Women's Soccer semifinal - They are the best known women's team in the country. A heartbreaking loss to Japan at the 2011 World Cup left Team U.S.A. pointing to London for redemption. A rematch with Japan and eventual gold medal almost never happened, until Alex Morgan scored a goal in the 123rd minute to overcome a hat trick from Canadian superstar Chrstine Sinclair, leaving the Canadians devastated in a controversial loss.
#8 - Women's Beach Volleyball Semifinals - Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings captured a third straight gold medal in the finals over fellow Americans April Ross and Jenn Kessy. The May-Traenor/Walsh Jennings semifinal win over Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China, 22-20, 22-20 was as exciting a contest as you will see on the beach.
#7 - Men's 10 Meter Platform Diving - The Chinese have dominated diving for twenty years and had won six of the first seven events. Qui Bo entered as the heavy favorite, the 2011 world champion had won that event by 41.2 points over silver medalist David Boudia. The Brits had a special interest as 2009 world champion Tom Daley was facing enormous pressure as one of the most recognizable athletes in Great Britain. The level of diving was exceptional and entering the final dive Daley led Boudia and Qui by 0.15 points. Daley had a lower degree of difficulty on the final dive which left the door open. Boudia scored three 9.5's which meant that Qui would need at least one 10 to win. The final dive from Qui was excellent, but fell just short of the scores needed, making Boudia the first American male diver to win gold in twenty years.
#6 - Men's Cycling Time Trial - Just a week before the Games, Bradley Wiggins became the first Brit to capture the Tour de France. With the pressure of expectations and tens of thousands lining the course, Wiggins delivered a gold, the fourth of his career and a momentary British record seventh medal overall.
#5 - Men's 10000 Meters - Mo Farah of Great Britain was the favorite, but the traditional powers Kenya and Ethiopia were going to try to control the race and keep Farah from winning. Showing great patience, Farah outkicked the field over the final lap with the crowd roaring to bring him home to the first British 10K gold in history. Behind him, Farah's training partner Galen Rupp captured the first American medal in the event in 48 years.
#4 - Men's Singles Tennis - A month before the Olympics, Roger Federer captured his seventh Wimbledon title over British hope Andy Murray, who came so close yet again. After two thrilling semifinals set up the rematch on Centre Court, Murray was never in jeopardy, winning Olympic gold at home before winning a Grand Slam event and preventing Federer from winning the Golden Slam.
#3 - Men's 800 Meter Run - Kenyan David Rudisha was the heavy favorite, the world champion and world record holder. World records in events over 400 meters are rare in championship races as there are no pace setters. It hasn't happened since the 1980 Olympics when Nadezhda Olizarenko of the Soviet Union established a new world record over 800 meters. Rudisha took the lead from the beginning, but was a second behind pace after 400 meters. He surged away from the field over the next 200 meters and maintained his form to establish a new world record and led the field to the best ever marks-for-place from 1st to 8th. A truly epic race.
#2 - Women's Team Gymnastics - Despite NBC's overselling of the American team and the endless hillbilly musical montages, the American women were spectacular. They hit every one of the twelve routines to capture the first American gold since 1996. These five teenagers, with no Olympic experience were wonderful. Even McKayla was impressed, before her peevish behavior on the vault medal stand went viral (http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com/)
#1 - Women's 4x100 Meter Relay - After years of poor handoffs, dropped batons and injuries, the Americans finally got it right, very right. The performance was astonishing. When the Soviets set a world record in the 4x400 meter relay at the 1988 Olympics, the world record book was essentially closed for women. World records in the 100, 200, 400, 800, 100 hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, discus throw, heptathlon and both relays all survived since the Reagan administration. The fall of communism in eastern Europe and random, out-of-competition drug testing were the two big factors in those records remaining. The world record in the 4x100 by and East Germany squad had lasted since 1985, before three of the American relay members were born. The Americans shattered the record and captured their first gold in the event in 16 years. Lauryn Williams ran the anchor leg in the heat and captured her first gold medal in her third Olympics. The perfection of the race and the breaking of one of the 24 plus year old world records made me jump off my couch in amazement and excitement.
So many wonderful memories, I could probably write a different list tomorrow.
Rio... 1,453 days and counting...
What to Watch - Sunday 8/12
The Games wrap up with the Closing Ceremony tonight in prime time, but there are still gold medals to be given out earlier today.
Gold: Basketball - Men's Final - 10:00a.m. (NBC) - Fortunately, the haven't been called the "Dream Team," but this American team is still pretty good and they face Spain in the gold medal final for the third time.
Silver: Boxing - Men's Super Heavyweight Final - 10:15a.m. (CNBC) The Brits are looking to cap an awesome Games with another big boxing win. Anthony Joshua faces Italy's Roberto Cammarelle for gold.
Bronze: Freestyle Wrestling - Men's 96kg Final - 9:48a.m. - American Jake Warner looks to add another American golds to the tally against Ukranian Valerii Andritsev.
Gold: Basketball - Men's Final - 10:00a.m. (NBC) - Fortunately, the haven't been called the "Dream Team," but this American team is still pretty good and they face Spain in the gold medal final for the third time.
Silver: Boxing - Men's Super Heavyweight Final - 10:15a.m. (CNBC) The Brits are looking to cap an awesome Games with another big boxing win. Anthony Joshua faces Italy's Roberto Cammarelle for gold.
Bronze: Freestyle Wrestling - Men's 96kg Final - 9:48a.m. - American Jake Warner looks to add another American golds to the tally against Ukranian Valerii Andritsev.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
More Awful Coverage By NBC
Really upset with NBC Olympic coverage. Some of it has been really bad and jingoistic. But why did they decide to hijack the women's volleyball final to prime time coverage tonight? They showed each of the US team's previous seven contests in these Games live and complete. They stowed it into the final hour and just showed half of the first set won easily by the Americans and then came back with Brazil up 2 sets to 1 and leading the fourth set easily. Why show it tonight? They didn't show any of the competitive part of the match. Disgusting job by NBC, even worse than the men's gymnastics all-around or any of the field events. If you have your favorite sport shown in prime time by NBC, you're screwed!
What to Watch - Saturday 8/11
The penultimate day of the Games has most of the action wrapping up. The final day on the track, finals in boxing and most women's team sports.
Gold: Volleyball - Women's Final - U.S.A. vs. Brazil - 1:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) A rematch of the 2008 Beijing final, the U.S. women's team is undefeated this year and ranked number one in the world. Hugh McCutcheon coached the U.S. men to gold four years ago and is working the same magic with the women before heading off to coach the University of Minnesota. The American women are making a third appearance in the final (1984 as well as 2008) and attempting to capture a first ever gold medal. Destinee won three NCAA high jump championships, but she is looking for gold in volleyball rather than on the track, ironically both finals are the same day. The U.S. team is compelling due to the number of veteran Olympians, including five-time Olympian Danielle Scott-Arruda at age 39.
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 4x100 Meter Relay - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The final chance to see the great Usain Bolt in these Games as he will anchor the Jamaican relay team. The Americans look strong and are coached by Jon Drummond, who led the American women to a gold medal and world record on Friday. However, the Jamaicans have three of the five fastest men in 100 meter history, even with former world record holder Asafa Powell out due to injury. It might take a world record to win the gold.
Bronze: Diving - Men's 10 Meter Platform - 3:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) 2009 world champion Tom Daley and 2011 world silver medalist barely survived qualifying, but those scores do not carry over. China has won six of the seven diving events so far and Qiu Bo is the favorite here and the leading qualifier. Germany's Sascha Klein has been overlooked, but he might be Qui's biggest challenger. No athlete in London has been under more pressure than Daley who made his Olympic debut in Beijing at age 14.
Also:
Women's basketball final - U.S. vs. France @ 4:00p.m. (NBC)
Men's soccer final - Mexico vs. Brazil @ 10:00a.m. (NBCSN). Mexico has already captured their first soccer medal, and the soccer-mad Brazilians are looking to take Olympic gold for the first time.
Boxing - 56kg final - 3:45p.m. (CNBC) The crowd should be raucous, and split, as Britain's Luke Campbell takes on Ireland's John Joe Nevin.
Men's 5000 meter final - 2:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) Britain's Mo Farah captured the 10000 meter gold ahead of training partner Galen Rupp of the U.S.A. Olympic silver and bronze medalist Bernard Lagat of the U.S., a former Kenyan, is looking to finally take gold at age 37.
Women's 4x400 meter relay - 3:25p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The Americans look to take the gold as Sanya Richards-Ross and two other American 400 meter finalists are joined by 200 meter champion Allyson Felix. Both Richards-Ross and Felix could capture a fourth career gold medal. Challenges should come from Russia, Jamaica and Great Britain.
Gold: Volleyball - Women's Final - U.S.A. vs. Brazil - 1:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) A rematch of the 2008 Beijing final, the U.S. women's team is undefeated this year and ranked number one in the world. Hugh McCutcheon coached the U.S. men to gold four years ago and is working the same magic with the women before heading off to coach the University of Minnesota. The American women are making a third appearance in the final (1984 as well as 2008) and attempting to capture a first ever gold medal. Destinee won three NCAA high jump championships, but she is looking for gold in volleyball rather than on the track, ironically both finals are the same day. The U.S. team is compelling due to the number of veteran Olympians, including five-time Olympian Danielle Scott-Arruda at age 39.
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 4x100 Meter Relay - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The final chance to see the great Usain Bolt in these Games as he will anchor the Jamaican relay team. The Americans look strong and are coached by Jon Drummond, who led the American women to a gold medal and world record on Friday. However, the Jamaicans have three of the five fastest men in 100 meter history, even with former world record holder Asafa Powell out due to injury. It might take a world record to win the gold.
Bronze: Diving - Men's 10 Meter Platform - 3:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) 2009 world champion Tom Daley and 2011 world silver medalist barely survived qualifying, but those scores do not carry over. China has won six of the seven diving events so far and Qiu Bo is the favorite here and the leading qualifier. Germany's Sascha Klein has been overlooked, but he might be Qui's biggest challenger. No athlete in London has been under more pressure than Daley who made his Olympic debut in Beijing at age 14.
Also:
Women's basketball final - U.S. vs. France @ 4:00p.m. (NBC)
Men's soccer final - Mexico vs. Brazil @ 10:00a.m. (NBCSN). Mexico has already captured their first soccer medal, and the soccer-mad Brazilians are looking to take Olympic gold for the first time.
Boxing - 56kg final - 3:45p.m. (CNBC) The crowd should be raucous, and split, as Britain's Luke Campbell takes on Ireland's John Joe Nevin.
Men's 5000 meter final - 2:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) Britain's Mo Farah captured the 10000 meter gold ahead of training partner Galen Rupp of the U.S.A. Olympic silver and bronze medalist Bernard Lagat of the U.S., a former Kenyan, is looking to finally take gold at age 37.
Women's 4x400 meter relay - 3:25p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The Americans look to take the gold as Sanya Richards-Ross and two other American 400 meter finalists are joined by 200 meter champion Allyson Felix. Both Richards-Ross and Felix could capture a fourth career gold medal. Challenges should come from Russia, Jamaica and Great Britain.
Friday, August 10, 2012
What to Watch - Friday 8/10
It's semifinal day for most of the men's team sports and boxing, the spotlight will be on track and field. It will tough to top the amazing night at the track on Thursday, highlighted by perhaps the best 800 meter and 200 meter races ever run as well as American 1-2 finishes in the triple jump and decathlon.
Gold: Track & Field - Women's 4x100 Meter Relay - 3:40p.m. (NBC Prime Time). The American "B" squad put up an astonishing 41.64 in the heats, just 0.04 off the Olympic record set in 1980 by East Germany. Expect Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter to take over legs two and four, respectively for the final. If the passes are nearly as good as they were in the heats the 27 year old world record of 41.37 by East Germany could be under threat and the Americans could win this event for the first time since Atlanta in 1996. The Jamaicans will challenge the Americans, but Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson are not in best form.
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 4x400 Meter Relay - 4:20p.m. (NBC Prime Time). The U.S. qualified for the final despite leadoff leg Manteo Mitchell running about half the race with a broken leg. He will be replaced by 400 meter hurdler Angelo Taylor in the final. The U.S. looks like they should still win as no other squad can put four strong legs together. Any challenges should come from the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps Great Britain.
Bronze: Track & Field - Women's 1500 Meters - 3:55p.m. (NBC Prime Time). Current world champion Jenny Simpson of he U.S. failed to qualify for the final, but Morgan Uceny was ranked first in the world last year despite a fall at the world championship final. Asli Cakir of Turkey, who has served a two-year drug suspension, is among the favorites as is Ethiopian Abeba Aregawi. Last year's world championships are not looking to be a good predictor of this year's Olympic final as the first nine finishers from the 2011 worlds did not qualify for the Olympic final. If this race is slow and tactical like the men's race, anything is possible.
Also:
The U.S. men's basketball team faces off against 2004 Olympic champions Argentina in the semifinals at 4:00p.m. (NBCSN)
Jordan Burroughs of the U.S. is the current world champion in 74kilogram freestyle wrestling. He won the worlds in his first year as an international wrestler after winning the NCAA title for Nebraska earlier in the year. The final is slated for 2:50p.m. (NBC)
Gold: Track & Field - Women's 4x100 Meter Relay - 3:40p.m. (NBC Prime Time). The American "B" squad put up an astonishing 41.64 in the heats, just 0.04 off the Olympic record set in 1980 by East Germany. Expect Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter to take over legs two and four, respectively for the final. If the passes are nearly as good as they were in the heats the 27 year old world record of 41.37 by East Germany could be under threat and the Americans could win this event for the first time since Atlanta in 1996. The Jamaicans will challenge the Americans, but Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson are not in best form.
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 4x400 Meter Relay - 4:20p.m. (NBC Prime Time). The U.S. qualified for the final despite leadoff leg Manteo Mitchell running about half the race with a broken leg. He will be replaced by 400 meter hurdler Angelo Taylor in the final. The U.S. looks like they should still win as no other squad can put four strong legs together. Any challenges should come from the Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and perhaps Great Britain.
Bronze: Track & Field - Women's 1500 Meters - 3:55p.m. (NBC Prime Time). Current world champion Jenny Simpson of he U.S. failed to qualify for the final, but Morgan Uceny was ranked first in the world last year despite a fall at the world championship final. Asli Cakir of Turkey, who has served a two-year drug suspension, is among the favorites as is Ethiopian Abeba Aregawi. Last year's world championships are not looking to be a good predictor of this year's Olympic final as the first nine finishers from the 2011 worlds did not qualify for the Olympic final. If this race is slow and tactical like the men's race, anything is possible.
Also:
The U.S. men's basketball team faces off against 2004 Olympic champions Argentina in the semifinals at 4:00p.m. (NBCSN)
Jordan Burroughs of the U.S. is the current world champion in 74kilogram freestyle wrestling. He won the worlds in his first year as an international wrestler after winning the NCAA title for Nebraska earlier in the year. The final is slated for 2:50p.m. (NBC)
Thursday, August 9, 2012
What to WAtch - Thursday 8/9
Gold: Track & Field - Men's 200 Meters 3:55p.m. (NBC Prime Time) No man has ever repeated as Olympic champion at 200 meters, Usain Bolt is trying to become the first. Yohan Blake defeated Bolt at the Jamaican Trials, but Bolt looks to be in top form here. Churandy Martina of The Netherlands and American Wallace Spearmon were disqualified four years ago for lane violations after finishing second and third, respectively, behind Bolt. They figure to battle for the bronze behind the two Jamaicans.
Silver: Soccer - Women's Final - 2:45p.m. (NBCSN) The Americans are trying to win their third straight gold medal in a rematch of last year's World Cup final which Japan won on penalty kicks. The U.S. needed late heroics from Alex Morgan to defeat Canada 3-2 in the semifinals.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's Decathlon - 1500 Meter Run @ 4:20p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The title of the world's greatest athlete has been bestowed upon the decathlon champion. One hundred years after Jim Thorpe won the inaugural decathlon gold, world record holder Ashton Eaton takes a lead into the second day against double world champion Trey Hardee. They set up the Americans for a potential 1-2 finish, although Hardee will have to get past the javelin throw after Tommy John surgery to his elbow this past winter.
