And now we’ve seen the Australian possibilities, Here’s what Team USA could do today.
10.30 a.m. EDT: Women’s 400m hurdles final
Three American women – including the newly minted world-record holder – are set to enter the finals of the women’s 400m hurdles. Sydney McLaughlin, 21, set a world record at the US Olympic Trials in June and won the semifinal heat with a time of 53.03 seconds on Monday. (That’s 1.13 seconds off her time from the test.) The previous record holder, Delilah Muhammad, also won her semi in 53.30 seconds, and a recent USC graduate competing in her first Games, Anna Cockerell, placed her second. Semifinals. McLaughlin and Muhammad are expected to fight for the gold, and Cockrell also has a real shot at winning a medal.
7 a.m. EDT: Women’s 3000m steeplechase final
Emma Coburn is competing in her third consecutive Olympics in steeplechase; She did not medal in 2012 and won a bronze in ’16, and is expected to contest in Tokyo. Kenya’s Beatrice Chepakoch is the race favorite – she holds the current world record – but her opening race on Saturday saw a mediocre performance. Chepcoach qualified for the finals, but she is dealing with an inflamed Achilles tendon, potentially leaving a door open for Coburn to take the gold. Two more Americans, Courtney Frerichs and Val Consian, also qualified for the steeplechase final.
7.15am EDT: Men’s hammer throw final
Two American men, Daniel Hogg and Rudy Winkler, qualified for the hammer throw final. In the semifinals, Winkler had the second-farthest throw of anyone in the 31-man field, and Hoff’s throw was good for the ninth. Winkler is competing in his other games; He placed 18th in the qualifying round in 2016 and did not advance to the final. This is Half’s first Olympics.
8.05am EDT: Men’s 800m final
Clayton Murphy, who won bronze in the 800 in Rio, was the only American man to qualify for the finals this summer. Their semifinal time was third best in a field of 24. Wilson’s wife, sprinter Ariana Washington, is also an Olympian; The two met in 2016 at the Olympic Village. Washington is not racing in Tokyo.
8.55am EDT: Men’s 200m final
The men’s 200m final is full of Americans, and in a field that doesn’t include Usain Bolt, it’s anyone’s race. Among the Americans, 22-year-old Kenny Bednarek ran the fastest in the semi-finals, second only to Canada’s Andre de Grasse, who finished second behind Bolt in Rio. Arianne Knighton, who is just 17 years old, won her semifinal heat, and Noah Lyles, who is the world champion in the event, also took the field.
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