Beginning on Friday, August 8, the 2008 Summer Olympics from Beijing, China will spring into action as the Olympic flame arrives from Greece at the Opening Ceremonies. The athletes from 205 countries will begin competing on Saturday, August 8 and continue the games through August 24. Here is a short guide to the nightly highlights to be broadcast on NBC.
Saturday 8/9 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
Qualifications in men’s gymnastics, where the Americans must compete without star and 2004 individual gold medal winner, Paul Hamm. Also, medals are up for grabs in swimming in the men’s 400m freestyle, the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay and the men’s and women’s 400m individual medley. Americans Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff each hold world records in the 400m individual medley.
Sunday 8/10 - 7 to 11:30 p.m.
Americans Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff and Brendan Hansen compete for medals as the swimming events continue. Then, in women’s gymnastics, the reigning world champion Americans led by talented teenagers Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liuken look to defend their title in the qualifying round.
Monday 8/11 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
The men take to the mats as the men’s team gymnastics final concludes. In the pool, Americans Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin compete in the men’s 200m freestyle, men’s 100m backstroke and women’s 100m backstroke respectively.
Tuesday 8/12 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
Two American teams, Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers on the men’s side and Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh on the women’s side will compete in the beach volleyball preliminary rounds. The May-Treanor/Walsh combination has proven highly successful, as the two have proven that they a dominant force on a global stage by taking home gold in 2004.
Wednesday 8/13 - 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
The beach volleyball action will continue along with the individual time trails of women’s road cycling and the men’s 3m synchronized springboard diving final. Then, the men’s 200m breaststroke final, where Kosuke Kitajima of Japan is favored and American Eric Shanteau will compete after being diagnosed with testicular cancer prior to the Beijing Games.
In gymnastics, the men’s individual all-around title is decided. Two-time champion, Yang Wei, hailing from China, is heavily favored since the withdrawal of 2004 gold medalist Paul Hamm due to injury.
Thursday 8/14 - 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
In beach volleyball, the crucial elimination round will be underway. In addition, Americans Aaron Peirsol and Michael Phelps will compete for gold in the 200m backstroke and 200m individual medley respectively.
Then, in the women’s individual all-around gymnastics competition, two American teenagers, sixteen-year-old Iowa native Shawn Johnson and nine-time world medalist Nastia Liukin will be competing for gold.
Friday 8/15 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
More intense competition will take place as the beach volleyball elimination round continues. In men’s track and field, the shot put final will be taking place, where American Reese Hoffa is reigning world champion and American Adam Nelson is two-time silver medalist. In track and field the qualifying round in the men’s 100m will feature American Tyson Gay who figures to have a good chance for gold. Also, if everything falls right for superstar swimmer Michael Phelps, he could be competing for a record tying seven gold medals at one Olympics in the 100m butterfly.
Saturday 8/16 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
American Deena Kastor, who won bronze in the women’s Olympic marathon four years ago, ending a 20-year drought for the U.S., now vies for another medal while Zhou Chunxiu runs for a victory at home. Also, men’s and women’s swimming relays are scheduled along with the women’s 50m freestyle, where 41-year-old American Dana Torres races against swimmers as young as 16.
Sunday 8/17 - 7 to 11:30 p.m.
The first of three nights of individual gymnastics finals will take place and consist of men’s floor and pommel horse and women’s floor and vault routines. American Shawn Johnson won the floor world title in 2007 and China’s Cheng Fei will be heavily favored on vault.
Monday 8/18 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
The gymnastics individual event finals continue along with the semi-final matches of women’s beach volleyball. With any luck, the May-Treanor/Walsh combination will still be in the running for their second straight gold medal.
Tuesday 8/19 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
The final night of individual event competition in gymnastics consisting of men’s parallel and high bars and women’s balance beam will take place. Also, in track and field American Lolo Jones runs in an attempt to bring home the second straight gold medal for U.S. in the 100m hurdles.
Wednesday 8/20 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
Track and field finals continue, as medals for the 200m sprint are up for grabs, an event that Americans won all the medals in four years ago. Also, new to the Olympics is BMX racing, where the U.S. has unmatched depth and has been installed as the gold medal favorites.
Thursday 8/21 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
More track and field finals will take place as the Chinese Olympic hero Liu Xiang attempts to put on a repeat gold medal performance at the men’s 110m hurdles. In addition, American Jeremy Wariner attempts to defend his gold medal in the men’s 400m. Then, perennial underdog Laura Wilkinson, who came from 8th place to win the gold medal at the Sydney games returns in hopes of taking home another gold medal in the face of the heavily favored Chinese at the 10m platform diving.
Friday 8/22 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
The semifinals of the men’s 10m platform diving will commence, where China is once again heavily favored, but the American teens David Boudia and Thomas Finchum give the U.S. a fighting chance. In track and field, the men and women race for more medals in the 4x100m relay.
Saturday 8/23 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
More track and field finals, the notable events being the men’s 800m, men’s 4×400 relays and the men’s long jump. In addition, the men’s marathon and the men’s 10m diving final will take place.
Sunday 8/24 - 8 to 11:30 p.m.
The final night of the Beijing Olympics will consist of the men’s beach volleyball gold medal match and the closing ceremonies.
