The US got back atop the medal stand Tuesday with two golds on a day where the US had an impressive four medal in gymnastics and went 1-2 in both the events they won gold. There was also the first sailing medal for the US since Beijing and the first EVER women’s 1500m medal in the 44 year history of the event for the US. The women’s basketball and volleyball teams also advanced but there was an upset in beach volleyball.

August 16th Recap:

Basketball

The US women opened the knockout round with a 110-64 win over Japan on Tuesday. Japan managed to keep it close in the first half trailing by just ten at the break but the US asserted their dominance in the second half as they outscored Japan 54-18. The US now faces France in the semifinals on Thursday at 6 PM after France defeated Canada 68-63 in the other quarterfinal on the US side of the bracket. France went 3-2 in their group but did get beat by Japan in their group finale. These two teams met in an exhibition prior to the Olympics and the US beat France 84-62.

Beach Volleyball

The perfect streak in the Olympics for Kerri Walsh Jennings is over at 26. Walsh Jennings was perfect in winning the Olympics in Athens, Beijing, and London but her hopes for a four-peat came to an end as she and April Ross lost their semifinal matchup with Ágatha Bednarczuk/Bárbara Seixas 0-2 (20-22, 18-21). The Brazilians were fantastic on Tuesday night and really had their home crowd behind them. The medal hopes may not be done for Walsh Jennings and Ross as they’ll play in the bronze medal match at 9 PM against Larissa Franca/Talita Antunes.

Boxing

The US had their second boxer win a medal in Rio on Tuesday. Shakur Stevenson got a 3-0 decision over Tsendbaatar Erdenbat in the men’s bantamweight quarterfinals. All three judges had it 30-27 to the American with Vladimir Nikitin up next in the semifinals on Thursday. If Stevenson loses he will go home with a bronze medal. Stevenson is the first bantamweight medalist for the US since Clarence Vinson in 2000.

Not winning a medal on Tuesday and being eliminated was Gary Antuanne Russell. Russell had tough opposition in Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, the current world championship silver medalist, in the men’s light welterweight quarterfinals but did manage to make it a very close contest. Russell won on one judges scorecard but lost the other two as he dropped the split decision 2-1 (29-28, 29-28, 28-29).

Cycling

Finishing the women’s omnium on Tuesday was Sarah Hammer. Hammer entered the day in third and after coming in fourth in both the 500m time trial and flying lap 250m time trial it was pretty clear Hammer’s best hopes were for a silver. She was tied with Jolien D’Hoore and rode her points race with seemingly one goal in mind: beating D’Hoore. Both gained a lap on the field for 20 points and Hammer made sure she got enough sprint points to beat her for silver with 206 compared to 199. It’s consecutive silver medals in the event now for Hammer.

In the men’s keirin event Matthew Baranoski was fifth in his first round heat and third in his repechage heat as he failed to advance to the second round.

Diving

Mike Hixon and Kristian Ipsen both qualified for the men’s 3m springboard final with solid performances in the semifinals. Hixon was one poor dive away from the top spot and Ipsen could have been second without his poor dive. In the end Hixon was fourth and Ipsen seventh in the semifinals.

In the final Hixon really couldn’t put together a string of great dives and finished tenth while Ipsen was more consistent but not at the high level required to medal as he finished fifth.

Equestrian

On Tuesday the individual jumping second qualifier served to narrow the field to 45 for the individual medals and to narrow the teams to eight for their medals. For the US team it went great as Kent Farrington, Lucy Davis, and McLain Ward all went perfect on the day. For Farrington he’s now perfect through the first two rounds of the qualifier while Davis and Ward have four total. All three are currently in the top 35 which is where the cut-line will be to setup the field for the final after the third jumping qualifier on Wednesday. The final starts with a clean slate so securing progression is the important thing. Beezie Madden won’t be in the third round after eight faults in round two left her in 46th and out by one spot.

