A nine medal haul on Wednesday that had only two golds but five performances that were better than any non-Americans in the field as the US went 1-2 in women’s long jump and the women’s 100m hurdles. There was also the best US finish in the men’s 3000m steeplechase in 64 years and the US continue their streak of taking a beach volleyball in every Olympics it’s been contested at.
August 17th Recap:
Basketball
The US men opened their knockout round by finally putting away an opponent again for the first time since their second game in Rio. Argentina was actually right with the US in the first quarter getting off to a great lead but the US managed to regain the lead before the end of the first quarter. The US would pour it on in the second quarter and throughout the second half eventually winning pretty comfortably 105-78. Kevin Durant led the US with 27 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Paul George had a crowded stat line with 17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, and three steals. DeMarcus Cousins had 15 points and Kyrie Irving had 11 points and six rebounds.
The US men now face Spain on Thursday. Spain started off the Olympics with two losses but has been on a roll coming into the semifinals winning their last three games by at least 19 points. This has been the gold medal matchup in the last two Olympics with the US winning both by single digits. This will be the fourth straight Olympics where the two sides meet. Spain hosted the World Cup in 2014 but was knocked out in the quarterfinals and never faced the US.
Beach Volleyball
April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings ended Rio strong losing the first set but fighting back to push it the distance and winning the third set pretty comfortably over Larissa Franca/Talita Antunes in the bronze medal match (17-21, 21-17, 15-9). Ross adds a bronze to her silver from London while Walsh Jennings is going home without gold for the first time but does have medals from four straight Olympics.
Boxing
The US now knows their medal haul from Rio will be three as the final American who wasn’t sure if they’d win a medal yet won their quarterfinal matchup on Wednesday. Defending women’s middleweight gold medalist Claressa Shields had yet to box in Rio but was impressive as she finally did get to fight. Shields was fairly dominant in a 3-0 sweep (40-36, 39-37, 40-36) of Iaroslava Iakushina in the quarterfinals. Shields will now face Dariga Shakimova in the semifinals on Friday as she tries to defend her gold medal.
Canoe
The final US canoe event of Rio ended quickly on Wednesday as Maggie Hogan was unable to advance in the women’s K1 500m. Hogan was sixth of the seven in her heat but only the top sixth place time from the four heats was able to advance and Hogan was four seconds behing.
Cycling
The only cycling on Wednesday was the BMX seeding runs. The two American women to go went seventh and eighth with Brooke Crain just edging out Alise Post. Post will be in the first heat on Friday in the semifinals while Crain will be in the second heat.
On the men’s side Connor Fields was fourth fastest with Corben Sharrah in fifth and Nicholas Long in ninth. Long will be in the first heat of the quarterfinals on Thursday at 12:30 PM while Fields and Sharrah will be in the fourth and final heat.
Diving
Jessica Parratto and Katrina Young began the women’s 10m platform event with the preliminaries on Wednesday. Parratto was the more consistent diver scoring over 60 on every dive and placing third, though nowhere near the Chinese divers atop the standings. Young started off with a poor dive and had to rally up the standings throughout the afternoon eventually getting into the top 18 and despite a poor last dive as well she finished 12th.
12th was pretty safe trying to make the top 18 on Wednesday but Thursday in the semifinals at 9 AM it’d be a real nervous sweat to see if she makes the 3 PM 12-woman final.
Equestrian
The jumping team final wrapped up on Wednesday and with just three riders left in the competition the US still managed to put together a top day. With just a single penalty from Kent Farrington, four penalties from Lucy Davis, and a perfect ride from McLain Ward the US ended with five total points. Just one more rail hit would have cost the US a medal as Canada and Germany tied for bronze with eight. The silver in the event was the first medal for the US since a gold in Beijing.
Golf
The women’s golf event began on Wednesday with all three Americans posting scores under par and staying in contention. Lexi Thompson had the best opening round with a -3 68 that has her tied for seventh while Gerina Piller was -2 with a 69 that has her tied for 11th. The final American is Stacy Lewis who was -1 with a 70 and tied for 19th. The top three were all -5 or -6 so there’s some ground for the Americans to make up in the next three rounds.
Sailing
We were supposed to have two more medal races on Wednesday but lack of wind forced the postponement of the women’s 470 and men’s 470 medal races. They’ll be held at 12:05 PM and 12:50 PM on Thursday. Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha are in third in the women’s 470 while David Hughes and Stuart McNay are fourth in the men’s 470 but don’t have a medal shot.