Also:
Women's Water Polo Final - U.S.A. vs. Spain - 3:00p.m. (NBC). Brenda Villa leads the United States, she is playing in her fourth Olympics and has three medals, she is now looking for a first gold.
Women's Basketball semifinal - U.S.A. vs. Australia - 12:00p.m. (NBCSN) These two countries have met in the last three finals, the U.S. has looked dominant so far in the tournament.
Beach Volleyball Men's Final 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Alison & Emmanuel of Brazil against Brink and Reckermann of Germany. Emmanuel Rego won gold in Athens and bronze in Beijing. The Brazilians will be favored.
Boxing - Women's Boxing 75kg Final 12:15p.m. (CNBC @ 5:00p.m.) Claressa Shields, 17 years old, will try to win the first ever gold medal for a women's boxer. She takes on Nadezda Torlopova of Russia.
Men's 800 Meter Final - 3:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) David Rudisha of Kenya is the world record holder and world champion, one of the most dominant athletes in the sport. Nick Symmonds looks to battle a strong field for the lesser medals.
Women's Voilleyball semifinal - U.S.A. vs. South Korea - 12:00p.m. (NBC) The Americans already beat South Korea in this tournament. The number one team in the world is undefeated and looking to get to the finals and a chance for a first ever women's gold.
Silver: Soccer - Women's Final - 2:45p.m. (NBCSN) The Americans are trying to win their third straight gold medal in a rematch of last year's World Cup final which Japan won on penalty kicks. The U.S. needed late heroics from Alex Morgan to defeat Canada 3-2 in the semifinals.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's Decathlon - 1500 Meter Run @ 4:20p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The title of the world's greatest athlete has been bestowed upon the decathlon champion. One hundred years after Jim Thorpe won the inaugural decathlon gold, world record holder Ashton Eaton takes a lead into the second day against double world champion Trey Hardee. They set up the Americans for a potential 1-2 finish, although Hardee will have to get past the javelin throw after Tommy John surgery to his elbow this past winter.
Also:
Women's Water Polo Final - U.S.A. vs. Spain - 3:00p.m. (NBC). Brenda Villa leads the United States, she is playing in her fourth Olympics and has three medals, she is now looking for a first gold.
Women's Basketball semifinal - U.S.A. vs. Australia - 12:00p.m. (NBCSN) These two countries have met in the last three finals, the U.S. has looked dominant so far in the tournament.
Beach Volleyball Men's Final 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Alison & Emmanuel of Brazil against Brink and Reckermann of Germany. Emmanuel Rego won gold in Athens and bronze in Beijing. The Brazilians will be favored.
Boxing - Women's Boxing 75kg Final 12:15p.m. (CNBC @ 5:00p.m.) Claressa Shields, 17 years old, will try to win the first ever gold medal for a women's boxer. She takes on Nadezda Torlopova of Russia.
Men's 800 Meter Final - 3:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) David Rudisha of Kenya is the world record holder and world champion, one of the most dominant athletes in the sport. Nick Symmonds looks to battle a strong field for the lesser medals.
Women's Voilleyball semifinal - U.S.A. vs. South Korea - 12:00p.m. (NBC) The Americans already beat South Korea in this tournament. The number one team in the world is undefeated and looking to get to the finals and a chance for a first ever women's gold.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
What to Watch - Wednesday 8/8
Gold: Track & Field - Women's 200 Meters - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time). Only three athletes in Olympic history have captured silver in the same individual event in three consecutive Olympics: super heavyweight Greco-Roman Wrestler Aleksandar Tomov of Bulgaria from 1972-1980; springboard diver Tan Liangde of China from 1984-1992; and Chinese table tennis player Wang Hao from 2004-2012. Allyson Felix is hoping to keep her name off this list, and she looks primed to pick up her first individual gold. Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica has twice been the Olympic champion and finally beat Felix at the world championships last year in the 200. Expect the medals to be between those two and Americans Carmelita Jeter and Sanya Richards-Ross and Jamaica 100 meter champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. It would be a surprise if any runner other than an American or Jamaican finished in the top five.
Silver: Beach Volleyball - Women's Final - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time). It is an all-American final as two time defending Olympic champions Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings face 2009 world champions April Ross and Jenn Kessy. Seeded third and fourth in the tournament, both squads pulled off impressive semifinal wins. Watch for Walsh Jennings to spike the second hit ("on two") when May-Traenor makes a perfect pass on serve receive.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's 110 Meter Hurdles - 4:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China crashed on the first hurdle in the heats and defending Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba looks slowed from injuries. American Aries Merritt has grabbed the mantle of Olympic favorite with some very swift victories lately. Jason Richardson is the current world champion, but he was quite honestly the third best hurdler in that final as Robles was disqualified for impeding Liu in the final. The winner will probably need to run under 13 seconds to win and Robles's world record of 12.87 could be challenged in the conditions cooperate.
Also:
Men's Basketball reaches the quarterfinals, the U.S. will face Australia at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
The U.S. men's volleyball team surprised by sweeping through their pool, the face Italy in the quarterfinals at 11:00.a.m. (NBC)
U.S. men's water polo heads into the quarterfinals with a tall task; they face undefeated Croatia at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
Silver: Beach Volleyball - Women's Final - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time). It is an all-American final as two time defending Olympic champions Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings face 2009 world champions April Ross and Jenn Kessy. Seeded third and fourth in the tournament, both squads pulled off impressive semifinal wins. Watch for Walsh Jennings to spike the second hit ("on two") when May-Traenor makes a perfect pass on serve receive.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's 110 Meter Hurdles - 4:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) 2004 Olympic champion Liu Xiang of China crashed on the first hurdle in the heats and defending Olympic champion and world record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba looks slowed from injuries. American Aries Merritt has grabbed the mantle of Olympic favorite with some very swift victories lately. Jason Richardson is the current world champion, but he was quite honestly the third best hurdler in that final as Robles was disqualified for impeding Liu in the final. The winner will probably need to run under 13 seconds to win and Robles's world record of 12.87 could be challenged in the conditions cooperate.
Also:
Men's Basketball reaches the quarterfinals, the U.S. will face Australia at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
The U.S. men's volleyball team surprised by sweeping through their pool, the face Italy in the quarterfinals at 11:00.a.m. (NBC)
U.S. men's water polo heads into the quarterfinals with a tall task; they face undefeated Croatia at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
What to Watch - Tuesday 8/7
Gold: Track & Field - Women's 100 Meter Hurdles - 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) - No doubt, a great deal of the focus will be on Lolo Jones, the American who was on her way to a gold medal in Beijing before hitting the ninth of ten hurdles with her lead leg and finishing out of the medals. However, Jones may be the third best American behind Kellie Wells and defending champion Dawn Harper, the two women who finished ahead of her at the Olympic Trials. The favorite is Australia's Sally Pearson, the Beijing silver medalist and 2011 world champion. Pearson lost only one race in 1988 and ran 12.28 last year, the fastest time in the world since 1992. With the fast track in London, it should take a time under 12.4 seconds to win, and if the conditions are ideal the world record of 12.21 set by Yordanka Donkova of Bulgaria in 1988 could be threatened.
Silver: Gymnastics - Women's Floor Exercise - 11:23a.m. (NBC Prime Time). The final day of artistic gymnastics begins at 9:00a.m. with event finals in parallel bars and high bar for men; and balance beam and floor exercise for women. Ally Raisman of the United States was the top qualifier for the floor and Jordyn Wieber will be in the final eight as well. The defending world champion is Ksenia Afanasyeva of Russia. NBC censored her floor exercise from the team event in order to hoodwink the television audience into thinking that the American team was in more jeopardy during the floor exercise than they actually were. Gabby Douglas and Raisman qualified for the balance beam final, where Viktoria Komova will be looking to win her first gold medal. World champion Danell Leyva failed to qualify for parallel bars final, which looks to be a battle between China and Japan. Leyva did qualify for the men's high bar final along with Beijing silver medalist Jonathan Horton. Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands and Zhang Chenglong of China were the top qualifiers. China's Zou Kai is the defending champion.
Bronze: Weight Lifting - Men's Super Heavyweight - 2:00p.m. (NBCSN @ 7:00p.m.) The title of world's strongest man should be a battle between two Iranians, Behdad Salimikordasiabi, IRI and Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlaba, where weight lifting has become a national sport.
Also:
Women's team events head into the medal rounds:
U.S. women's basketball team takes on Canada in the quarterfinals at 2:00p.m.
Both U.S. women's beach volleyball teams are in the semifinals, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings take on Xue & Zhang of China at 1:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time), while April Ross and Jenn Kessy fave the top seeded Brazilian duo of Juliana & Larissa at 4:00p.m. (NBC)
Sir Chris Hoy looks to capture his sixth career gold medal in the Keirin event in cycling. The Keirin is a motor paced event with roots as a Japanese betting sport, leaving six cyclists in a mad sprint to the finish. 12:57p.m. (NBC @ 3:30p.m.)
The U.S. women's volleyball team takes on the Dominican Republic in a quarterfinal matchup at 2:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's water polo team faces Australia in the semifinals at 10:30a.m. (NBC)
Silver: Gymnastics - Women's Floor Exercise - 11:23a.m. (NBC Prime Time). The final day of artistic gymnastics begins at 9:00a.m. with event finals in parallel bars and high bar for men; and balance beam and floor exercise for women. Ally Raisman of the United States was the top qualifier for the floor and Jordyn Wieber will be in the final eight as well. The defending world champion is Ksenia Afanasyeva of Russia. NBC censored her floor exercise from the team event in order to hoodwink the television audience into thinking that the American team was in more jeopardy during the floor exercise than they actually were. Gabby Douglas and Raisman qualified for the balance beam final, where Viktoria Komova will be looking to win her first gold medal. World champion Danell Leyva failed to qualify for parallel bars final, which looks to be a battle between China and Japan. Leyva did qualify for the men's high bar final along with Beijing silver medalist Jonathan Horton. Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands and Zhang Chenglong of China were the top qualifiers. China's Zou Kai is the defending champion.
Bronze: Weight Lifting - Men's Super Heavyweight - 2:00p.m. (NBCSN @ 7:00p.m.) The title of world's strongest man should be a battle between two Iranians, Behdad Salimikordasiabi, IRI and Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlaba, where weight lifting has become a national sport.
Also:
Women's team events head into the medal rounds:
U.S. women's basketball team takes on Canada in the quarterfinals at 2:00p.m.
Both U.S. women's beach volleyball teams are in the semifinals, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings take on Xue & Zhang of China at 1:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time), while April Ross and Jenn Kessy fave the top seeded Brazilian duo of Juliana & Larissa at 4:00p.m. (NBC)
Sir Chris Hoy looks to capture his sixth career gold medal in the Keirin event in cycling. The Keirin is a motor paced event with roots as a Japanese betting sport, leaving six cyclists in a mad sprint to the finish. 12:57p.m. (NBC @ 3:30p.m.)
The U.S. women's volleyball team takes on the Dominican Republic in a quarterfinal matchup at 2:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's water polo team faces Australia in the semifinals at 10:30a.m. (NBC)
Sunday, August 5, 2012
What to Watch - Monday 8/6
After an amazing weekend, things calm down a bit on Monday as the second week of the Games gets underway, still a full slate of action in many sports:
Gold: Gymnastics - Women's Uneven Bars - 9:50a.m. (NBC Prime Time). U.S. all-around champion Gabby Douglas leads the charge into this event final as she tries to become the first U.S. gymnast to win three gold medals. Defending champion He Kexin on China and all-around runner-up Viktoria Komova are major threats, but the top qualifier was Brit Elizabeth Tweddle, the world champion in 2006 and 2010.
Silver: Soccer - Women's Semifinal - United States v Canada 2:45p.m. (NBCSN) The U.S. women's team looks to get into the final where they will face either France or World Cup champions Japan.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's 400 Meter Hurdles - 3:45p.m. (NBC Prime Time). A very strong field in the finals is led by Javier Culson, trying to become Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic champion. He is undefeated in 2012. Felix Sanchez looked like he had discovered the fountain of youth in the semifinals with the fastest time. Sanchez is the 2004 Olympic champ as well as world champ in 2001 and 2003. Angelo Taylor of the United States won the gold medal in 2000 and 2008. Kerron Clement was the world champion in 2007 and 2009 and looks to be rounding into form after two subpar seasons. The defending world champion is Dai Greene of Great Britain, who barely got a spot in the final as a time qualifier, but things have been going well for the Brits at Olympic Stadium.
Also: Men's Basketball against Argentina at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
The surviving American men's team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal take on a Latvian team in the quarterfinals at 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The stud event in cycling is the men's match sprint. Jason Kenny of Great Britain and Gregory Bauge of France could meet up in an outstanding final, 12:43p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
Gold: Gymnastics - Women's Uneven Bars - 9:50a.m. (NBC Prime Time). U.S. all-around champion Gabby Douglas leads the charge into this event final as she tries to become the first U.S. gymnast to win three gold medals. Defending champion He Kexin on China and all-around runner-up Viktoria Komova are major threats, but the top qualifier was Brit Elizabeth Tweddle, the world champion in 2006 and 2010.
Silver: Soccer - Women's Semifinal - United States v Canada 2:45p.m. (NBCSN) The U.S. women's team looks to get into the final where they will face either France or World Cup champions Japan.
Bronze: Track & Field - Men's 400 Meter Hurdles - 3:45p.m. (NBC Prime Time). A very strong field in the finals is led by Javier Culson, trying to become Puerto Rico's first ever Olympic champion. He is undefeated in 2012. Felix Sanchez looked like he had discovered the fountain of youth in the semifinals with the fastest time. Sanchez is the 2004 Olympic champ as well as world champ in 2001 and 2003. Angelo Taylor of the United States won the gold medal in 2000 and 2008. Kerron Clement was the world champion in 2007 and 2009 and looks to be rounding into form after two subpar seasons. The defending world champion is Dai Greene of Great Britain, who barely got a spot in the final as a time qualifier, but things have been going well for the Brits at Olympic Stadium.
Also: Men's Basketball against Argentina at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
The surviving American men's team of Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal take on a Latvian team in the quarterfinals at 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The stud event in cycling is the men's match sprint. Jason Kenny of Great Britain and Gregory Bauge of France could meet up in an outstanding final, 12:43p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
What to Watch - Sunday 8/5
Gold: Tennis - Men's Singles Final - 9:00a.m. (NBC) It really takes something to top the men's 100 featuring one the best known athletes in the world, but this final has the making on an epic. Five weeks ago, Roger Federer captured his seventh Wimbledon championship over British hero Andy Murray. The hometown crowd was apoplectic with Murray's semifinal win and they will be rooting hard for him in the final. Murray has had a busy weekend, winning two matches in mixed doubles on Saturday with Laura Robson and they will play the mixed doubles final after the men's final, against Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirinyi of Belarus. Federer is trying to complete the Golden Slam, and join Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams as the only players to do so.
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 100 Meters - 4:50p.m. (NBC Prime Time). On what has proven to be a fast track in London, a great field will assemble to assault the world record and claim the title of world's fastest man. Defending champion and world record holder Usain Bolt looks to join Carl Lewis as the only two-time winner of the event. Bolt was disqualified after a false start at last year's world championships, leaving countryman Yohan Blake to capture the title. Blake defeated Bolt at the Jamaican trials in both the 100 and 200 and is considered the favorite. Three former world record holders will challenge for the podium: Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Americans Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion.
Bronze: Boxing - Women's 60kg opening round - 9:30a.m. (CNBC) For the first time in Olympic history, women will step into the ring. Queen Underwood will be first first American in action as the faces Natasha Jonas of Great Britain.
Also:
The U.S. women's basketball team faces China at 11:45a.m. (NBC)
Track & Field - Women's 400 Meters - 4:10p.m. (NBC Prime Time). Sanya Richards-Ross has been the world's best 400 meter runner for the better part of a decade, but she has never won individual Olympic gold. She will be challenged by world champion Amantle Montsho, attempting to win the first Olympic medal for Botswana, and defending champion Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain. Ohuruogu finishes very fast and the British athletes have had great success so far.
Beach Volleyball - The two American women's teams are in quarterfinal action. Two-time defending champions Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings take on Italy @ 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time); 2009 world champions April Ross and Jenn Kessy face the Czech Republic @ 5:00p.m. (NBC)
The first individual diving event, the women's 3 meter springboard, is in the pool at 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The Chineses look to make it five for five with Wu Mingxi and He Zi, the Americans Christina Loukas and Cassidy Krug are medal threats as is five-time Olympian Tania Cognotto of Italy, looking for her first medal.