For the US team though one of the scores can be dropped so Madden’s was and the team had a perfect score in the first round of the team final. Madden will ride again on Wednesday in the second half of the team final giving the US a chance to drop a score again. Three other teams were perfect as well so the race for gold will be very competitive in the team final on Wednesday. If there is a tie we’ll have a jump-off.

Gymnastics

Artistic gymnastics wrapped up on Tuesday with the final three apparatus finals. The US continued their successful women’s gymnastics competition with a unprecedented medal hall. The final event for the women was the floor final and both Simone Biles and Aly Raisman were on another level compared to their competition. Biles scored a 15.966 with Raisman at 15.500 as they were the only two over 15 in the final. Biles won her fourth gold of these Olympics while Raisman made it six medals all-time. This was the second straight Olympics where the US has won the floor final as Raisman took gold in the event four years ago.

On the men’s side it was an incredible day for Danell Leyva as the man who was initially an alternate for the team until John Orozco hurt his ACL a month ago. Leyva won two silvers with two excellent routines on Tuesday as he took the second spot in both the parallel bars and the horizontal bar. Leyva led off the parallel bars with a phenomenal 15.900 opening routine and was on top until the sixth gymnast in the event finally knocked him down to silver. The medal on the parallel bars was the first since Jair Lynch took silver in Atlanta 20 years ago. To end the day on the horizontal bar Sam Mikulak was the first American to go and put himself into third with four gymnasts left after a 15.400 score. Mikulak held that bronze spot until Leyva went last and just barely edged into silver scoring a 15.500. Mikulak was 0.066 short of the bronze and did have a hop on his landing that would have made all the difference. Horizontal bar has been a more successful event for the US with the last medal a silver by Jonathan Horton eight yeas ago.

Sailing

Tuesday was a busy day in sailing with the Olympics wrapping up in four classes for the US sailors. The highlight of the day was the Finn class medal race where the only US medal hope of Tuesday, Caleb Paine, needed to finish three spots ahead of the Croatian boat. Paine went out strong on the first leg and took a lead heading around the first turn and never let it up. Paine took the medal race and won the bronze as his chief rival finished dead last. Paine’s bronze was the first sailing medal for the US since Beijing when Zach Railey took silver in the same class.

Speaking of Railey, his sister Paige Railey was tenth in the women’s Laser Radial medal race and finished tenth overall. Also making the medal race on Tuesday were Bora Gulari and Louisa Chafee in the mixed Nacra 17. Gulari and Chafee finished fourth in the medal race and finished their Olympics in eighth.

The other Americans who saw their Olympics end on Tuesday were Thomas Barrows III and Joseph Morria in the men’s 49er. Barrows III and Morria finished sixth, 13th, and 17th in the final three races but finished 19th overall in Rio after a really slow start.

Making the medal race in the women’s 49er FX were Paris Henken and Helena Scutt. Henken and Scutt were 12th in the first two races on Tuesday before a sixth place finish in the final race of the original series. Henken and Scutt are in ninth overall going into the medal race on Thursday at 1:05 PM but have no chance of medaling.

Medal hopes were there for David Hughes and Stuart McNay in the men’s 470 as they hit their final three original series races on Tuesday. In sixth overall they had bronze in touching distance but after winning race #8 they were 11th and 14th in the final two races and despite moving up to fourth they are too far back of bronze to have a shot at a medal in the final on Wednesday at 1:05 PM.

There is a great medal chance for Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha in the women’s 470 after Tuesday. They entered the day in second but lost touch with the leaders after finishing eighth, eighth, and ninth to wrap up the original series in third. Just a point behind second and with two other boats within three points of them the race for the medals on Wednesday at 12:05 PM should be a thrilling one with the Americans right in the mix.

Swimming

The final swimming race in Rio was the men’s open water 10km race and it produced an absolute classic. In 2012 there was a 3.4 second margin between first and second. In 2016 that 3.4 second window covered the first five finishers. In 2012 there was a 10.2 second margin between first and fourth. In 2016 that 10.2 second window covered the first 12 finishers. In 2012 there was a 42.2 second margin between first and fifth. In 2016 that 42.2 second window covered the first 21 finishers. Simply outstanding racing by the whole field who provided a spectacular finish. Jordan Wilimovsky was fifth in the race and 1.2 second behind bronze while Sean Ryan was 14th and 15.7 second behind the winner.