Track and Field
The men’s decathlon reached the halfway point on Wednesday with all three Americans performing well and in the top ten.
Ashton Eaton is of course the best of the US decathletes as he leads the event. Eaton ran a 10.46s 100m for 985 points, had a 7.94m long jump for 1045 points, threw the shot put 14.73m for 773 points, cleared 2.01m in the high jump for 813 point, and ran 46.07s for the 400m for 1005 points. Eaton leads the event with 4621 points.
Jeremy Taiwo ran a 11.01s 100m for 858 points, had a 7.45m long jump for 922 points, threw the shot put 14.92m for 785 points, cleared 2.19m in the high jump for 982 point, and ran 48.78s for the 400m for 872 points. Taiwo is in fifth overall with 4419 points.
Zach Ziemek ran a 10.71s 100m for 926 points, had a 7.49m long jump for 932 points, threw the shot put 13.44m for 694 points, cleared 2.10m in the high jump for 896 point, and ran 49.83s for the 400m for 822 points. Ziemek is in tenth overall with 4270 points.
The decathlon wraps up on Thursday. Ziemek goes in the 110m hurdles at 8:30 AM, Taiwo at 8:46 AM, and Eaton at 8:54 AM. In the discus throw Ziemek will be in group A at 9:25 AM while Eaton and Taiwo go at 10:40 AM. The pole vault will be at 12:25 PM with all three Americans competing in group A. The event wraps up with the javelin throw at 5:35 PM and the 1500m at 8:45 PM. Eaton will probably be in the second javelin throw group at 6:45 PM but that’s not known yet until the standings after the morning are finalized. The other two Americans could certainly join him in the later group.
The men’s 5000m first round was Wednesday morning. Bernard Lagat was fifth in his heat and Paul Chelimo won his as both reached Saturday night’s final. Hassan Mead was 13th in his heat after being tripped up but was advanced to the final after a protest.
In the first round of the women’s 800m Ajee Wilson was second in her heat and advanced to Thursday night’s semifinals as did Kate Grace after she grabbed an at-large spot following a third place finish in her heat. Chrishuna Williams was sixth in her heat and eliminated. In field events on Wednesday morning the US was unable to advance anyone in the men’s hammer throw as Conor McCullough was 16th with a 72.88m throw, Rudy Winkler was 18th with a 71.89m throw, and Kibwe Johnson was unable to get a clean throw in.
The final morning event was the men’s 3000m steeplchase final. Evan Jager ran a great race and won silver, the first US medal in the men’s event since Brian Diemer won bronze in 1984 and the best finish since Horace Ashenfelter won gold in 1952. Hillary Bor was seventh with Donald Cabral eighth in the final.
In the evening no US men advanced in the men’s javelin throw. Cyrus Hostetler was 20th with a 79.76m throw, Sam Crouser was 34th after a 73.78m throw, and Sean Furey was 35th after a 72.61m throw.
In the women’s long jump final there was a great duel between Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese. Both didn’t get opening jumps in but Bartoletta had the lead after three jumps after posting a 6.95m jump on try three. Reese was hanging on in fifth with a 6.79m being her only clean jump of the first four. On jump five Reese went into the lead with a 7.09m jump before just a few jumpers later Bartoletta went back in front of her at 7.17m. Reese nearly took the lead again on the final attempt but ended up just two centimeters short of Bartoletta’s mark at 7.15m as she finished second and Bartoletta took the gold. Reese had won gold in London with Janay DeLoach taking bronze four years ago.
On the track in the evening Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali, and Kristi Castlin went an incredible 1-2-3 in the women’s 100m hurdles after all winning their semifinal heats as well. The Americans have dominated the event all year and the world record holder from the US didn’t even make the team. In the women’s 200m final Tori Bowie took her second medal of Rio grabbing a bronze while Deajah Stevens was seventh.
The last event contested on Wednesday was the men’s 200m semifinals. Only LaShawn Merritt advanced for the US as he won his heat. Ameer Webbt finished sixth in his heat and wasn’t close to advancing while Justin Gatlin was third in his heat but missed an at-large spot in the final by 0.04 seconds.
Volleyball
The US men began the knockout round with an impressive sweep of Poland on Wednesday. The US had not swept anyone in Rio until Mexico in their final pool match but considering Mexico won only one set in Rio that wasn’t a huge surprise. Poland on the other one had been 4-1 in pool play. The sets were fairly close at 25–23, 25–22, 25–20 but the US played stronger down the stretch in each one.