Gymnastics returns with three individual apparatus finals, McKayla Maroney of the U.S. is a big favorite to capture the vault title, the only women's event tonight. 9:50a.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The U.S. women's volleyball team looks to remain undefeated against Turkey at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's water polo team enters the quarterfinals against Italy at 2:00p.m. (NBC)
Holly Mangold, sister of New York Jet Nick is entered in the super heavyweight class of women's weightlifting, she will probably finish outside the top five as Zhou Lulu of China enteres as the favorite for the title of world's strongest woman. 10:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Silver: Track & Field - Men's 100 Meters - 4:50p.m. (NBC Prime Time). On what has proven to be a fast track in London, a great field will assemble to assault the world record and claim the title of world's fastest man. Defending champion and world record holder Usain Bolt looks to join Carl Lewis as the only two-time winner of the event. Bolt was disqualified after a false start at last year's world championships, leaving countryman Yohan Blake to capture the title. Blake defeated Bolt at the Jamaican trials in both the 100 and 200 and is considered the favorite. Three former world record holders will challenge for the podium: Asafa Powell of Jamaica and Americans Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, the 2004 Olympic champion.
Bronze: Boxing - Women's 60kg opening round - 9:30a.m. (CNBC) For the first time in Olympic history, women will step into the ring. Queen Underwood will be first first American in action as the faces Natasha Jonas of Great Britain.
Also:
The U.S. women's basketball team faces China at 11:45a.m. (NBC)
Track & Field - Women's 400 Meters - 4:10p.m. (NBC Prime Time). Sanya Richards-Ross has been the world's best 400 meter runner for the better part of a decade, but she has never won individual Olympic gold. She will be challenged by world champion Amantle Montsho, attempting to win the first Olympic medal for Botswana, and defending champion Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain. Ohuruogu finishes very fast and the British athletes have had great success so far.
Beach Volleyball - The two American women's teams are in quarterfinal action. Two-time defending champions Misty May-Traenor and Kerri Walsh Jennings take on Italy @ 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time); 2009 world champions April Ross and Jenn Kessy face the Czech Republic @ 5:00p.m. (NBC)
The first individual diving event, the women's 3 meter springboard, is in the pool at 2:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The Chineses look to make it five for five with Wu Mingxi and He Zi, the Americans Christina Loukas and Cassidy Krug are medal threats as is five-time Olympian Tania Cognotto of Italy, looking for her first medal.
Gymnastics returns with three individual apparatus finals, McKayla Maroney of the U.S. is a big favorite to capture the vault title, the only women's event tonight. 9:50a.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The U.S. women's volleyball team looks to remain undefeated against Turkey at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's water polo team enters the quarterfinals against Italy at 2:00p.m. (NBC)
Holly Mangold, sister of New York Jet Nick is entered in the super heavyweight class of women's weightlifting, she will probably finish outside the top five as Zhou Lulu of China enteres as the favorite for the title of world's strongest woman. 10:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Saturday, August 4, 2012
What to Watch - Saturday 8/4
Gold: Swimming - Men's 4x100 Meter Medley Relay - 3:27p.m. (NBC Prime Time). After four Olympic Games, 21 medals including 17 gold, Michael Phelps swims for the very last time. He will swim the butterfly leg on the highly favored American medley relay. Three of the four legs are swum by gold medalists, the other by a bronze medalist. Expect a big U.S. win. The final day of swimming actually begins at 2:30p.m. with the Women's 50 Freestyle and the Men's 1500 Freestyle. The women swim their medley relay at 3:07p.m. and they will be highly favored with gold medalists Missy Franklin in backstroke and Dana Vollmer in butterfly and silver medalist Rebecca Soni in the breaststroke. The freestyle leg could be either Jessica Hardy or Allison Schmidt. Either way expect the U.S. to win easily with Australia being the leading challengers.
Silver: Tennis - Women's Singles Final - 9:00a.m. (NBC) A marquee matchup as Serena Williams of the United States will face Russian Maria Sharapova. The winner will join Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Andrei Agassi with a career Golden Slam. The match takes place in one of the most iconic sporting venues in the world, at Wimbledon Centre Court.
Bronze: Track & Field - Women's 100 Meters - 4:55p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The world's fastest woman will be crowned and it will likely be an American or Jamaican. Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was the first non-American winner since 1980; current world champion Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. looked most impressive in the heats; Allyson Felix is better at 200 meters but improving over 100; Tianna Madison was a world long jump champion seven years ago, but has concentrated on sprinting; Veronica Campbell-Brown is the two-time defending champion over 200 meters and a former 100 meter world champion.
Also:
U.S. men's basketball faces Lithuania at 9:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings are in the round of sixteen against the Dutch at 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal are the lone American hopes in men's beach volleyball. They are in the round of 16 against Russia at 5:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's field hockey team face a must-win against New Zealand as only two teams will advance out of pool play. Game time is 2:00p.m. (NBCSN)
The home team British soccer side faces South Korea in the quarterfinals at 2:30p.m. (MSNBC)
Another tennis gold medal will be on the line in men's doubles as Mike & Bob Bryan are trying to win the first American gold in the event since Ken Flach and Robert Seguso in 1988. They will face the French team of Michaël Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at 11:00a.m. (NBCSN)
The U.S. men's volleyball takes on 2-1 Russia at 11:45a.m. (NBC)
The U.S. men's water polo team is surprisingly undefeated after three matches. They face a very tough test against 2-1 Serbia at 2:40p.m. (NBC)
Silver: Tennis - Women's Singles Final - 9:00a.m. (NBC) A marquee matchup as Serena Williams of the United States will face Russian Maria Sharapova. The winner will join Rafael Nadal, Steffi Graf and Andrei Agassi with a career Golden Slam. The match takes place in one of the most iconic sporting venues in the world, at Wimbledon Centre Court.
Bronze: Track & Field - Women's 100 Meters - 4:55p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The world's fastest woman will be crowned and it will likely be an American or Jamaican. Defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was the first non-American winner since 1980; current world champion Carmelita Jeter of the U.S. looked most impressive in the heats; Allyson Felix is better at 200 meters but improving over 100; Tianna Madison was a world long jump champion seven years ago, but has concentrated on sprinting; Veronica Campbell-Brown is the two-time defending champion over 200 meters and a former 100 meter world champion.
Also:
U.S. men's basketball faces Lithuania at 9:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings are in the round of sixteen against the Dutch at 4:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal are the lone American hopes in men's beach volleyball. They are in the round of 16 against Russia at 5:00p.m. (NBC)
The U.S. women's field hockey team face a must-win against New Zealand as only two teams will advance out of pool play. Game time is 2:00p.m. (NBCSN)
The home team British soccer side faces South Korea in the quarterfinals at 2:30p.m. (MSNBC)
Another tennis gold medal will be on the line in men's doubles as Mike & Bob Bryan are trying to win the first American gold in the event since Ken Flach and Robert Seguso in 1988. They will face the French team of Michaël Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at 11:00a.m. (NBCSN)
The U.S. men's volleyball takes on 2-1 Russia at 11:45a.m. (NBC)
The U.S. men's water polo team is surprisingly undefeated after three matches. They face a very tough test against 2-1 Serbia at 2:40p.m. (NBC)
Friday, August 3, 2012
What to Watch on Friday - 8/3
Gold: Track & Field - Men's Shot Put - 3:30p.m. (NBC Prime Time) Track and Field opens and the U.S. has an early chance for gold. Reese Hoffa leads a strong American team, with Ryan Whiting and Christian Cantwell. The Americans have been favored for each of the last four Olympics, but haven't won gold since Randy Barnes in 1996. Canadian Duncan Armstrong is the current world champion.
Silver: Swimming - Women's 800 Meter Freestyle - 2:45p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The penultimate swimming session will also include Michael Phelps in the 100 meter butterfly and Missy Franklin in the 200 meter backstroke, but Rebecca Adlington will be the focus of most in the venue as she tries to win Britain's first swimming gold in London. Adlington qualified first and is trying to rebound from bronze in the 400 freestyle which she was favored to win.
Bronze: Judo - Men's 100+kg - 11:10a.m. (Live Feed) France's Teddy Riner took a bronze in Beijing, but he has dominated the sport, winning every world championship gold medal since 2007. The other thing that is notable about Riner is his size, 6'8" and 250 pounds.
Also:
Women's Soccer in the quarterfinals against New Zealand 9:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Women's basketball against the Czech Republic at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
Women's volleybal tries to stay undefeated against Serbia at 3:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The women's water polo team concludes pool play against China at 2:40p.m. (NBC)
Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain tries to rebound from Thursday's team spring disqualification in track cycling's most exciting event, the Kierin, makes its Olympic debut for the women at 1:38p.m. (NBC)
The first track final is the women's 10000 meters. Vivian Cheruiyot led a Kenyan medal sweep at the world championships last year, but defending Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia will be a major factor. NBC live at 4:25p.m.
Jessica Ennis of Great Britain is the favorite in the women's heptathlon which will be contested throughout Friday and Saturday. Friday's events are the 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 meters. (NBC)
Silver: Swimming - Women's 800 Meter Freestyle - 2:45p.m. (NBC Prime Time) The penultimate swimming session will also include Michael Phelps in the 100 meter butterfly and Missy Franklin in the 200 meter backstroke, but Rebecca Adlington will be the focus of most in the venue as she tries to win Britain's first swimming gold in London. Adlington qualified first and is trying to rebound from bronze in the 400 freestyle which she was favored to win.
Bronze: Judo - Men's 100+kg - 11:10a.m. (Live Feed) France's Teddy Riner took a bronze in Beijing, but he has dominated the sport, winning every world championship gold medal since 2007. The other thing that is notable about Riner is his size, 6'8" and 250 pounds.
Also:
Women's Soccer in the quarterfinals against New Zealand 9:30a.m. (NBCSN)
Women's basketball against the Czech Republic at 5:15p.m. (NBCSN)
Women's volleybal tries to stay undefeated against Serbia at 3:00p.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The women's water polo team concludes pool play against China at 2:40p.m. (NBC)
Victoria Pendleton of Great Britain tries to rebound from Thursday's team spring disqualification in track cycling's most exciting event, the Kierin, makes its Olympic debut for the women at 1:38p.m. (NBC)
The first track final is the women's 10000 meters. Vivian Cheruiyot led a Kenyan medal sweep at the world championships last year, but defending Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia will be a major factor. NBC live at 4:25p.m.
Jessica Ennis of Great Britain is the favorite in the women's heptathlon which will be contested throughout Friday and Saturday. Friday's events are the 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200 meters. (NBC)
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Predictions - Track & Field
Men's 100 Meters
Gold: Yohan Blake, JAM
Silver: Tyson Gay, USA
Bronze: Usain Bolt, JAM
Lightning may not strike twice, Bolt may still have a mental block about his false start last year.
Men's 200 Meters
Gold: Usain Bolt, JAM
Silver: Yohan, Blake, JAM
Bronze: Wallace Spearmon, USA
Men's 400 Meters
Gold: Kirani James, GRN
Silver: LaShawn Merritt, USA
Bronze: Kevin Borlee, BEL
Grenada has never won an Olympic medal, Merritt may be injured, Borlee will battle his twin brother Jonathan.
Men's 800 Meters
Gold: David Rudisha, KEN
Silver: Abubaker Kaki, SUD
Bronze: Nick Symmonds, USA
Rudisha should dominate; strange things seem to happen to Kaki at major meets.
Men's 1500 Meters
Gold: Asbel Kiprop, KEN
Silver: Nixon Chepseba, KEN
Bronze: Silas Kipligat, KEN
Expect team tactics from the Kenyans, Kirpop looks to joing Seb Coe as the only repeat winner.
Men's 5000 Meters
Gold: Mo Farah, GBR
Silver: Bernard Lagat, USA
Bronze: Dejan Gebremeskel, ETH
Does the 37 year old Lagat have the kick to win and beat the hometown favorite?
Men's 10000 Meters
Gold: Mo Farah, GBR
Silver: Kenenisa Bekele, ETH
Bronze: Galen Rupp, USA
Farah could supplant a legend; no American has won a medal since Billy Mills in 1964.
Men's Marathon
Gold: Wilson Kipsang, KEN
Silver: Abel Kirui, KEN
Bronze: Emmanuel Mutai, KEN
No country has ever swept the medals.
Men's 110 Hurdles
Gold: Aries Merritt, USA
Silver: Liu Xiang, CHN
Bronze: Dayron Robles, CUB
Merritt has been consistently running under 13 seconds, Liu is nursing a back injury. Jason Richardson of the U.S. is the world champion, he will be in the final and should contend.
Men's 400 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Javier Culson, PUR
Silver: Dai Greene, GBR
Bronze: Angelo Taylor, USA
Puerto Rico has never won a gold medal.
Men's 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Gold: Ezekiel Kemboi, KEN
Silver: Brimin Kipruto, KEN
Bronze: Abel Mutai, KEN
Kenyans have won every Olympics they have attended since 1968.
Men's 4x100 Meter Relay
Gold: Jamaica
Silver: United States
Bronze: Trinidad & Tobago
The Jamaicans could break their own world record. The U.S. has a recent history of passing mishaps.
Men's 4x400 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Great Britain
Bronze: Belgium
Should be another easy win for the U.S. Silver and bronze are wide open.
Men's 20 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Valeriy Borchin, RUS
Silver: Zhen Wang, CHN
Bronze: Andrey Krivov, RUS
Men's 50 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Yohann Diniz, FRA
Silver: Alex Schwarzer, ITA
Bronze: Jared Tallent, AUS
Men's Long Jump
Gold: Mitchell Watt, AUS
Silver: Greg Rutherford, GBR
Bronze: Chris Tomlinson, GBR
Athens gold medalist and four-time world champion Dwight Phillips was injured and unable to compete at the U.S. Trials.
Men's High Jump
Gold: Jesse Williams, USA
Silver: Andrey Silnov, RUS
Bronze: Robbie Grabarcz, GBR
Woerld champion Williams finished fourth at Olympic Trials, but only two of the top three had an Olympic qualifier.
Men's Triple Jump
Gold: Christian Taylor, USA
Silver: Will Claye, USA
Bronze: Daniele Greco, ITA
The two young Americans have had a meteoric rise over the last year. Britain's Philips Idowu has been reportedly injured and very close-lipped about it.
Men's Pole Vault
Gold: Renaud Lavillenie, FRA
Silver: Bjorn Otto, GER
Bronze: Brad Walker, USA
Walker did not clear a height in Beijing.
Men's Shot Put
Gold: Reese Hoffa, USA
Silver: Dylan Armstrong, CAN
Bronze: Ryan Whiting, USA
The Americans are always favored to win, haven't captured gold since Randy Barnes in 1996, but have taken every silver since Michael Carter in 1984.
Men's Discus Throw
Gold: Robert Harting, GER
Silver: Virgilijus Alekna, LTU
Bronze: Ehsan Hadidi, IRI
Gold in Sydney and Athens, bronze in Beijing, Alekna is looking for a fourth straight medal.
Men's Javelin Throw
Gold: Vltezslav Vesely, CZE
Silver: Andreas Thorkildsen, NOR
Bronze: Oleksandr Pyatnytsya, UKR
Defending champion Thorkildsen is somewhat off his usual form this season.
Men's Hammer Throw
Gold: Krisztian Pars, HUN
Silver: Ivan Tikhon, BLR
Bronze: Pawel Fajdek, POL
Silver and bronze in the last two Olympics, three-time world champion Tikhon looks to complete the medal set.
Decathlon
Gold: Ashton Eaton, USA
Silver: Trey Hardee, USA
Bronze: Leonel Suarez, CUB
Eaton set the world record at the Olympic Trials on his hometown track.
Women's 100 Meters
Gold: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, JAM
Silver: Carmelita Jeter, USA
Bronze: Tianna Madison, USA
Fraser-Pryce could join Wyomia Tyus and Gail Devers as the only repeat winners.
Women's 200 Meters
Gold: Allyson Felix, USA
Silver: Veronica Campbell-Brown, JAM
Bronze: Carmelita Jeter, USA
Campbell-Brown won gold and Felix silver in 2004 and 2008.