Synchronized Swimming

Synchronized swimming wrapped up on Monday for the US with Anita Alvarez and Mairya Koroleva in the final free routine. Alvarez and Koroleva scored an 87.5333 which combined with their preliminary technical routine score left them in ninth with 173.9945 total points. Alvarez and Koroleva improved two spots on their world championship finish last summer as well as two places ahead of where the US duet team finished in London.

Track and Field

On Tuesday in track and field the day began with the women’s 5000m first round. Shelby Houlihan was fourth in the first round as she advanced to the final on Friday night while Kim Conley was 12th and eliminated. In the second heat Abbey D’Agostino was tripped up by another runner and finished over two minutes behind the winner after injuring her knee. D’Agostino was 16th and apparently eliminated but was granted a spot in the final due to being taken out by the other runner. It’s unknown yet if D’Agostino will be able to run in the final.

In the men’s 1500m first round Matthew Centrowitz Jr. was fifth in his heat and Robby Andrews was third in his heat as both automatically advanced to the semifinals on Thursday night. Ben Blankenship was ninth in his heat but grabbed one of six at-large spots in the final as he actually ran the ninth fastest time in the round in a blazing heat.

In the morning off the track the women’s pole vault qualification round was held with Jennifer Suhr one of seven to clear 4.60m and Sandi Morris passing at that height but qualifying based on her clearing 4.55m on the first try. The only American eliminated was Alexis Weeks who cleared 4.30m on the first try and 4.45m on the second try but missed all three attempts at 4.60m. The pole vault final is on Friday night.

In the men’s triple jump final on Tuesday morning the gold and silver medalists from London, Christian Taylor and Will Claye, were back to duel for the medals again. Taylor opened with a 17.86m while Claye hit a 17.76m jump on the first attempt as they took a lead atop the field. Taylor would twice more clear Claye’s first score and Claye twice more cleared 17.50m (only one other jumper cleared that) but no one ever did top their first jumps as Taylor and Claye went gold-silver again in the same order.

The final events on the track in the morning were first rounders. In the women’s 100m hurdles first round Kristi Castlin, Nia Ali, and Brianna Rollins all won their heats to move into the semifinals on Wednesday night at 7:45 PM. The final will also be on Wednesday if they advance again.  In the men’s 200m first round Justin Gatlin and LaShawn Merritt won their heats to advance to the semifinals at 9 PM on Wednesday while Ameer Webb was third in his heat but able to grab an at-large spot to reach the semifinals.

Tuesday night Erik Kynard competed in the men’s high jump and never quite seemed to get into a good groove. Picking up misses throughout the night that hurt his tiebreaker chances Kynard only cleared 2.20m and 2.29m on the first try while it took him two tries at 2.25m and three at 2.33m. Only two went higher than 2.33m but since Kynard had needed three tries at 2.29m he was out of the medals in sixth. The bronze medal was decided because of one miss at 2.25m by the fourth place jumper showing once again that clearing the early rounds right away is imperative in the later stages of the competition.

Qualifying was held Tuesday night in the women’s long jump. Brittney Reese automatically advanced with a jump of 6.78m while Tianna Bartoletta cleared 6.70m and was fifth best as she advanced as well to Wednesday night’s 8:15 PM final. Janay DeLoach jumped 6.50m but finished 13th and missed out on a spot in the final by 0.03m.

In the women’s javelin throw qualifying Maggie Malone was 25th with a throw of 56.47m while Brittany Borman was 27th with a throw of 56.04m, neither close to advancing. Kara Winger made a stronger run at advancing as her mark of 61.02m sat in 12th for a long time until the second-to-last throw of the competition knocked her to 13th and out of the final.