The next opponent for the US will be Italy in the semifinals on Friday. The US lost to Italy 3-1 in their second pool match but all three sets the US dropped were by two points, a very close match. These teams met in the quarterfinals in London with Italy sweeping the US. The two countries have met in every Olympics since 2000. The US beat Italy 3-1 in the first round of pool play at the World Championships two summers ago and swept Italy 3-0 in pool play of the World League this summer in Rome but lost to them 3-1 in pool play of the final round later in the tool tournament.
Water Polo
The US women continued to cruise in the water polo tournament with their closest win yet, a four point win over Hungary 14-10 in which the US was down 2-1 early but pulled out to a big lead in the second quarter and never looked back. Maggie Steffens led the way with four goals as the US moved into the gold medal match against Italy. The Italians are also undefeated in Rio with only one really close match, an 8-7 group stage win over Australia. The US defeated Italy 9-6 in the quarterfinals in London and the two teams draw a group stage match in Beijing. This is the fourth straight Olympics where the two sides have met. The US beat Italy 11-9 in group play at the World Championship last summer where the Italians finished fourth.
Wrestling
Still no medals for the US in wrestling as Haley Augello went 1-2 in the women’s 48kg division on Wednesday. Augello opened the day with a 7-0 win over Jessica Blaszka in the round of 16 but lost 11-2 to eventual gold medalist Eri Tosaka in the quarterfinals. Since Tosaka made the final Augello got a repechage chance but lost her first match 3-2 to Zhuldyz Eshimova.
August 18th 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 on NBC in ET/CT is usually 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 women face 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 which didn’t produce any of the other semifinalists. These two teams met in an exhibition prior to the Olympics and the US beat France 84-62. This was the gold medal match in 2012 with the US winning 86-50 and it was a quarterfinal matchup in the World Championships two years ago with the US winning 94-72.
NBCSN will have LIVE coverage of the game.
Boxing
Thursday we’ll find out it the most hyped men’s boxer from the US in Rio will have a shot at gold or will settle for a bronze. Shakur Stevenson faces Vladimir Nikitin in the men’s bantamweight semifinals at 1:30 PM on Thursday withe winner boxing for gold on Saturday. Or I should say he’s scheduled to fight Nikitin as the reports are the world championship silver medalist from three years ago will be pulling out of the bout to injuries he received in a controversial quarterfinal win over the current world champion. It should be known several hours before the bout if Stevenson will have to fight but at the time of writing this it’s still not official.
NBCSN will have tape delayed coverage of boxing between 8 and 9:45 PM.
Cycling
The quarterfinals of the men’s BMX event will be held on Thursday. Each heat has eight riders and three runs down the track will be held. The riders earn points for their finish in each run with the top four in the final standings advancing to the semifinals on Friday. Nicholas Long will be in the first heat while Connor Fields and Corben Sharrah are in the fourth heat.
The BMX will be covered on delay between 2 and 3:15 PM on NBC.
Diving
Jessica Parratto and Katrina Young finish up the women’s 10m platform event with the semifinals on Thursday morning at 9 AM and if they finish the top 12 in that the final in the afternoon at 3 PM. Parratto showed medal winning form as she was third in the preliminaries while Young’s performance would have left her barely in the final.
The semifinals will be covered on delay between 2 and 3:15 PM on NBC with the final delayed in primetime on NBC between 8 PM and 12 AM.
Golf
The women’s golf event continues on Thursday with all three Americans still in contention. Stacy Lewis will be first to tee off at 8:03 AM as she’s currently -1 and tied for 19th. Gerina Piller will tee off at 9:58 AM at -2 and tied for 11th. Finally Lexi Thompson tees off at -3 and tied for seventh at 10:09 AM. The top three spots are at -6 and -6 so the Americans are certainly in contention.
Golf Channel will have LIVE coverage from 6:30 AM to 3 PM.
Modern Pentathlon
The modern pentathlon events begin on Thursday in Rio with the fencing rounds of the men’s and women’s events. Isabella Isaksen and Margaux Isaksen actually begin their days fencing each other in the first round at 9 AM with 34 more matchups to follow as everyone fences everyone in a quick bout. The competitors will be ranked in the end by their win-loss record on the day. On the men’s side only Nathan Schrimsher is in the field for the US with the ranking round beginning at 1:30 PM with the same format.
No scheduled TV coverage.
Sailing
Three more medal races for American sailors on Thursday 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 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 at 12:50 PM.