Women's 400 Meters
Gold: Sanya Richards-Ross, USA
Silver: Amantle Montsho, BOT
Bronze: Antonina Krivoshapka, RUS
Botswana has never won an Olympic medal.
Women's 800 Meters
Gold: Pamela Jelimo, KEN
Silver: Caster Semenya, RSA
Bronze: Alysia Montano, USA
Expect all the medal contenders to push the pace.
Women's 1500 Meters
Gold: Morgan Uceny, USA
Silver: Abeba Aregawi, ETH
Bronze: Asli Cakir, TUR
Cakir served a two-year doping ban from 2004-2006 and has recently shown her best form.
Women's 5000 Meters
Gold: Vivian Cheruiyot, KEN
Silver: Meseret Defar, ETH
Bronze: Sally Kipyego, KEN
Cheruiyot won both the 5000 and 10000 meters at lasyt year's world championships and she was the Track & Field News athlete of the year.
Women's 10000 Meters
Gold: Tirunesh Dibaba, ETH
Silver: Vivian Cheruiyot, KEN
Bronze: Sally Kipyego, KEN
Dibaba is the Olympic champ, Cheruiyot the world champ.
Women's Marathon
Gold: Mary Keitany, KEN
Silver: Edna Kiplagat, KEN
Bronze: Shalene Flanagan, USA
World record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain withdrew with a foot injury.
Women's 100 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Sally Pearson, AUS
Silver: Dawn Harper, USA
Bronze: Kellie Wells, USA
Sentimental favorite Lolo Jones has a tall task ahead of her, third at the trials she has two teammates and the world champion Pearson to beat.
Women's 400 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Lashinda Demus, USA
Silver: Melaine Walker, USA
Bronze: Perri Shakes-Drayton, GBR
World champion Demus missed Beijing after having a child.
Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Gold: Yuliya Zaripova, RUS
Silver: Milcah Chemos, KEN
Bronze: Habiba Boudraa, TUN
Zaripova easily won the world championships.
Women's 4x100 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Jamaica
Bronze: Trinidad & Tobago
This will highlight the U.S./Jamaica rivalry.
Women's 4x400 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Jamaica
Expect the U.S. to have a fairly easy time as usual.
Women's 20 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Olga Kaniskina, RUS
Silver: Yelena Lashmanova, RUS
Bronze: Hong Liu, CHN
Women's Long Jump
Gold: Brittney Reese, USA
Silver: Nastassia Ivanova, RUS
Bronze: Shara Proctor, GBR
Reese has won every world championship, indoors and out, since Beijing.
Women's High Jump
Gold: Anna Chicherova, RUS
Silver: Chaunte Lowe, USA
Bronze: Svetlana Shkolina, RUS
Three time world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia is out due to injury.
Women's Triple Jump
Gold: Olha Saladuha, UKR
Silver: Olga Rypakova, KAZ
Bronze: Caterina Ibarguen, COL
Women's Pole Vault
Gold: Yelena Isinbaeva, RUS
Silver: Jenn Suhr, USA
Bronze: Holly Bleasdale, GBR
Isinbaeva and Suhr finished 1-2 in Beijing.
Women's Shot Put
Gold: Valerie Adams, NZL
Silver: Nadzeya Ostapchuk, BLR
Bronze: Jill Camarena-Williams, USA
Adams has won every major title since 2007. U.S. has not won a medal since 1964.
Women's Discus Throw
Gold: Sandra Perkovic, CRO
Silver: Nadine Muller, GER
Bronze: Darya Pishchalnikova, RUS
Defending champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton has shown her best form since 2008.
Women's Javelin Throw
Gold: Barbara Spotakova, CZE
Silver: Sunette Viljoen, RSA
Bronze: Mariya Abakhumova, RUS
Defending champion Spotakova is very consistent.
Women's Hammer Throw
Gold: Aksana Menkova, BLR
Silver: Betty Heidler, GER
Bronze: Tatyana Lysenko, RUS
Heptathlon
Gold: Jessica Ennis, GBR
Silver: Tatyana Chernova, RUS
Bronze: Kristina Savitskaya, RUS
Ennis's bid for the world championships came undone in the javelin.
Gold: Yohan Blake, JAM
Silver: Tyson Gay, USA
Bronze: Usain Bolt, JAM
Lightning may not strike twice, Bolt may still have a mental block about his false start last year.
Men's 200 Meters
Gold: Usain Bolt, JAM
Silver: Yohan, Blake, JAM
Bronze: Wallace Spearmon, USA
Men's 400 Meters
Gold: Kirani James, GRN
Silver: LaShawn Merritt, USA
Bronze: Kevin Borlee, BEL
Grenada has never won an Olympic medal, Merritt may be injured, Borlee will battle his twin brother Jonathan.
Men's 800 Meters
Gold: David Rudisha, KEN
Silver: Abubaker Kaki, SUD
Bronze: Nick Symmonds, USA
Rudisha should dominate; strange things seem to happen to Kaki at major meets.
Men's 1500 Meters
Gold: Asbel Kiprop, KEN
Silver: Nixon Chepseba, KEN
Bronze: Silas Kipligat, KEN
Expect team tactics from the Kenyans, Kirpop looks to joing Seb Coe as the only repeat winner.
Men's 5000 Meters
Gold: Mo Farah, GBR
Silver: Bernard Lagat, USA
Bronze: Dejan Gebremeskel, ETH
Does the 37 year old Lagat have the kick to win and beat the hometown favorite?
Men's 10000 Meters
Gold: Mo Farah, GBR
Silver: Kenenisa Bekele, ETH
Bronze: Galen Rupp, USA
Farah could supplant a legend; no American has won a medal since Billy Mills in 1964.
Men's Marathon
Gold: Wilson Kipsang, KEN
Silver: Abel Kirui, KEN
Bronze: Emmanuel Mutai, KEN
No country has ever swept the medals.
Men's 110 Hurdles
Gold: Aries Merritt, USA
Silver: Liu Xiang, CHN
Bronze: Dayron Robles, CUB
Merritt has been consistently running under 13 seconds, Liu is nursing a back injury. Jason Richardson of the U.S. is the world champion, he will be in the final and should contend.
Men's 400 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Javier Culson, PUR
Silver: Dai Greene, GBR
Bronze: Angelo Taylor, USA
Puerto Rico has never won a gold medal.
Men's 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Gold: Ezekiel Kemboi, KEN
Silver: Brimin Kipruto, KEN
Bronze: Abel Mutai, KEN
Kenyans have won every Olympics they have attended since 1968.
Men's 4x100 Meter Relay
Gold: Jamaica
Silver: United States
Bronze: Trinidad & Tobago
The Jamaicans could break their own world record. The U.S. has a recent history of passing mishaps.
Men's 4x400 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Great Britain
Bronze: Belgium
Should be another easy win for the U.S. Silver and bronze are wide open.
Men's 20 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Valeriy Borchin, RUS
Silver: Zhen Wang, CHN
Bronze: Andrey Krivov, RUS
Men's 50 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Yohann Diniz, FRA
Silver: Alex Schwarzer, ITA
Bronze: Jared Tallent, AUS
Men's Long Jump
Gold: Mitchell Watt, AUS
Silver: Greg Rutherford, GBR
Bronze: Chris Tomlinson, GBR
Athens gold medalist and four-time world champion Dwight Phillips was injured and unable to compete at the U.S. Trials.
Men's High Jump
Gold: Jesse Williams, USA
Silver: Andrey Silnov, RUS
Bronze: Robbie Grabarcz, GBR
Woerld champion Williams finished fourth at Olympic Trials, but only two of the top three had an Olympic qualifier.
Men's Triple Jump
Gold: Christian Taylor, USA
Silver: Will Claye, USA
Bronze: Daniele Greco, ITA
The two young Americans have had a meteoric rise over the last year. Britain's Philips Idowu has been reportedly injured and very close-lipped about it.
Men's Pole Vault
Gold: Renaud Lavillenie, FRA
Silver: Bjorn Otto, GER
Bronze: Brad Walker, USA
Walker did not clear a height in Beijing.
Men's Shot Put
Gold: Reese Hoffa, USA
Silver: Dylan Armstrong, CAN
Bronze: Ryan Whiting, USA
The Americans are always favored to win, haven't captured gold since Randy Barnes in 1996, but have taken every silver since Michael Carter in 1984.
Men's Discus Throw
Gold: Robert Harting, GER
Silver: Virgilijus Alekna, LTU
Bronze: Ehsan Hadidi, IRI
Gold in Sydney and Athens, bronze in Beijing, Alekna is looking for a fourth straight medal.
Men's Javelin Throw
Gold: Vltezslav Vesely, CZE
Silver: Andreas Thorkildsen, NOR
Bronze: Oleksandr Pyatnytsya, UKR
Defending champion Thorkildsen is somewhat off his usual form this season.
Men's Hammer Throw
Gold: Krisztian Pars, HUN
Silver: Ivan Tikhon, BLR
Bronze: Pawel Fajdek, POL
Silver and bronze in the last two Olympics, three-time world champion Tikhon looks to complete the medal set.
Decathlon
Gold: Ashton Eaton, USA
Silver: Trey Hardee, USA
Bronze: Leonel Suarez, CUB
Eaton set the world record at the Olympic Trials on his hometown track.
Women's 100 Meters
Gold: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, JAM
Silver: Carmelita Jeter, USA
Bronze: Tianna Madison, USA
Fraser-Pryce could join Wyomia Tyus and Gail Devers as the only repeat winners.
Women's 200 Meters
Gold: Allyson Felix, USA
Silver: Veronica Campbell-Brown, JAM
Bronze: Carmelita Jeter, USA
Campbell-Brown won gold and Felix silver in 2004 and 2008.
Women's 400 Meters
Gold: Sanya Richards-Ross, USA
Silver: Amantle Montsho, BOT
Bronze: Antonina Krivoshapka, RUS
Botswana has never won an Olympic medal.
Women's 800 Meters
Gold: Pamela Jelimo, KEN
Silver: Caster Semenya, RSA
Bronze: Alysia Montano, USA
Expect all the medal contenders to push the pace.
Women's 1500 Meters
Gold: Morgan Uceny, USA
Silver: Abeba Aregawi, ETH
Bronze: Asli Cakir, TUR
Cakir served a two-year doping ban from 2004-2006 and has recently shown her best form.
Women's 5000 Meters
Gold: Vivian Cheruiyot, KEN
Silver: Meseret Defar, ETH
Bronze: Sally Kipyego, KEN
Cheruiyot won both the 5000 and 10000 meters at lasyt year's world championships and she was the Track & Field News athlete of the year.
Women's 10000 Meters
Gold: Tirunesh Dibaba, ETH
Silver: Vivian Cheruiyot, KEN
Bronze: Sally Kipyego, KEN
Dibaba is the Olympic champ, Cheruiyot the world champ.
Women's Marathon
Gold: Mary Keitany, KEN
Silver: Edna Kiplagat, KEN
Bronze: Shalene Flanagan, USA
World record holder Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain withdrew with a foot injury.
Women's 100 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Sally Pearson, AUS
Silver: Dawn Harper, USA
Bronze: Kellie Wells, USA
Sentimental favorite Lolo Jones has a tall task ahead of her, third at the trials she has two teammates and the world champion Pearson to beat.
Women's 400 Meter Hurdles
Gold: Lashinda Demus, USA
Silver: Melaine Walker, USA
Bronze: Perri Shakes-Drayton, GBR
World champion Demus missed Beijing after having a child.
Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase
Gold: Yuliya Zaripova, RUS
Silver: Milcah Chemos, KEN
Bronze: Habiba Boudraa, TUN
Zaripova easily won the world championships.
Women's 4x100 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Jamaica
Bronze: Trinidad & Tobago
This will highlight the U.S./Jamaica rivalry.
Women's 4x400 Meter Relay
Gold: United States
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Jamaica
Expect the U.S. to have a fairly easy time as usual.
Women's 20 Kilometer Walk
Gold: Olga Kaniskina, RUS
Silver: Yelena Lashmanova, RUS
Bronze: Hong Liu, CHN
Women's Long Jump
Gold: Brittney Reese, USA
Silver: Nastassia Ivanova, RUS
Bronze: Shara Proctor, GBR
Reese has won every world championship, indoors and out, since Beijing.
Women's High Jump
Gold: Anna Chicherova, RUS
Silver: Chaunte Lowe, USA
Bronze: Svetlana Shkolina, RUS
Three time world champion Blanka Vlasic of Croatia is out due to injury.
Women's Triple Jump
Gold: Olha Saladuha, UKR
Silver: Olga Rypakova, KAZ
Bronze: Caterina Ibarguen, COL
Women's Pole Vault
Gold: Yelena Isinbaeva, RUS
Silver: Jenn Suhr, USA
Bronze: Holly Bleasdale, GBR
Isinbaeva and Suhr finished 1-2 in Beijing.
Women's Shot Put
Gold: Valerie Adams, NZL
Silver: Nadzeya Ostapchuk, BLR
Bronze: Jill Camarena-Williams, USA
Adams has won every major title since 2007. U.S. has not won a medal since 1964.
Women's Discus Throw
Gold: Sandra Perkovic, CRO
Silver: Nadine Muller, GER
Bronze: Darya Pishchalnikova, RUS
Defending champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton has shown her best form since 2008.
Women's Javelin Throw
Gold: Barbara Spotakova, CZE
Silver: Sunette Viljoen, RSA
Bronze: Mariya Abakhumova, RUS
Defending champion Spotakova is very consistent.
Women's Hammer Throw
Gold: Aksana Menkova, BLR
Silver: Betty Heidler, GER
Bronze: Tatyana Lysenko, RUS
Heptathlon
Gold: Jessica Ennis, GBR
Silver: Tatyana Chernova, RUS
Bronze: Kristina Savitskaya, RUS
Ennis's bid for the world championships came undone in the javelin.
What to Watch - Thursday 8/2
Gold - Gymnastics - Women's All-Around - 11:30a.m. (NBC Prime Time). After winning the team event, Americans Gabby Douglas and Aly Reismann hope to add individual gold. They should battle Russians Aliya Mustafina and Viktoria Komova. China''s Deng Linlin and the 2006 world all-around champion Vanessa Ferrari of Italy are also in the top group. If NBC's coverage of the women's all-around is anywhere near as horrible as the men's all-around on Wednesday, it will be a must event to watch live online.
Silver - Swimming - Women's 200 Meter Breaststroke - 2:40p.m.; Men's 200 Meter Backstroke - 2:48a.m.; Men's 200 Meter Individual Medley - 3:19a.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Three Americans are looking to defend 2008 gold medals. Rebecca Soni set a world record in the semifinals on Wednesday and looks to be the class of the field. Ryan Lochte defends his title in the 200 backstroke and then will be right back in the pool to try to keep Michael Phelps from winning a third straight gold in the 200 meter individual medley. The 200 IM was the event of the meet at the 2011 world championships as Lochte and Phelps battled the whole way with Lochte setting a new world record. Both men have looked vulnerable in these Olympics and perhaps Laszlo Cseh could finally win gold after three silvers to Phelps in three different events in his career. 400 IM silver medalist Thiago Pereira of Brazil and 200 butterfly champion Chad LeClos of South Africa are also in the field as is Brit James Goddard.
Bronze - Cycling - Men's and Women's Team Sprint - 12:59p.m. (NBC) - Great Britain targeted cycling as a sport that could lead to medals, so after a lot of funds were devoted to the sport, the action on the velodrome (cycling arena) begins on Thursday. Sir Chris Hoy won three golds in Beijing and was the British flagbearer at the opening ceremony, he leads a very strong team on the men's side. Victoria Pendleton, a 9-time world champion and Beijing gold medalist, teams with Jessica Varnish as they look to defeat the favored Australians. Track cycling will receive a lot of focus from the British, they aim for at least half a dozen gold medals over the next week.