On the track in the evening the US failed to medal in the men’s 110m hurdles for the first time at an Olympics they competed in. Jeff Porter was knocked out after a third place finish in his semifinal heat while Devon Allen also finished third but was able to grab an at-large spot in the final. Ronnie Ash was second in his semifinal heat to grab an automatic spot in the final. In the final Ash was perhaps in second or right off it when he tripped on the final hurdle and ended up last while Allen finished fifth.

There were also semifinals in the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles on Tuesday night. On the women’s side Sydney McLaughlin was fifth in her semifinal heat and eliminated while Ashley Spencer and Dalilah Muhammad both won their heat and advanced to the final on Thursday night. On the men’s side Kerron Clement won his semifinal heat to reach Thursday morning’s final while Byron Robinson was third in his heat and missed the last at-large spot into the final by 0.01 seconds.

In the women’s 200, semifinals Tori Bowie won her heat to advance to Wednesday night’s final while Deajah Stevens was third in her heat but reached the final with an at-large spot based on time. The final American running, Jenna Prandini, was fourth in her heat and eliminated. Finally in the women’s 1500m final Jennifer Simpson finished third and won the first ever US medal in the event. The women’s 1500m has been an Olympic event since 1972 so the US has had many chances in the event and never was able to produce a medalist. Shannon Rowbury was fourth in her heat and within a second of the silver medalist as the US had a real shot at two medals.

Volleyball

The US women began the knockout round with Japan on Tuesday and were pretty clear winners over the 2012 bronze medalists. Notching just their second sweep of Rio the Americans made quick work of the quarterfinals with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-22) win. Next up in the semifinals at 12 PM on Thursday will be Serbia who made quick work of Russia in a sweep of their own including a 25-9 opening set. These two sides met in pool play with the US winning in four sets and taking all the sets they won by at least six points. In the other two pool matches China upset undefeated Brazil and the Netherlands were victorious as well as all four semifinals came from the pool the US went undefeated in. There’s no doubt the Americans are now favorites in Rio.

August 17th Preview:

All times ET!! All events should be available online via NBC’s Olympic website and apps (assuming a cable package that gives you access). What is live in ET/CT is often tape delayed in MT/PT. Yell at NBC for their ridiculous decision to tape delay an Olympics happening one hour east of ET, it’s insane. Schedules of competition and of course TV coverage subject to change, especially if the US competitors unexpectedly advance in a competition.

Basketball

The US men open the knockout round against Argentina on Tuesday at 5:45 PM. The US men have won 22 straight Olympic games with their last loss nearly 12 years ago against Argentina in the semifinals in Athens on August 27th, 2004. The US beat Argentina in 2008 and twice in 2012 including a semifinal showdown. Argentina did go 3-2 in the group stage but was fourth in a four-team tie for the top four spots.

NBCSN will have LIVE coverage of the game.

Beach Volleyball

The last US beach volleyball match in Rio will be Wednesday night when the duo of April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings take on Larissa Franca/Talita Antunes in the bronze medal match at 9 PM. These two each played in the Olympics in 2012 on separate teams with Franca winning the bronze medal. They were knocked out in the round of 16 at the last world championships in the Netherlands. The US has medaled in women’s beach volleyball at the last three Olympics and has won a medal in either men’s or women’s beach volleyball ever since the first contest back in Atlanta 20 years ago.

NBC plans to carry the match on tape delay this evening in their primetime window between 8 PM and 12 AM.

Boxing

The US has their last boxer still hoping to win a medal in Rio finally going on Wednesday. The Olympics are nearly two weeks old but defending women’s middleweight gold medalist Claressa Shields has yet to go. Shields will finally get her first bout at 1:30 PM on Wednesday when she takes on Iaroslava Iakushina in the quarterfinals. A win in her opening match will guarantee her a medal in Rio.

NBCSN will have tape delayed coverage of boxing between 7:30 and 9:30 PM.

Canoe

The final US canoe event of Rio comes up on Wednesday, the women’s K1 500m featuring Maggie Hogan. Hogan will start things with a heat at 9:12 AM which barely trims the field at all, from seven to six from her heat. If Hogan does finish last she’ll be out but as long as she avoids that she’ll be in the semifinals at 10:17 AM. In the semifinals the top two in each heat plus the two best third place kayaks get into the final A where the eight next best times make final B. Both finals will be Thursday morning.