The final race of the day for the US will be Paris Henken and Helena Scutt in the women’s 49er FX race at 2:20 PM. They’re in ninth entering the day and are not able to win a medal.
Sailing will be covered on delay on CNBC in their 6:15-8 PM window.
Track and Field
The decathlon wraps up on Thursday. Entering the day Ashton Eaton leads with Jeremy Taiwo in fifth and Zach Ziemek in tenth. Ziemek goes in the 110m hurdles at 8:30 AM, Taiwo at 8:46 AM, and Eaton at 8:54 AM. In the discus throw Ziemek will be in group A at 9:25 AM while Eaton and Taiwo go at 10:40 AM. The pole vault will be at 12:25 PM with all three Americans competing in group A. The event wraps up with the javelin throw at 5:35 PM and the 1500m at 8:45 PM. Eaton will probably be in the second javelin throw group at 6:45 PM but that’s not known yet until the standings after the morning are finalized. The other two Americans could certainly join him in the later group.
Also in the morning is the qualifying for the men’s shot put at 8:55 AM. Darrell Hill and Joe Kovacs are in group A with Ryan Crouser in group B. They’ll need to place top 12 or throw 20.65m to reach the final which is also on Thursday at 7:30 PM in the evening. Starting five minutes later at 9 AM will be the women’s high jump qualifying round. Vashti Cunningham and Chaunte Lowe will be in group A with Inika McPherson in group B. They’ll need to be among the last 12 standing or clear 1.94m to advance to the final on Saturday night.
There will be relay first round heats on Thursday morning as well the women’s 4x100m team of Morolake Akinosun, Tianna Bartoletta, Allyson Felix, and English Gardner goes at 10:28 AM and will need a top three finish in their heat or one of two at-large times to reach Friday night’s final. The men’s 4x100m team will go at 10:40 AM and needs the same results to reach their final on Friday night. The final event of the morning is the men’s 400m hurdles final. Kerron Clement is the only one left in the event for the US.
In the evening session there will be the men’s 1500m semifinals with Ben Blankenship at 7:45 PM and Matthew Centrowitz Jr. and Robby Andrews at 7:55 PM. The top five in each heat and two at-large spots move to Saturday night’s final. In the women’s 800m semifinals at 8:15 PM Ajee Wilson will run and at 8:31 PM Kate Grace will run. They’ll need a top two spot in their heat or one of two at-large spots to reach Saturday night’s final.
The night ends with Ashley Spencer and Dalilah Muhammad in the women’s 400m hurdles final at 9:15 PM and the men’s 200m final with LaShawn Merritt at 9:30 PM.
There will be some coverage on NBCSN LIVE during the 8 AM-11:20 AM period and LIVE on NBC in their 10 AM-12 PM window and LIVE coverage in primetime from 8 PM-12 AM.
Triathlon
The men’s triathlon is on Thursday at 10 AM with Greg Billington, Ben Kanute, and Joe Maloy all going for the US. The race is 1.5km of swimming, 43km on the bike, and then a 10km run. Kanute won the national title in 2015 while Maloy won it in 2015. They were both part of the team that won the Mixed Relay World Championship earlier this year.
The triathlon will be covered LIVE on USA between 10 AM and 1 PM.
Volleyball
The US women continue the knockout round with a rematch with Serbia at 12 PM. The US beat Serbia 3-1 eight days ago in pool play as the Americans swept the group and Serbia finished third. The US swept Serbia in pool play at the Olympics in 2012 and swept them in the second round of pool play in the World Championship two years ago.
You can catch this one LIVE on NBC.
Wrestling
The busiest day for the US in wrestling will be on Thursday when they have three women competing in various weight classes of the freestyle contests. The mats will be busy with the US women all day if they can keep winning. Helen Maroulis faces Yuliia Khavaldzhy Blahinya in the qualification round of the 53kg division as early as 9:05 AM, Adeline Gray faces Andrea Olaya in the round of 16 of the 75kg division as early as 9:15 AM, and Elena Pirozhkova faces Taybe Yusein in the round of 16 of the 63kg division as early as 9:20 AM. The round of 16, quarterfinal, and semifinal matches follow in the morning. If anyone loses to a finalist in their division they are in the repechage bracket later in the day. The repechage matches and medal matches are held later in the day starting at 3 PM.
NBCSN is scheduled to have delayed coverage between 11:20 AM and 2 PM while NBCSN has LIVE coverage between 4 and 6 PM.