Also:
U.S. men's basketball faces Nigeria (5:15p.m. NBCSN)
American beach volleyball duo April Ross and Jenn Kessy, the 2009 world champions, are in action against Spain (11:30a.m. NBC)
Defending champs Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are back on the beach against the Czechs as pool play ends today (4:00p.m. NBC)
The U.S. men's volleyball team has a tough test if they hope to remain undefeated as they take on Brazil (3:00 p.m. NBC Prime Time)
Silver - Swimming - Women's 200 Meter Breaststroke - 2:40p.m.; Men's 200 Meter Backstroke - 2:48a.m.; Men's 200 Meter Individual Medley - 3:19a.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Three Americans are looking to defend 2008 gold medals. Rebecca Soni set a world record in the semifinals on Wednesday and looks to be the class of the field. Ryan Lochte defends his title in the 200 backstroke and then will be right back in the pool to try to keep Michael Phelps from winning a third straight gold in the 200 meter individual medley. The 200 IM was the event of the meet at the 2011 world championships as Lochte and Phelps battled the whole way with Lochte setting a new world record. Both men have looked vulnerable in these Olympics and perhaps Laszlo Cseh could finally win gold after three silvers to Phelps in three different events in his career. 400 IM silver medalist Thiago Pereira of Brazil and 200 butterfly champion Chad LeClos of South Africa are also in the field as is Brit James Goddard.
Bronze - Cycling - Men's and Women's Team Sprint - 12:59p.m. (NBC) - Great Britain targeted cycling as a sport that could lead to medals, so after a lot of funds were devoted to the sport, the action on the velodrome (cycling arena) begins on Thursday. Sir Chris Hoy won three golds in Beijing and was the British flagbearer at the opening ceremony, he leads a very strong team on the men's side. Victoria Pendleton, a 9-time world champion and Beijing gold medalist, teams with Jessica Varnish as they look to defeat the favored Australians. Track cycling will receive a lot of focus from the British, they aim for at least half a dozen gold medals over the next week.
Also:
U.S. men's basketball faces Nigeria (5:15p.m. NBCSN)
American beach volleyball duo April Ross and Jenn Kessy, the 2009 world champions, are in action against Spain (11:30a.m. NBC)
Defending champs Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser are back on the beach against the Czechs as pool play ends today (4:00p.m. NBC)
The U.S. men's volleyball team has a tough test if they hope to remain undefeated as they take on Brazil (3:00 p.m. NBC Prime Time)
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
What to Watch - Wednesday 8/1
Gold: Cycling - Men's Road Time Trial - 9:30a.m. (NBCSN) After four days, Great Britain is still looking for their first gold medal of the Games. Bradley Wiggins, who became the first Brit to win the Tour de France this year, starts as the favorite in the men's individual time trial on the road. Wiggins will be challenged by defending champion Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland and Tony Martin of Germany. Look for the younger American, Taylor Phinney who finished fourth in the road race, to be a dark horse.
Silver: Fencing - Women's Individual Sabre - 3:30p.m. (MSNBC) American flag bearer Mariel Zagunis led an American medal sweep in Beijing after becoming the first American in a century to win fencing gold with her victory in Athens. With a gold medal, Zagunis would join John Flanagan, Al Oerter and Carl Lewis as only the fourth American, and first woman, to win the same individual event in three consecutive Olympics.
Bronze - Gymnastics - Men's All-Around - 11:30a.m. (NBC Prime Time) Koehi Uchimuru has won the last three world championships, and many feel that a gold in London would confirm him as the greatest male gymnast of all time. He was very shaky in the team event, only qualifying in ninth place. Danell Leyva of the United States was the top qualifier and John Orozco was fourth. David Belyavskiy or Russia, Fabien Hambuchen of Germany and hometown favorite Kristian Thomas were the other qualifiers in the top five. Oddly, no Chinese gymnast qualified for the all-around. Guo Weiyang was the only one who entered all four events in qualifying and he finished one place shy of a spot in the all-around finals, although a withdrawl from anyone in the top 24 could put him in the event.
Also:
U.S. women's water polo at 1:30p.m. against Spain (NBC)
The British soccer team looks to move through to the quarterfinals as they take on Uruguay at 3:00p.m. (NBCSN)
U.S. women's volleyball looks to remain undefeated against China at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
The men's eight in rowing will have the gold medal final, as the U.S. team looked surprisingly good in their heat.
Silver: Fencing - Women's Individual Sabre - 3:30p.m. (MSNBC) American flag bearer Mariel Zagunis led an American medal sweep in Beijing after becoming the first American in a century to win fencing gold with her victory in Athens. With a gold medal, Zagunis would join John Flanagan, Al Oerter and Carl Lewis as only the fourth American, and first woman, to win the same individual event in three consecutive Olympics.
Bronze - Gymnastics - Men's All-Around - 11:30a.m. (NBC Prime Time) Koehi Uchimuru has won the last three world championships, and many feel that a gold in London would confirm him as the greatest male gymnast of all time. He was very shaky in the team event, only qualifying in ninth place. Danell Leyva of the United States was the top qualifier and John Orozco was fourth. David Belyavskiy or Russia, Fabien Hambuchen of Germany and hometown favorite Kristian Thomas were the other qualifiers in the top five. Oddly, no Chinese gymnast qualified for the all-around. Guo Weiyang was the only one who entered all four events in qualifying and he finished one place shy of a spot in the all-around finals, although a withdrawl from anyone in the top 24 could put him in the event.
Also:
U.S. women's water polo at 1:30p.m. against Spain (NBC)
The British soccer team looks to move through to the quarterfinals as they take on Uruguay at 3:00p.m. (NBCSN)
U.S. women's volleyball looks to remain undefeated against China at 3:00p.m. (NBC)
The men's eight in rowing will have the gold medal final, as the U.S. team looked surprisingly good in their heat.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Predictions - Tennis, Mixed Doubles
The sixteen mixed doubles teams were announced today, the event begins tomorrow
Mixed Doubles
Gold: Victoria Azarenka & Max Mirinyi, BLR
Silver: Liezel Huber & Bob Bryan, USA
Bronze: Lisa Raymond & Mike Bryan, USA
The Bryan brothers could face each other for a medal.
Mixed Doubles
Gold: Victoria Azarenka & Max Mirinyi, BLR
Silver: Liezel Huber & Bob Bryan, USA
Bronze: Lisa Raymond & Mike Bryan, USA
The Bryan brothers could face each other for a medal.
What to Watch - Tuesday 7/31
Gold: Gymnastics - Women's Team Final - 11:30 a.m. (NBC Prime Time) The Americans garnered the nickname "The Fab Five" even before the Olympics began. Tonight they can back it up. Very solid in qualifying, the United States enter the final as favorites over Russia. The United States finished about 1.4 points ahead Russia, with the vast majority of the advantage coming in the vault. Jordyn Wieber will have to overcome the disappointment of not qualifying for the all-around. Hopefully NBC will do a better job of covering this event than they did the men's final on Monday. Expect them to have a ton of features on the American team as well as musical montages.
Silver: Swimming - Men's 200 Meter Butterfly - 2:49 p.m. (NBC Prime Time) Michael Phelps enters the pool in his best event. No man has won the same swimming event at three consecutive Olympics, Phelps could accomplish the feat here. He looked strong at the finish of his semifinal on Monday. Phelps currently owns 17 Olympic medals, one shy of the record held by Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina. He will have another medal shot team with Ryan Lochte on the 4x200 meter freestyle relay at 3:51p.m. Note: two men were prevented from winning three golds in a row by political reasons. Duke Kahanamoku won the gold in the 100 meter freestyle in 1912 and repeated in 1920 as the 1916 Olympics were cancelled by the First World War. Vladimir Salnikov of the Soviet Union won the 1500 meter in 1980 and 1988, but the Soviets boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Bronze: Equestrian - Individual Three Day Event - 9:30 a.m. (NBCSN) The standings were incredibly close after the endurance phase on Monday, with over a dozen riders within one penalty of the leader. Mark Todd of New Zealand, the Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988 was in third place.
Also:
USA men's basketball vs. Tunisia 5:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Beach Volleyball - Todd Rogers & Phil Dalhausser vs. Spain 4:00 p.m. (NBC); April Ross & Jen Kessy vs. the Netherlands 6:00 p.m.
Canoeing - Whitewater men's c-1 10:06 a.m. (NBC)
Diving - women's synchronized platform. The U.S. did not qualify a team, China looking to go three for three.
Field Hockey - the U.S. women take on world #1 Argentina in a rematch of the Pan Am Games final which the Americans won last year. 2:00 p.m. (MSNBC)
Soccer - U.S. women vs. North Korea 12:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Silver: Swimming - Men's 200 Meter Butterfly - 2:49 p.m. (NBC Prime Time) Michael Phelps enters the pool in his best event. No man has won the same swimming event at three consecutive Olympics, Phelps could accomplish the feat here. He looked strong at the finish of his semifinal on Monday. Phelps currently owns 17 Olympic medals, one shy of the record held by Soviet gymnast Larysa Latynina. He will have another medal shot team with Ryan Lochte on the 4x200 meter freestyle relay at 3:51p.m. Note: two men were prevented from winning three golds in a row by political reasons. Duke Kahanamoku won the gold in the 100 meter freestyle in 1912 and repeated in 1920 as the 1916 Olympics were cancelled by the First World War. Vladimir Salnikov of the Soviet Union won the 1500 meter in 1980 and 1988, but the Soviets boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Bronze: Equestrian - Individual Three Day Event - 9:30 a.m. (NBCSN) The standings were incredibly close after the endurance phase on Monday, with over a dozen riders within one penalty of the leader. Mark Todd of New Zealand, the Olympic champion in 1984 and 1988 was in third place.
Also:
USA men's basketball vs. Tunisia 5:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Beach Volleyball - Todd Rogers & Phil Dalhausser vs. Spain 4:00 p.m. (NBC); April Ross & Jen Kessy vs. the Netherlands 6:00 p.m.
Canoeing - Whitewater men's c-1 10:06 a.m. (NBC)
Diving - women's synchronized platform. The U.S. did not qualify a team, China looking to go three for three.
Field Hockey - the U.S. women take on world #1 Argentina in a rematch of the Pan Am Games final which the Americans won last year. 2:00 p.m. (MSNBC)
Soccer - U.S. women vs. North Korea 12:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Monday, July 30, 2012
Predictions - Wrestling
Wrestling hasn't started yet, so here is my penultimate sport to predict:
Men's 55kg Freestyle
Gold: Viktor Lebedev, RUS
Silver: Radoslav Velikov, BUL
Bronze: Daulet Niyazbekov, KAZ & Yang Kyong-Il, KOR
Men's 60kg Freestyle
Gold: Besik Kudukhov, RUS
Silver: Vasyl Fedoryshyn, UKR
Bronze: Dauren Zhumagaziyev, KAZ & Franklin Gomez, PUR
Men's 66kg Freestyle
Gold: Mehdi Taghavi, IRI
Silver: Jabrayil Hasanov, AZE
Bronze: Sushil Kumar, IND & Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, JPN
Men's 74kg Freestyle
Gold: Sadegh Goudarzi, IRI
Silver: Jordan Burroughs, USA
Bronze: Ashraf Aliyev, AZE & Davit Khutsishvili, GEO
Men's 84kg Freestyle
Gold: Sharif Sharifov, AZE
Silver: Ibragim Aldatov, UKR
Bronze: Zaurbek Sokhiev, UZB & Albert Saritov, RUS
Men's 96kg Freestyle
Gold: Reza Yazdani, IRI
Silver: Abdusalam Gadisov, RUS
Bronze: Khetag Gazyumov, AZE & Serhat Balci, TUR
Men's 120kg Freestyle
Gold: Bilyal Makhov, RUS
Silver: Aleksey Shemarov, BLR
Bronze: Jamaladdin Magomedov, AZE & Tervel Diagnev, USA
Men's 55kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Rovshan Bayramov, AZE
Silver: Hamid Sourian, IRI
Bronze: Bekkhan Mankiev, RUS & Elbek Tazhyieu, BLR
Men's 60kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Omid Norouzi, IRI
Silver: Almat Kebispayev, KAZ
Bronze: Zaur Kuramagomedov, RUS & Ivo Angelov, BUL
Men's 66kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Saeid Abdevali, IRI
Silver: Manuchar Tskhadaia, GEO
Bronze: Pedro Mulens, CUB & Kim Hyeon-Woo, KOR
Men's 74kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Selcuk Cebi, TUR
Silver: Roman Vlasov, RUS
Bronze: Arsen Julfalakyan, ARM & Daniar Kobonov, KGZ
Men's 84kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Alim Selimau, BLR
Silver: Damian Janikowski, POL
Bronze: Hristo Marinov, BUL & Pablo Shorey, CUB
Men's 96kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Jimmy Lidberg, SWE
Silver: Elis Guri, BUL
Bronze: Rustam Totrov, RUS & Ghasem Rezaei, IRI
Men's 120kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Miljan Lopez, CUB
Silver: Riza Kayaalp, TUR
Bronze: Bashir Babajanzadeh, IRI & Dremiel Byers, USA
Women's 48kg
Gold: Hitomi Sakamoto, JPN
Silver: Mariya Stadnik, AZE
Bronze: Zhao Shasha, CHN & Carol Huynh, CAN
Women's 55kg
Gold: Saori Yoshida, JPN
Silver: Yuliya Ratkevich, AZE
Bronze: Tonya Verbeek, CAN & Ida-Theres Nerell, SWE
Women's 63kg
Gold: Kaori Icho, JPN
Silver: Lubov Volosova, RUS
Bronze: Hanna Johansson, SWE & Jing Ruixue, CHN
Women's 72kg
Gold: Stanka Zlateva, BUL
Silver: Ekaterina Bukina, RUS
Bronze: Ali Bernard, USA & Vasilisa Marzaliuk, BLR
Men's 55kg Freestyle
Gold: Viktor Lebedev, RUS
Silver: Radoslav Velikov, BUL
Bronze: Daulet Niyazbekov, KAZ & Yang Kyong-Il, KOR
Men's 60kg Freestyle
Gold: Besik Kudukhov, RUS
Silver: Vasyl Fedoryshyn, UKR
Bronze: Dauren Zhumagaziyev, KAZ & Franklin Gomez, PUR
Men's 66kg Freestyle
Gold: Mehdi Taghavi, IRI
Silver: Jabrayil Hasanov, AZE
Bronze: Sushil Kumar, IND & Tatsuhiro Yonemitsu, JPN
Men's 74kg Freestyle
Gold: Sadegh Goudarzi, IRI
Silver: Jordan Burroughs, USA
Bronze: Ashraf Aliyev, AZE & Davit Khutsishvili, GEO
Men's 84kg Freestyle
Gold: Sharif Sharifov, AZE
Silver: Ibragim Aldatov, UKR
Bronze: Zaurbek Sokhiev, UZB & Albert Saritov, RUS
Men's 96kg Freestyle
Gold: Reza Yazdani, IRI
Silver: Abdusalam Gadisov, RUS
Bronze: Khetag Gazyumov, AZE & Serhat Balci, TUR
Men's 120kg Freestyle
Gold: Bilyal Makhov, RUS
Silver: Aleksey Shemarov, BLR
Bronze: Jamaladdin Magomedov, AZE & Tervel Diagnev, USA
Men's 55kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Rovshan Bayramov, AZE
Silver: Hamid Sourian, IRI
Bronze: Bekkhan Mankiev, RUS & Elbek Tazhyieu, BLR
Men's 60kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Omid Norouzi, IRI
Silver: Almat Kebispayev, KAZ
Bronze: Zaur Kuramagomedov, RUS & Ivo Angelov, BUL
Men's 66kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Saeid Abdevali, IRI
Silver: Manuchar Tskhadaia, GEO
Bronze: Pedro Mulens, CUB & Kim Hyeon-Woo, KOR
Men's 74kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Selcuk Cebi, TUR
Silver: Roman Vlasov, RUS
Bronze: Arsen Julfalakyan, ARM & Daniar Kobonov, KGZ
Men's 84kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Alim Selimau, BLR
Silver: Damian Janikowski, POL
Bronze: Hristo Marinov, BUL & Pablo Shorey, CUB
Men's 96kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Jimmy Lidberg, SWE
Silver: Elis Guri, BUL
Bronze: Rustam Totrov, RUS & Ghasem Rezaei, IRI
Men's 120kg Greco-Roman
Gold: Miljan Lopez, CUB
Silver: Riza Kayaalp, TUR
Bronze: Bashir Babajanzadeh, IRI & Dremiel Byers, USA
Women's 48kg
Gold: Hitomi Sakamoto, JPN
Silver: Mariya Stadnik, AZE
Bronze: Zhao Shasha, CHN & Carol Huynh, CAN
Women's 55kg
Gold: Saori Yoshida, JPN
Silver: Yuliya Ratkevich, AZE
Bronze: Tonya Verbeek, CAN & Ida-Theres Nerell, SWE
Women's 63kg
Gold: Kaori Icho, JPN
Silver: Lubov Volosova, RUS
Bronze: Hanna Johansson, SWE & Jing Ruixue, CHN
Women's 72kg
Gold: Stanka Zlateva, BUL
Silver: Ekaterina Bukina, RUS
Bronze: Ali Bernard, USA & Vasilisa Marzaliuk, BLR
The Jordyn Wieber thing
As the defending world all-around champion, Jordyn Wieber became one of the prominent American faces leading up to these Games. Wieber was expected to make a strong run to become the third consecutive American to capture the all-around gold medal. Thing is, people forgot to tell Ally Raisman. Wieber was a little shaky on some of her events, and while Gabby Douglas performed extraordinarily on the first three events, Raisman remained consistent and solid. When it all settled down after the American finished floor exercise, it turned out that Wieber, although fourth overall, was the third best American. Current rules state that the top 24 scorers in the all-around qualify, with a limit of two per nation. Is this fair?
Historically, gymnastics allowed all six members of each national team to qualify for both the all-around finals and each of the individual apparatus finals. In 1972, the all-around final was separated from the team event for the first time. Previously, the medals for the team and all-around events were decided from the compulsory and optional exercises and awarded on the same day. At Munich, there was an all-around final with 36 athletes competing, with no national quotas. The top 12 men included all six Japanese with three East Germans and three Soviets. The top eight women included five Soviets and thee East Germans. The individual apparatus finals took the top six qualifiers on each event. For the men, Japan took 22 of the 36 qualifying spots, the Soviets had 9, Klaus Koste of East Germany three and one each for Poland and Switzerland. To cap it off, the Japanese men took the top five places on the high bar.
For the 1976 Olympics, the individual apparatus finals had a national quota of two athletes, with three athletes maximum from each country in the all-around. In 1984, the apparatus finals expanded to eight gymnasts. These rules remained in place through the 2000 Olympics, with the quota reduced to two athletes in the all-around.
When the individual apparatus finals take place over the weekend, the athletes competing will be from a wide variety of countries. At the 2004 Olympics, gold medalists came from Canada, Greece, Spain, Ukraine and Italy. These countries did not have national teams that competed for medals. Since gymnastics has a team event and individual competitions, countries like the United States must field an entire team. A gymnast who is a specialist on the rings, the best in the world, he would have very little chance of making the U.S. team, being only able to contribute to one of the six events from the team score. However, if that same gymnast was from Togo, he could qualify for the Olympics to compete only on that event and take home a medal.
But to open up the perspective, all sports in the Olympics have national quotas. Otherwise, we could see a dozen Kenyan steeplechasers or almost the entire table tennis tournament consisting of Chinese. Track and field is limited to three athletes per event. Swimming used to have a national quota of three athletes, but after the United States men swept the medals in four events in Montreal and the East German women did the same at the 1980 Games, a quota of two swimmers was established. Tyler Clary was the silver medalist in the 400 meter individual medley behind Ryan Lochte at the world championships last year. When Michael Phelps decided to return to the event, Clary finished third at the trials and could not compete in an event where he was a definite medal contender. These quotas make the Olympic Trials such a compelling event.
Many sports have a quota of one athlete, such as boxing, wrestling, sailing, track cycling, rowing, judo and taekwondo. The International Olympic Commitee wants to see a broad representation of nations in each event. There are also continental quotas. That is why we have a women's soccer tournament with two lower ranked African nations, but the second ranked Germans are at home.
The quotas are in place for a reason, and the reasons took place at a time when sports such as gymnastics were dominated by a handful of countries. They took place long before Jordyn Wieber was born and reach across sports.
Historically, gymnastics allowed all six members of each national team to qualify for both the all-around finals and each of the individual apparatus finals. In 1972, the all-around final was separated from the team event for the first time. Previously, the medals for the team and all-around events were decided from the compulsory and optional exercises and awarded on the same day. At Munich, there was an all-around final with 36 athletes competing, with no national quotas. The top 12 men included all six Japanese with three East Germans and three Soviets. The top eight women included five Soviets and thee East Germans. The individual apparatus finals took the top six qualifiers on each event. For the men, Japan took 22 of the 36 qualifying spots, the Soviets had 9, Klaus Koste of East Germany three and one each for Poland and Switzerland. To cap it off, the Japanese men took the top five places on the high bar.
For the 1976 Olympics, the individual apparatus finals had a national quota of two athletes, with three athletes maximum from each country in the all-around. In 1984, the apparatus finals expanded to eight gymnasts. These rules remained in place through the 2000 Olympics, with the quota reduced to two athletes in the all-around.
When the individual apparatus finals take place over the weekend, the athletes competing will be from a wide variety of countries. At the 2004 Olympics, gold medalists came from Canada, Greece, Spain, Ukraine and Italy. These countries did not have national teams that competed for medals. Since gymnastics has a team event and individual competitions, countries like the United States must field an entire team. A gymnast who is a specialist on the rings, the best in the world, he would have very little chance of making the U.S. team, being only able to contribute to one of the six events from the team score. However, if that same gymnast was from Togo, he could qualify for the Olympics to compete only on that event and take home a medal.
But to open up the perspective, all sports in the Olympics have national quotas. Otherwise, we could see a dozen Kenyan steeplechasers or almost the entire table tennis tournament consisting of Chinese. Track and field is limited to three athletes per event. Swimming used to have a national quota of three athletes, but after the United States men swept the medals in four events in Montreal and the East German women did the same at the 1980 Games, a quota of two swimmers was established. Tyler Clary was the silver medalist in the 400 meter individual medley behind Ryan Lochte at the world championships last year. When Michael Phelps decided to return to the event, Clary finished third at the trials and could not compete in an event where he was a definite medal contender. These quotas make the Olympic Trials such a compelling event.
Many sports have a quota of one athlete, such as boxing, wrestling, sailing, track cycling, rowing, judo and taekwondo. The International Olympic Commitee wants to see a broad representation of nations in each event. There are also continental quotas. That is why we have a women's soccer tournament with two lower ranked African nations, but the second ranked Germans are at home.
The quotas are in place for a reason, and the reasons took place at a time when sports such as gymnastics were dominated by a handful of countries. They took place long before Jordyn Wieber was born and reach across sports.
What to Watch - Monday 7/30
The Olympics settle into the first weekday with gymnastics and swimming leading the way.
Gold: Gymnastics - Men's Team Final 11:30 a.m. (NBC Prime TIme) - The United States surprised everyone by leading team qualifying, with Danell Leyva leading the all-around. China and Japan were very shaky in qualifying with numerous big mistakes. Do the Americans have what it takes to capture the team gold? Bronx native John Orozco and double 2008 medalist Jonathan Horton will have to perform well. Also watch three-time world all-around champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan to rebound from his error-filled performances in qualifying.
Silver: Swimming - Men's 200 Meter Freestyle - 2:30 p.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Ryan Lochte is the defending world champion and looking to capture his second gold medal. The field is absolutely stacked as he will have to turn back no less than four strong challengers: 400 meter gold medalist Su Yang of China; Yannick Angel of France who has the world's fastest time in 2012 and anchored the French relay on Sunday, beating Lochte to win gold; Park Tae-Hwan of South Korea, the 2008 gold medalist at the 400 freestyle; and the world record holder and 2009 world champion Paul Biedermann of Germany.
Bronze: Volleyball - U.S. Women vs. Brazil - 11:45 a.m. (NBC) - It is early in the Games to pit the top two seeds, but that's what is on tap Monday. The Americans and Brazilians have been battling for supremacy over the last few years, with the Americans getting the upper hand more often than not, with the Americans winning the Grand Prix each of the last three seasons. American coach Hugh McCutcheon led the men to gold in Beijing and has turned the women into a world power. The Americans have a veteran squad with setter and captain Lindsay Berg in her third Olympics as is 6'7" Tayyiba Haneef-Park. Outside hitter Logan Tom is one of the best all-around players in the world and is playing in her fourth Olympics, and 39 year-old Danielle Scott-Arruda is in her fifth Games. However, the difference maker could well be Olympic rookie Destinee Hooker, a former NCAA high jump champion.
Also:
The American women's water polo team has never failed to medal at the Games, but they also have yet to capture gold. They begin play at 2:40 p.m. against Hungary (NBC).
British diver Tom Daley makes his London debut with partner Peter Waterfield in the platform synchronized event. The Chinese are the heavy favorites, Americans David Boudia and Nick McCrory should challenge for a medal as well. 10:00 a.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The U.S. women's basketball team is bakc on the court against Angola at 5:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Gold: Gymnastics - Men's Team Final 11:30 a.m. (NBC Prime TIme) - The United States surprised everyone by leading team qualifying, with Danell Leyva leading the all-around. China and Japan were very shaky in qualifying with numerous big mistakes. Do the Americans have what it takes to capture the team gold? Bronx native John Orozco and double 2008 medalist Jonathan Horton will have to perform well. Also watch three-time world all-around champion Kohei Uchimura of Japan to rebound from his error-filled performances in qualifying.
Silver: Swimming - Men's 200 Meter Freestyle - 2:30 p.m. (NBC Prime Time) - Ryan Lochte is the defending world champion and looking to capture his second gold medal. The field is absolutely stacked as he will have to turn back no less than four strong challengers: 400 meter gold medalist Su Yang of China; Yannick Angel of France who has the world's fastest time in 2012 and anchored the French relay on Sunday, beating Lochte to win gold; Park Tae-Hwan of South Korea, the 2008 gold medalist at the 400 freestyle; and the world record holder and 2009 world champion Paul Biedermann of Germany.
Bronze: Volleyball - U.S. Women vs. Brazil - 11:45 a.m. (NBC) - It is early in the Games to pit the top two seeds, but that's what is on tap Monday. The Americans and Brazilians have been battling for supremacy over the last few years, with the Americans getting the upper hand more often than not, with the Americans winning the Grand Prix each of the last three seasons. American coach Hugh McCutcheon led the men to gold in Beijing and has turned the women into a world power. The Americans have a veteran squad with setter and captain Lindsay Berg in her third Olympics as is 6'7" Tayyiba Haneef-Park. Outside hitter Logan Tom is one of the best all-around players in the world and is playing in her fourth Olympics, and 39 year-old Danielle Scott-Arruda is in her fifth Games. However, the difference maker could well be Olympic rookie Destinee Hooker, a former NCAA high jump champion.
Also:
The American women's water polo team has never failed to medal at the Games, but they also have yet to capture gold. They begin play at 2:40 p.m. against Hungary (NBC).
British diver Tom Daley makes his London debut with partner Peter Waterfield in the platform synchronized event. The Chinese are the heavy favorites, Americans David Boudia and Nick McCrory should challenge for a medal as well. 10:00 a.m. (NBC Prime Time)
The U.S. women's basketball team is bakc on the court against Angola at 5:15 p.m. (NBCSN)
Sunday, July 29, 2012
What to Watch - Sunday
Gold: Men's Basketball - USA v France - 9:30AM (NBCSN)
They may be compared to the Dream Team, 1992 Olympic champions, but the 2012 team hasn't won an Olympic game yet. France has six current NBA players, led by Tony Parker.
Silver: Swimming - Men's 4x100 Meter Freestyle Relay - 4:00PM (NBC Prime Time)
We expect Michael Phelps to be back in the pool, trying to return to the podium. The Americans will have their hands full with the Aussies who are led by James Magnussen, the heavy favorite to win the 100 meter freestyle later in the week. The French, upset by the USA four years ago, will contend as well.
Bronze: Shooting - Women's Skeet - 9:00AM (MSNBC)
Kim Rhode won her first gold medal in Atlanta in 1996. She is the favorite here, a medal of any type would make her the first American to medal in an individual event at five consecutive Olympics, Teresa Edwards won five straight basketball medals.
Also:
Women's Beach Volleyball - April Ross and Jen Kessey could challenge for a spot on the podium. They open against Argentina (4:00PM - NBC).
Men's Beach Volleyball - Defending champions Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser start their pool play against Japan (5:00PM - NBC Prime Time).
Women's Field Hockey - The Americans upset world #1 Argentina to win the Pan Am Games last year. The USA hasn't won a medal since 1984, but they have a shot in London. They are underway against Germany today (4:14PM - NBCSN).
Diving - Women's Synchronized Springboard - Diving opens, and the Chinese begin their quest to sweep all eight events. The American team on Kelci Bryant and Abigail Johnston are medal contenders, but the Russians and Mexicans are expected to join China on the podium. (10:00AM - NBC Prime Time).
Men's Soccer - The British team gave up a late goal against Senegal on Thursday and had to settle for a 1-1 tie. They try to get on track today against the United Arab Emirates, a game the Brits can't afford to drop. (2:45PM - MSNBC)
Swimming - Women's 100 Meter Butterfly - Dana Vollmer, the 2011 World Champion, looked like to woman to beat from Saturday's heats and semifinals. Vollmer could be strongly challenged by Alicia Coutts, who helped Australia win relay gold (2:30PM - NBC Prime Time).
Tennis - Women's Doubles - The Williams sisters will open up defense of their Olympic title against Romania. They recently won Wimbledon and also won doubles gold in 2000 (5:00PM),
Men's Volleyball - The US opens defense of their Olympic title against Serbia (11:45AM - NBC).
Men's Water Polo - The US attempts for another podium finish, they have a tough test in the first match against Montenegro (2:40PM - NBC).
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Phelps Barely into Final
Michael Phelps barely qualified for the final of the 400 meter individual medley. The second seeded swimming, Phelps swam in the penultimate heat, with the top eight times qualifying for the final. Confident that his time would easily move him through to the final, Phelps barely edged out Hungary's Laszlo Cseh, the bronze medalist in Athens and silver medalist in Beijing. The final heat was won by Chad le Clos of South Africa as Ryan Lochte had built up a big lead and cruised into second place. That final heat was very fast and Phelps was nearly knocked out of the final, and medal favorite Cseh was knocked out. Still expect Phelps and Lochte to battle it out for gold, but they will be in lanes three (Lochte) and one (Phelps) rather than the middle of the pool.
Women's Air Rifle - First Gold - Yi Siling, CHN
Yi Siling of China, the pre-event favorite captured the first gold medal of the Games in the women's 10 meter air rifle. Silwia Bogacka of Poland took silver and Yu Dan of China captured the bronze.
First Big Upset of the Games
The morning had barely begun when the first big upset occurred. The second ranked women's beach volleyball team, Xue Chen and Zhang Chi of China were defeated by Russian team of Anastasia Vasina and Anna Vozakova who are ranked 23rd out of 24 teams competing by scores of 18-21, 21-14, 16-14. This is pool play, so the Chinese still have every chance of advancing to the elimination rounds with wins in their next two matches over the 11th ranked Greeks and 14th ranked Swiss. However, their seed for that round could change from a #2 seed to a lower seed which could mean they might meet the Brazilians or Americans earlier than the semifinals.
What to Watch - Saturday, July 28
Each day I will highlight three events to watch. I will try to vary the sports and include some of the less popular sports in the U.S. Each day will be a gold, silver and bronze medalist.
GOLD: Swimming
– Men’s 400 Meter Individual Medley – 2:30PM EDT. The first of two titanic clashes in the pool between two of
the biggest stars heading into the Games.
Michael Phelps attempts to become the first man to win the same individual
swimming event three times in a row, while Ryan Lochte will try to unseat his
rival.
SILVER: Cycling
- Men’s Individual Road Race – 5:00AM.
Britain could win their first gold medal of the Games early as Mark
Cavendish is the pre-race favorite.
Bradley Wiggins, who recently won the Tour de France, is another British
contender, but will be a greater contender in the time trial on Wednesday. Have some patience, the 250 kilometer
race should take about six hours to complete.
BRONZE: Fencing
– Women’s Individual Foil – 2:40PM.
Italy’s Valentina Vezzali may become an Olympic legend of the highest
order as victory will make her the fourth athlete, and first woman, to win the
same individual event in four consecutive Games. A team gold medalist in Atlanta, she could also become the
fourth athlete, and first woman, to win a gold medal in five straight
Olympics. She enters as the
favorite after winning her sixth world championship title last year. American Lee Kiefer has a medal chance,
she captured a bronze medal at last year’s worlds.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Let the Games Begin!
The day that London has been waiting seven years for has finally arrived. July 27, 2012 marks the official opening of the Games of the XXX Olympiad. That Roman numeral is hard to believe, it has been nearly 120 years since Baron Pierre de Coubertin began organizing the first modern Olympics. He could have in no way imagined the global spectacle the Games have become, involving more than 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries competing in over 300 events.
The Opening Ceremony has become an enormous mixture of athletics and entertainment with big name entertainers, a cast of thousands and a precise outline. There will be the entrance of the athletes, led by Greece and anchored by the host, Great Britain. The flag bearer for each country is a high honor. Two-time gold medal fencer Mariel Zagunis will carry in the American flag. Headlines were made yesterday when it was announced that Usian Bolt would carry the Jamaican flag. Any other choice would have seemed ludicrous. Every summer Olympic flag bearer on record has been from track & field, usually the country's most successful athlete.
The identity of the final torchbearer remains shrouded in secrecy, as is the custom. I always enjoy seeing which Olympic legends carry in the Olympic flag. I am hoping to see David Hemery, Mary Rand, Lynn Davies, Mary Peters, David Wilkie, Alan Wells, Duncan Goodhew, Steve Ovett, Malcolm Cooper and Sally Gunnell involved.
The Queen will open the Games and James Bond and Paul McCartney will be involved.
Don't expect to see Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte or Jordyn Wieber marching in with Team USA. Athletes who compete on the first weekend will often skip the Opening Ceremony in order to rest. One of the unofficial traditions of the opening ceremony is that a basketball player will carry in the Chinese flag. Yi Jianlian will become the 8th consecutive male basketball player to lead China. Some familiar names will be flagbearers, including Spain's Pau Gasol, Russian Maria Sharapova and Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
The competition begins on Saturday, but tonight every athlete will enter the stadium as an Olympian, some have no chance of winning a medal. Where else but the Olympics can one see a gathering of thousands of people from every corner of the globe, entering as equals?
The Opening Ceremony has become an enormous mixture of athletics and entertainment with big name entertainers, a cast of thousands and a precise outline. There will be the entrance of the athletes, led by Greece and anchored by the host, Great Britain. The flag bearer for each country is a high honor. Two-time gold medal fencer Mariel Zagunis will carry in the American flag. Headlines were made yesterday when it was announced that Usian Bolt would carry the Jamaican flag. Any other choice would have seemed ludicrous. Every summer Olympic flag bearer on record has been from track & field, usually the country's most successful athlete.
The identity of the final torchbearer remains shrouded in secrecy, as is the custom. I always enjoy seeing which Olympic legends carry in the Olympic flag. I am hoping to see David Hemery, Mary Rand, Lynn Davies, Mary Peters, David Wilkie, Alan Wells, Duncan Goodhew, Steve Ovett, Malcolm Cooper and Sally Gunnell involved.
The Queen will open the Games and James Bond and Paul McCartney will be involved.
Don't expect to see Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte or Jordyn Wieber marching in with Team USA. Athletes who compete on the first weekend will often skip the Opening Ceremony in order to rest. One of the unofficial traditions of the opening ceremony is that a basketball player will carry in the Chinese flag. Yi Jianlian will become the 8th consecutive male basketball player to lead China. Some familiar names will be flagbearers, including Spain's Pau Gasol, Russian Maria Sharapova and Serbia's Novak Djokovic.
The competition begins on Saturday, but tonight every athlete will enter the stadium as an Olympian, some have no chance of winning a medal. Where else but the Olympics can one see a gathering of thousands of people from every corner of the globe, entering as equals?
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Predictions - Weight Lifting
Men's 56kg
Gold: Wu Jingbao, CHN
Silver: Le Quoc Toan Tran, VIE
Bronze: Valentin Hristov, AZE
Men's 62kg
Gold: Zhang Jie, CHN
Silver: Kim Un Guk, PRK
Bronze: Erol Bilgin, TUR
Men's 69kg
Gold: Arakel Mirzoyan, ARM
Silver: Briken Calja, ALB
Bronze: Ravzan Constantin Martin, ROU
Men's 77kg
Gold: Lu Xiaojun, CHN
Silver: Sa Jae-Hyouk, KOR
Bronze: Lu Haojie, CHN
Men's 85kg
Gold: Kianoush Rostami, IRI
Silver: Sourab Moradi, IRI
Bronze: Ivan Stotisov, AZE
Men's 94kg
Gold: Ilya Ilyin, KAZ
Silver: Anatoli Ciricu, MDA
Bronze: Saeid Mohammadpourkarkara, IRI
Men's 105kg
Gold: Khadzhimurat Akkayev, RUS
Silver: Marcin Dolega, POL
Bronze: Oleksiy Torokhtiy, UKR
Men's 105+kg
Gold: Behdad Salimikordasiabi, IRI
Silver: Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlaba, IRI
Bronze: Artem Udachyn, UKR
Women's 48kg
Gold: Wang Mingjuan, CHN
Silver: Panida Khamsri, THA
Bronze: Hiromi Miyake, JPN
Women's 53kg
Gold: Zulfiya Chinshanlo, KAZ
Silver: Aylin Dasdelen, TUR
Bronze: Cristina Iovu, MDA
Women's 58kg
Gold: Nastassia Novikava, BLR
Silver: Li Xueying, CHN
Bronze: Hsing-Chun Kuo, TPE
Women's 63kg
Gold: Maiya Maneza, KAZ
Silver: Sibel Simsek, TUR
Bronze: Svetlana Tsarukaeva, RUS
Women's 69kg
Gold: Oxana Slivenko, RUS
Silver: Roxana Daniela Cocos, ROU
Bronze: Rim Jong-Sim, PRK
Women's 75kg
Gold: Svetlana Podobedova, KAZ
Silver: Nadezda Evstyukhina, RUS
Bronze: Iryna Kulesha, BLR
Women's 75+kg
Gold: Zhou Lulu, CHN
Silver: Tatiana Kashirina, RUS
Bronze: Jung Mi-Ran, KOR
Gold: Wu Jingbao, CHN
Silver: Le Quoc Toan Tran, VIE
Bronze: Valentin Hristov, AZE
Men's 62kg
Gold: Zhang Jie, CHN
Silver: Kim Un Guk, PRK
Bronze: Erol Bilgin, TUR
Men's 69kg
Gold: Arakel Mirzoyan, ARM
Silver: Briken Calja, ALB
Bronze: Ravzan Constantin Martin, ROU
Men's 77kg
Gold: Lu Xiaojun, CHN
Silver: Sa Jae-Hyouk, KOR
Bronze: Lu Haojie, CHN
Men's 85kg
Gold: Kianoush Rostami, IRI
Silver: Sourab Moradi, IRI
Bronze: Ivan Stotisov, AZE
Men's 94kg
Gold: Ilya Ilyin, KAZ
Silver: Anatoli Ciricu, MDA
Bronze: Saeid Mohammadpourkarkara, IRI
Men's 105kg
Gold: Khadzhimurat Akkayev, RUS
Silver: Marcin Dolega, POL
Bronze: Oleksiy Torokhtiy, UKR
Men's 105+kg
Gold: Behdad Salimikordasiabi, IRI
Silver: Sajjad Anoushiravani Hamlaba, IRI
Bronze: Artem Udachyn, UKR
Women's 48kg
Gold: Wang Mingjuan, CHN
Silver: Panida Khamsri, THA
Bronze: Hiromi Miyake, JPN
Women's 53kg
Gold: Zulfiya Chinshanlo, KAZ
Silver: Aylin Dasdelen, TUR
Bronze: Cristina Iovu, MDA
Women's 58kg
Gold: Nastassia Novikava, BLR
Silver: Li Xueying, CHN
Bronze: Hsing-Chun Kuo, TPE
Women's 63kg
Gold: Maiya Maneza, KAZ
Silver: Sibel Simsek, TUR
Bronze: Svetlana Tsarukaeva, RUS
Women's 69kg
Gold: Oxana Slivenko, RUS
Silver: Roxana Daniela Cocos, ROU
Bronze: Rim Jong-Sim, PRK
Women's 75kg
Gold: Svetlana Podobedova, KAZ
Silver: Nadezda Evstyukhina, RUS
Bronze: Iryna Kulesha, BLR
Women's 75+kg
Gold: Zhou Lulu, CHN
Silver: Tatiana Kashirina, RUS
Bronze: Jung Mi-Ran, KOR
Predictions - Beach Volleyball
Men
Gold: Emanuel Rego & Alison Cerruti, BRA
Silver: Todd Rogers & Phil Dalhauser, USA
Bronze: Jake Gibb & Sean Rosenthal, USA
Women
Gold: Larissa Franca & Juliana Silva, BRA
Silver: Chen Xue & Xi Zhang, CHN
Bronze: Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings, USA
Gold: Emanuel Rego & Alison Cerruti, BRA
Silver: Todd Rogers & Phil Dalhauser, USA
Bronze: Jake Gibb & Sean Rosenthal, USA
Women
Gold: Larissa Franca & Juliana Silva, BRA
Silver: Chen Xue & Xi Zhang, CHN
Bronze: Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Jennings, USA
Predictions - Triathlon
Men
Gold: Jonathan Brownlee, GBR
Silver: Javier Gomez, ESP
Bronze: Alistair Brownlee, GBR
Women
Gold: Erin Densham, AUS
Silver: Nicola Spirig, SUI
Bronze: Helen Jenkins, GBR
Gold: Jonathan Brownlee, GBR
Silver: Javier Gomez, ESP
Bronze: Alistair Brownlee, GBR
Women
Gold: Erin Densham, AUS
Silver: Nicola Spirig, SUI
Bronze: Helen Jenkins, GBR
Predictions - Tennis
Men's Singles
Gold: Novak Djokovic, SRB
Silver: Andy Murray, GBR
Bronze: Roger Federer, SUI
Could this be the time Murray finally wins at Wimbledon?
Men's Doubles
Gold: Bob & Mike Bryan, USA
Silver: Andy & Jamie Murray, GBR
Bronze: Mariusz Fyrstenberg & Marcin Matkowski, POL
Could be a final of brother pairs.
Women's Singles
Gold: Serena Williams, USA
Silver: Agnieska Radwanska, POL
Bronze: Maria Sharapova, RUS
Serena was resurgent in her Wimbledon win.
Women's Doubles
Gold: Serena & Venus Williams, USA
Silver: Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond, USA
Bronze: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA
Winners in 2000 and 2008, if the Serena wins two gold, each sister will have four career golds.
Mixed Doubles
The entrants have not yet been announced, so I will wait to make predictions.
Gold: Novak Djokovic, SRB
Silver: Andy Murray, GBR
Bronze: Roger Federer, SUI
Could this be the time Murray finally wins at Wimbledon?
Men's Doubles
Gold: Bob & Mike Bryan, USA
Silver: Andy & Jamie Murray, GBR
Bronze: Mariusz Fyrstenberg & Marcin Matkowski, POL
Could be a final of brother pairs.
Women's Singles
Gold: Serena Williams, USA
Silver: Agnieska Radwanska, POL
Bronze: Maria Sharapova, RUS
Serena was resurgent in her Wimbledon win.
Women's Doubles
Gold: Serena & Venus Williams, USA
Silver: Liezel Huber & Lisa Raymond, USA
Bronze: Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA
Winners in 2000 and 2008, if the Serena wins two gold, each sister will have four career golds.
Mixed Doubles
The entrants have not yet been announced, so I will wait to make predictions.
Predictions - Taekwondo
Men's 58kg
Gold: Joel Gonzalez, ESP
Silver: Pen-Ek Karaket, THA
Bronze: Gabriel Mercedes, DOM & Damian Villa, MEX
Men's 68kg
Gold: Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, IRI
Silver: Servet Tazegul, TUR
Bronze: Diogo Silva, BRA & Martin Stamper, GBR
Men's 80kg
Gold: Ramin Azizov, AZE
Silver: Steven Lopez, USA
Bronze: Yousef Karami, IRI & Mauro Sarmiento, ITA
Men's 80+kg
Gold: Cha Dong-Min, KOR
Silver: Akmal Irgashev, UZB
Bronze: Daba Modibo Keita, MLI & Gadzhi Umarov, RUS
Women's 49kg
Gold: Wu Jingyi, CHN
Silver: Brigitte Yague, ESP
Bronze: Lucija Zaninovic, CRO & Yang Shu-chun, TPE
Women's 57kg
Gold: Hou Yuzhuo, CHN
Silver: Jade Jones, GBR
Bronze: Diana Lopez, USA & Ana Zaninovic, CRO
Women's 67kg
Gold: Sarah Stevenson, GBR
Silver: Kim Mi-Kyung, KOR
Bronze: Farida Azizova, AZE & Helena Fromm, GER
Women's 67+kg
Gold: Gwladys Epangue, FRA
Silver: An Sae-Bom, KOR
Bronze: Anastasia Baryshnikova, RUS & Natalia Falavigna, BRA
Gold: Joel Gonzalez, ESP
Silver: Pen-Ek Karaket, THA
Bronze: Gabriel Mercedes, DOM & Damian Villa, MEX
Men's 68kg
Gold: Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, IRI
Silver: Servet Tazegul, TUR
Bronze: Diogo Silva, BRA & Martin Stamper, GBR
Men's 80kg
Gold: Ramin Azizov, AZE
Silver: Steven Lopez, USA
Bronze: Yousef Karami, IRI & Mauro Sarmiento, ITA
Men's 80+kg
Gold: Cha Dong-Min, KOR
Silver: Akmal Irgashev, UZB
Bronze: Daba Modibo Keita, MLI & Gadzhi Umarov, RUS
Women's 49kg
Gold: Wu Jingyi, CHN
Silver: Brigitte Yague, ESP
Bronze: Lucija Zaninovic, CRO & Yang Shu-chun, TPE
Women's 57kg
Gold: Hou Yuzhuo, CHN
Silver: Jade Jones, GBR
Bronze: Diana Lopez, USA & Ana Zaninovic, CRO
Women's 67kg
Gold: Sarah Stevenson, GBR
Silver: Kim Mi-Kyung, KOR
Bronze: Farida Azizova, AZE & Helena Fromm, GER
Women's 67+kg
Gold: Gwladys Epangue, FRA
Silver: An Sae-Bom, KOR
Bronze: Anastasia Baryshnikova, RUS & Natalia Falavigna, BRA
Predictions - Table Tennis
Men's Singles
Gold: Wang Hao, CHN
Silver: Zhang Jike, CHN
Bronze: Jun Mizutani, JPN
Five of the top six players in the world rankings are Chinese, put only two can compete in the Olympics.
Men's Team
Gold: China
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Japan
Women's Singles
Gold: Li Xiaoxia, CHN
Silver: Ding Ning, CHN
Bronze: Kim Kyung-Ah, KOR
The top four ranked players are Chinese, but only two can compete in London.
Women's Team
Gold: China
Silver: Singapore
Bronze: South Korea
Singapore upset China for the world team title in 2010, but upsets are not supposed to happen again.
Gold: Wang Hao, CHN
Silver: Zhang Jike, CHN
Bronze: Jun Mizutani, JPN
Five of the top six players in the world rankings are Chinese, put only two can compete in the Olympics.
Men's Team
Gold: China
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Japan
Women's Singles
Gold: Li Xiaoxia, CHN
Silver: Ding Ning, CHN
Bronze: Kim Kyung-Ah, KOR
The top four ranked players are Chinese, but only two can compete in London.
Women's Team
Gold: China
Silver: Singapore
Bronze: South Korea
Singapore upset China for the world team title in 2010, but upsets are not supposed to happen again.
More Soccer Action as Men Start on Thursday
The Opening Ceremony will not be until Friday, but Olympic events continue on Thursday as the men's soccer tournament begins with eight games. The Olympic soccer tournament has long been the step-child of the more popular World Cup, with each of the sixteen nations forced to field what amounts to a "B" team. The tournament is considered U23, which means the players on the roster are 23 years old or younger. The Olympics allow an exception for each side to carry three overage players.