The canoeing will be covered LIVE on NBCSN and on delay on NBC between 10 AM and 1 PM.

Cycling

While things may be done in the velodrome it’s time for BMX cycling to take center stage. The seeding runs are on Wednesday with all 16 women and all 32 men advancing. Brooke Crain will be first at 12:46 PM with Alise Post at 12:49 PM. The women will be getting seeding in the semifinals on Friday at 12:30 PM where there will be three runs in each of the two heats with points accumulate based on the finish in each run and the top four advancing after three runs.

For the men it will be Connor Fields at 2:02 PM, Corben Sharrah at 2:16 PM, and Nicholas Long at 2:20 PM. The men face the same format as the women but are seeding for a quarterfinal round on Thursday that starts at 12:30 PM.

The BMX will be covered on delay between 2 and 3 PM on NBCSN.

Diving

Jessica Parratto and Katrina Young will begin the women’s 10m platform event with the preliminaries on Wednesday at 2 PM. Parratto and Young will be part of a 28-woman field that will only advance 18 to the semifinals on Thursday.

NBC will have delayed coverage of the diving between 8 PM and 12 AM.

Equestrian

Wednesday will be the last portion of the individual qualifier, the third round, and the second half of the team final both occurring together at 9 AM. The US team is in the pole position going into the second half of the team final as one of four countries that are perfect so far. The US has four riders who will go, Kent Farrington, Lucy Davis, Beezie Madden, and McLain Ward. The top three scores will count with the worst score dropped. Four years ago no team was perfect on either day so it’s hard to know how likely we are to get a tie on Wednesday but if after the teams have all gone there is a tie for the medal there will be a jump-off with each team having all four riders go again.

Wednesday is also the individual jumping third qualifier which will decide the 35 individuals who make the final. Scores reset in the final so the only thing important is making sure you advance. Madden was eliminated on Tuesday but Farrington, Davis, and Ward are all still in the running for the individual final and in position where a perfect day will certainly put them through.

The first 18 riders of the day will be solely involved in the individual competition before the teams go. The US will be the fifth team to go in each round and the first of the four countries which were perfect on day one. Farrington is up first in 23rd overall, Davis is next at 31st overall, Ward will go 39th overall, and finally the 47th rider of the day will be Madden. The same four rider won bronze for the US in the team competition at the World Equestrian Games in 2014 in France.

NBC will have delayed coverage between 10 AM and 1 PM.

Golf

Golf gets back underway on Wednesday with the first day of the women’s event. Gerina Piller will be the first to tee off for the US at 8:03 AM with Lexi Thompson at 8:14 AM and Stacy Lewis at 9:58 AM. Just like the men’s event the women’s event is four rounds of stroke play.

Golf Channel will have LIVE coverage from 6:30 AM to 3 PM.

Sailing

Two more medal races for American sailors on Wednesday though only one will have Americans who are viable medalists. There is a great medal chance for Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha in the women’s 470 as they are in third, just a point behind second and with two other boats within three points of them, going into the race for the medals on Wednesday at 12:05 PM, This should be a thrilling one with the Americans right in the mix.

Medal hopes are gone for David Hughes and Stuart McNay in the men’s 470 as they are fourth overall but too far back of bronze to have a shot at a medal in the final on Wednesday at 1:05 PM.

Sailing will be covered on delay on MSNBC in their 2-3:30 PM window.

Track and Field

One of the highlights of Wednesday will be the beginning of the men’s deacathlon with the first five events taking place. Things begin with the 100m with Jeremy Taiwo going at 8:38 AM and Ashton Eaton and Zach Ziemek at 8:54 AM. Things move to the horizontal jumps with the long jump at 9:35 AM. Eaton and Ziemek will be in group A with Taiwo in group B.

