Olympics 2012 Schedule: Start Times for Day 8's Most Exciting Events

For a lot of people, the second week of the Olympics is when the action starts, thanks to track and field beginning, basketball moving into the medal phase and a lot more medal action. 

Day 8 of the London Olympics brings with it a number of the top stars that the Games were being built around. 

Here is a look at the biggest events we are looking forward to, with the start time listed next to them. 

(Note: For a full list of Day 8 events and start times, click here.)

Men's 100-Meter Dash (Preliminaries at 5:00 a.m. ET, Round 1 at 7:30 a.m. ET)

Even if Usain Bolt was not racing in this event, it would still be worth watching because it is arguably the most popular race of the entire Olympics. 

Adding Bolt into the mix is just the icing on the cake. We all have expectations for what Bolt will do in the 100-meter dash, though I don't know if we should expect them before the finals on August 5. 

In addition to Bolt, American's Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay make this one of the most intriguing fields in any event this year. 

Women's 100-Meter Dash (Finals at 4:55 p.m. ET)

After watching  Bolt and the field of men in the 100-meter dash, why not get ready for the medals to be handed out in the women's 100-meter dash?

The idea of American Carmelita Jeter going up against Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won this event in Beijing four years ago, is exciting and should be the best medal matchup of the day. 

It may not be happening in primetime, at least live in America, but it is definitely a headline event that deserves the spotlight coverage from NBC. 

Swimming: Women's 4x100m Medley Relay (Final at 3:07 p.m. ET), Men's 4x100m Medley Relay (Final at 3:27 p.m. ET)

The last major events in swimming take place on Saturday, with the two team relays ending the action in the Aquatics Centre. 

On the men's side, the United States team took first in the heat with a time of three minutes, 32.65 seconds. Great Britain, Japan and Australia were right behind them, though they were clearly the top team. 

The women's side of things is even tighter, with Australia finishing just ahead of Japan in the heats. Denmark came in third, with the United States not far behind. 

Expect two great medal races on the last full day of team swimming in London.

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