Men's soccer is the only event in the Games in which the best athletes do not compete. Now some events may miss some of the best athletes due to the restrictions on the number of athletes per country allowed in each event (for example, each individual swimming has a limit of two swimmers per nation); or a difficult qualifying process. However, FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, wants to keep their own World Cup event unique and not have a mini-World Cup obscured within the Olympics. Some have called for soccer to be removed from the Olympics, but we wouldn't want to throw out the baby with the bath water. The fact of the matter is that the women's tournament, which began on Wednesday, has the best players on each national team. In the United States, the women's competition has been compelling since its debut in 1996 with recognizable names like Mia Hamm and Hope Solo leading the U.S. into the final in each Olympics.
The British national team makes their first appearance in the Olympics since Rome in 1960 as they take on Senegal in Manchester (the Olympic soccer tournament traditionally uses sites from all over the host country with the finals being held in the host city). In team sports, the host nation receives an automatic spot in the tournament without having to go through a continental qualifying tournament. There has been much concern in Britain over the last several years over the participation of a British soccer team. Soccer is one of several international sports where England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (known as the home nations) compete separately. The three smaller nations have concerns that a British team in the Olympics will lead to a British team in World Cup and Euro championships - thus losing their identities. Ultimately, there was an agreement to allow participation of players from all four British nations. The squad includes 13 Englishmen and 5 Welshmen. Ryan Griggs, the 38 year old team captain, is Welsh.
A similar situation occurs in field hockey. Outside the Olympics, each of the home nations compete for themselves. It is only every four years that a British team will compete in the Olympics, including the men's squad that captured gold in 1988.
Men's soccer is the only event in the Games in which the best athletes do not compete. Now some events may miss some of the best athletes due to the restrictions on the number of athletes per country allowed in each event (for example, each individual swimming has a limit of two swimmers per nation); or a difficult qualifying process. However, FIFA, the world governing body of soccer, wants to keep their own World Cup event unique and not have a mini-World Cup obscured within the Olympics. Some have called for soccer to be removed from the Olympics, but we wouldn't want to throw out the baby with the bath water. The fact of the matter is that the women's tournament, which began on Wednesday, has the best players on each national team. In the United States, the women's competition has been compelling since its debut in 1996 with recognizable names like Mia Hamm and Hope Solo leading the U.S. into the final in each Olympics.
The British national team makes their first appearance in the Olympics since Rome in 1960 as they take on Senegal in Manchester (the Olympic soccer tournament traditionally uses sites from all over the host country with the finals being held in the host city). In team sports, the host nation receives an automatic spot in the tournament without having to go through a continental qualifying tournament. There has been much concern in Britain over the last several years over the participation of a British soccer team. Soccer is one of several international sports where England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (known as the home nations) compete separately. The three smaller nations have concerns that a British team in the Olympics will lead to a British team in World Cup and Euro championships - thus losing their identities. Ultimately, there was an agreement to allow participation of players from all four British nations. The squad includes 13 Englishmen and 5 Welshmen. Ryan Griggs, the 38 year old team captain, is Welsh.
A similar situation occurs in field hockey. Outside the Olympics, each of the home nations compete for themselves. It is only every four years that a British team will compete in the Olympics, including the men's squad that captured gold in 1988.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Predictions - Synchronized Swimming
Duet
Gold: Natalia Ishchenko & Svetlana Romashina, RUS
Silver: Huang Xuechen & Liu Ou, CHN
Bronze: Ona Carbonell & Andrea Fuentes, ESP
Team
Gold: Russia
Silver: China
Bronze: Spain
Gold: Natalia Ishchenko & Svetlana Romashina, RUS
Silver: Huang Xuechen & Liu Ou, CHN
Bronze: Ona Carbonell & Andrea Fuentes, ESP
Team
Gold: Russia
Silver: China
Bronze: Spain
Predictions - Open Water Swimming
Men's 10 Kilometer
Gold: Spyridon Gianniotis, GRE
Silver: Thomas Lurz, GER
Bronze: Oussama Mellouli, TUN
Women's 10 Kilometer
Gold: Keri-Anne Payne, GBR
Silver: Marianna Lymperta, GRE
Bronze: Swann Oberson, SUI
Gold: Spyridon Gianniotis, GRE
Silver: Thomas Lurz, GER
Bronze: Oussama Mellouli, TUN
Women's 10 Kilometer
Gold: Keri-Anne Payne, GBR
Silver: Marianna Lymperta, GRE
Bronze: Swann Oberson, SUI
Predictions - Shooting
Men's Air Rifle
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, ITA
Silver: Illia Cherheika, BLR
Bronze: Wang Tao, CHN
Men's Small Bore Rifle, Prone
Gold: Sergei Martynov, BLR
Silver: Wang Weiyi, CHN
Bronze: Marco DeNicolo, ITA
Men's Small Bore Rifle, 3 Positions
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, ITA
Silver: Nemanja Mirosavljev, SRB
Bronze: Jason Parker, USA
Women's Air Rifle
Gold: Yu Siling, CHN
Silver: Sonja Pfielschifter, GER
Bronze: Katerina Emmons, CZE
Women's Small Bore Rifle, 3 Positions
Gold: Barbara Engleder, GER
Silver: Sonja Pfielschifter, GER
Bronze: Du Li, CHN
Men's Air Pistol
Gold: Tan Zongliang, CHN
Silver: Jin Jong-Oh, KOR
Bronze: Yusuf Dikec, TUR
Men's Rapid Fire Pistol
Gold: Alexei Klimov, RUS
Silver: Christian Reitz, GER
Bronze: Zhang Jian, CHN
Men's Free Pistol
Gold: Damir Mikec, SRB
Silver; Tomoyuki Matsuda, JPN
Bronze: Jin Jong-Oh, KOR
Women's Air Pistol
Gold: Olena Kostevych, UKR
Silver: Tien Chia Chen, TPE
Bronze: Zorana Arunovic, SRB
Women's Free Pistol
Gold: Lenka Maruskova, CZE
Silver: Celine Goberville, FRA
Bronze: Chen Ying, CHN
Men's Trap
Gold: Alexey Alipov, RUS
Silver: Massimo Fabbrizi, ITA
Bronze: Rodolfo Vigano, ITA
Men's Double Trap
Gold: Joshua Richmond, AUS
Silver: Peter Robert Russell Wilson, GBR
Bronze: William Chetcuti, MLT
Malta has never won an Olympic medal.
Men's Skeet
Gold: Tore Brovold, RUS
Silver: Valeriy Shomin, RUS
Bronze: Georgios Achellios, CYP
Women's Trap
Gold: Fatima Galvez, ESP
Silver: Elena Tkach, RUS
Bronze: Zuzana Stefececkova, SVK
Alessandra Perilli could win the first ever medal for San Marino.
Women's Skeet
Gold: Kim Rhode, USA
Silver: Danka Bartekova, SVK
Bronze: Wei Ning, CHN
Rhode, a gold medalist in 1996 and 2004, will be trying to become only the fourth American to win medals at five different Olympiads, and the first to accomplish the feat in individual events.
The others are:
J. Michael Plumb - equestrian - 1964, '68, '72, '76, '84.
Teresa Edwards - basketball - 1984-2000
Dara Torres - swimming - 1984, '88, '92, 2000 & 2008
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, ITA
Silver: Illia Cherheika, BLR
Bronze: Wang Tao, CHN
Men's Small Bore Rifle, Prone
Gold: Sergei Martynov, BLR
Silver: Wang Weiyi, CHN
Bronze: Marco DeNicolo, ITA
Men's Small Bore Rifle, 3 Positions
Gold: Niccolo Campriani, ITA
Silver: Nemanja Mirosavljev, SRB
Bronze: Jason Parker, USA
Women's Air Rifle
Gold: Yu Siling, CHN
Silver: Sonja Pfielschifter, GER
Bronze: Katerina Emmons, CZE
Women's Small Bore Rifle, 3 Positions
Gold: Barbara Engleder, GER
Silver: Sonja Pfielschifter, GER
Bronze: Du Li, CHN
Men's Air Pistol
Gold: Tan Zongliang, CHN
Silver: Jin Jong-Oh, KOR
Bronze: Yusuf Dikec, TUR
Men's Rapid Fire Pistol
Gold: Alexei Klimov, RUS
Silver: Christian Reitz, GER
Bronze: Zhang Jian, CHN
Men's Free Pistol
Gold: Damir Mikec, SRB
Silver; Tomoyuki Matsuda, JPN
Bronze: Jin Jong-Oh, KOR
Women's Air Pistol
Gold: Olena Kostevych, UKR
Silver: Tien Chia Chen, TPE
Bronze: Zorana Arunovic, SRB
Women's Free Pistol
Gold: Lenka Maruskova, CZE
Silver: Celine Goberville, FRA
Bronze: Chen Ying, CHN
Men's Trap
Gold: Alexey Alipov, RUS
Silver: Massimo Fabbrizi, ITA
Bronze: Rodolfo Vigano, ITA
Men's Double Trap
Gold: Joshua Richmond, AUS
Silver: Peter Robert Russell Wilson, GBR
Bronze: William Chetcuti, MLT
Malta has never won an Olympic medal.
Men's Skeet
Gold: Tore Brovold, RUS
Silver: Valeriy Shomin, RUS
Bronze: Georgios Achellios, CYP
Women's Trap
Gold: Fatima Galvez, ESP
Silver: Elena Tkach, RUS
Bronze: Zuzana Stefececkova, SVK
Alessandra Perilli could win the first ever medal for San Marino.
Women's Skeet
Gold: Kim Rhode, USA
Silver: Danka Bartekova, SVK
Bronze: Wei Ning, CHN
Rhode, a gold medalist in 1996 and 2004, will be trying to become only the fourth American to win medals at five different Olympiads, and the first to accomplish the feat in individual events.
The others are:
J. Michael Plumb - equestrian - 1964, '68, '72, '76, '84.
Teresa Edwards - basketball - 1984-2000
Dara Torres - swimming - 1984, '88, '92, 2000 & 2008
Predictions - Sailing
Men's Finn
Gold: Ben Ainslie, GBR
Silver: Rafael Trujillo, ESP
Bronze: Deniss Karpak, EST
Men's 470
Gold: Mathew Belcher & Malcolm Page, AUS
Silver: Gideon Kliger & Eran Sela, ISR
Bronze: Sime Fantela & Igor Marenic, CRO
Men's Laser
Gold: Tom Slingsby, AUS
Silver: Julio Alsogaray, ARG
Bronze: Fontes Ferreira da Silva, BRA
Men's Star
Gold: Fredrik Loof & Max Salminen, SWE
Silver: Eiving Melleby & Petter Morland Pedersen, NOR
Bronze: Xavier Rohart & Pierre Alexis Ponsot, FRA
Men's R-SX
Gold: Przemyslaw Miarczynski, POL
Silver: Shahar Zubari, ISR
Bronze: Julien Bontemps, FRA
Women's 470
Gold: Ai Kondo & Wakako Tabata, JPN
Silver: Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark, GBR
Bronze: Amanda Clark & Sarah Lihan, USA
Women's Elliot 6m
Gold: United States
Silver: Great Britain
Bronze: France
Women's R-SX
Gold: Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, POL
Silver: Marina Alabau, ESP
Bronze: Bryony Shaw, GBR
Women's Laser
Gold: Marit Bouwmeester, NED
Silver: Alison Young, GBR
Bronze: Sari Multala, FIN
Open 49er
Gold: Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen, AUS
Silver: Allan Norregaard & Peter Lang, DEN
Bronze: Tobias Schadewaldt & Hannes Baumann, GER
Gold: Ben Ainslie, GBR
Silver: Rafael Trujillo, ESP
Bronze: Deniss Karpak, EST
Men's 470
Gold: Mathew Belcher & Malcolm Page, AUS
Silver: Gideon Kliger & Eran Sela, ISR
Bronze: Sime Fantela & Igor Marenic, CRO
Men's Laser
Gold: Tom Slingsby, AUS
Silver: Julio Alsogaray, ARG
Bronze: Fontes Ferreira da Silva, BRA
Men's Star
Gold: Fredrik Loof & Max Salminen, SWE
Silver: Eiving Melleby & Petter Morland Pedersen, NOR
Bronze: Xavier Rohart & Pierre Alexis Ponsot, FRA
Men's R-SX
Gold: Przemyslaw Miarczynski, POL
Silver: Shahar Zubari, ISR
Bronze: Julien Bontemps, FRA
Women's 470
Gold: Ai Kondo & Wakako Tabata, JPN
Silver: Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark, GBR
Bronze: Amanda Clark & Sarah Lihan, USA
Women's Elliot 6m
Gold: United States
Silver: Great Britain
Bronze: France
Women's R-SX
Gold: Zofia Noceti-Klepacka, POL
Silver: Marina Alabau, ESP
Bronze: Bryony Shaw, GBR
Women's Laser
Gold: Marit Bouwmeester, NED
Silver: Alison Young, GBR
Bronze: Sari Multala, FIN
Open 49er
Gold: Nathan Outteridge & Iain Jensen, AUS
Silver: Allan Norregaard & Peter Lang, DEN
Bronze: Tobias Schadewaldt & Hannes Baumann, GER
London 2012 is Here!
We are minutes away from the start of the Games of the XXX Olympiad, as women's soccer competition will get underway. There are six games today, the first having the host team Great Britain take on New Zealand. About an hour later, the World Cup champions from Japan will take on Canada and the U.S. will face France. The U.S., ranked number one in the world takes on the sixth ranked French in the toughest match of the day.
By comparison, the other match-ups:
GBR (England is #9 - GBR does not rank) v NZL (#23)
Brazil (#5) v Cameroon (#50)
Japan (#3) v Canada (#7)
Sweden (#4) v South Africa (#61)
USA (#1) v France (#6)
Columbia (#28) v North Korea (#8)
You may notice that four of the twelve teams are outside the top 20, while #'s 2 & #s 10-20 are not in London.
A couple of reasons explain this. First, Europe was allocated as many spots in the field as Africa, despite the fact that the best African team according to FIFA rankings is Nigeria at #27, with sixteen European teams ranking higher. To compound this, Europe was the only zone without a qualifying tournament. They chose to take the two best finishers in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. When the second seeded German team were upset by Japan in the quarterfinals, they were out as Sweden and France went through. Germany was denied a European spot despite the fact that they did not lost to a European squad.
Australia participated in the Asian qualifying, finishing third behind Japan and North Korea. That left New Zealand an easy road through the Oceania Qualifying Tournament, downing Papua New Guinea 8-0 and 7-0.
The other problem is that the Women's tournament has 12 teams, while the men have 16. The growing depth in the women's game should justify four more teams. This would also help grow the game with increased exposure during the Olympics. The men have three spots for European teams, all competing in their own tournament.
Today the U.S. has a very tough early test against a medal contender. In the long run, the toughest team in the world, Germany, is not here. The U.S. is the favorite for the gold, another Japanese victory would be another big upset.
By comparison, the other match-ups:
GBR (England is #9 - GBR does not rank) v NZL (#23)
Brazil (#5) v Cameroon (#50)
Japan (#3) v Canada (#7)
Sweden (#4) v South Africa (#61)
USA (#1) v France (#6)
Columbia (#28) v North Korea (#8)
You may notice that four of the twelve teams are outside the top 20, while #'s 2 & #s 10-20 are not in London.
A couple of reasons explain this. First, Europe was allocated as many spots in the field as Africa, despite the fact that the best African team according to FIFA rankings is Nigeria at #27, with sixteen European teams ranking higher. To compound this, Europe was the only zone without a qualifying tournament. They chose to take the two best finishers in the 2011 FIFA World Cup. When the second seeded German team were upset by Japan in the quarterfinals, they were out as Sweden and France went through. Germany was denied a European spot despite the fact that they did not lost to a European squad.
Australia participated in the Asian qualifying, finishing third behind Japan and North Korea. That left New Zealand an easy road through the Oceania Qualifying Tournament, downing Papua New Guinea 8-0 and 7-0.
The other problem is that the Women's tournament has 12 teams, while the men have 16. The growing depth in the women's game should justify four more teams. This would also help grow the game with increased exposure during the Olympics. The men have three spots for European teams, all competing in their own tournament.
Today the U.S. has a very tough early test against a medal contender. In the long run, the toughest team in the world, Germany, is not here. The U.S. is the favorite for the gold, another Japanese victory would be another big upset.
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