The first throwing event of the decathlon is the shot put with Eaton and Taiwo in group A and Ziemek in group B. Both groups go at the same time at 11:15 AM. The late afternoon will see the first vertical jump with Taiwo and Ziemek in group A of the high jump and Eaton in group B as both run at the same time.

The decathlon’s first day wraps up with the 400m as Taiwo and Ziemek run at 8:36 PM and Eaton goes at 8:44 PM. The decathlon wraps up on Friday.

The men’s 5000m first round takes place on Wednesday morning. Bernard Lagat and Hassan Mead are in the first heat at 9:05 AM while Paul Chelimo goes at 9:27 AM. The top five in each heat and the next five best at-large times will advance to the final on Saturday night. Also holding the first round on Wednesday will be the women’s 800m. Ajee Wilson goes at 10:02 AM with Kate Grace at 10:23 AM and Chrishuna Williams at 10:44 AM. The top two in each heat and the top eight at-large times will be in the semifinals on Thursday night.

In field events on Wednesday in the mornings session we’ll have the men’s hammer throw qualification round with Kibwe Johnson and Rudy Winkler in group A at 8:40 AM while Conor McCullough goes at 10:05 AM.

The final event of the morning session is the men’s 3000m steeplchase final. Hillary Bor, Evan Jager, and Donald Cabral are all medal contenders for the US trying to match Emma Coburn’s medal winning performance from Monday.

In the evening we’ll have the qualification round for the men’s javelin throw with Cyrus Hostetler in group A at 7:30 PM and Sam Crouser and Sean Furey in group B at 8:55 PM. We’ll also have the women’s long jump final with Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese in the field for the US. Everyone gets three attempts and then the top eight get three more attempts.

The track events in the evening begin with the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals.Brianna Rollins goes at 7:45 PM, Nia Ali goes at 7:53 PM, and Kristi Castlin goes at 8:01 PM. A top two spot in their heat or one of two at-large spots will move them into the final at 9:55 PM to close out the evening.

There will also be semifinals in the men’s 200m where all three Americans are still competing. LaShawn Merritt will be first to go at 9 PM with Ameer Webb at 9:08 PM and Justin Gatlin at 9:16 PM. A top two finish in their heat or one of two at-large spots will move them into the final on Thursday night.

The final event of Wednesday night is the women’s 200m final. Deejah Stevens and Tori Bowie both advanced to the final for the US and will be in the running for the medals.

There will be some coverage on NBCSN LIVE during the 8 AM-12 PM period and LIVE on NBC in their 10 AM-1 PM window and LIVE coverage in primetime from 8 PM-12 AM.

Volleyball

The US men begin the knockout round with Poland on Wednesday at 1 PM as they look to reach the medal round. Poland was 4-1 in pool play but lost a tiebreaker for the top spot. Poland was knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2012 as was the US. The last time they met in the Olympics was 20 years ago in pool play in Atlanta where the US swept Poland. The Polish team won the World Championship two years ago when they hosted it though the US beat them in a second round pool match.

You can catch this one LIVE on NBC.

Water Polo

The women’s water polo semifinals arrive on Wednesday with the US facing Hungary at 3:30 PM. These two met to end the group stage with the US pulling away with a 5-1 second quarter as they went on to win 11-6. Hungary finished fourth in London and the US beat Hungary 14-13 in the group stage there. These two teams met in the playoff round at the World Championships last year and the US beat Hungary 12-7 as they went on to win gold.

NBC is scheduled to have LIVE coverage.

Wrestling

After failing to win a medal in the greco-roman wrestling earlier this week the US will hope their first wrestling medal comes in women’s freestyle on Wednesday. The first of four US women to compete over the next two days will be Haley Augello in the women’s 48kg division. Augello faces Jessica Blaszka in the round of 16 as early as 9:20 AM for a spot in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal bouts and the semifinal bouts will follow later in the morning with anyone who loses to one of the two finalists getting into the repechage bracket at 3 PM later in the day. An hour later at 4 PM will be the two bronze medal matches and then the gold match.

MSNBC is scheduled to have delayed coverage between 2 PM and 3:30 PM while NBCSN has delayed coverage between 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM.