Olympics 2012 Schedule: Day 9 Top Athletes, Events, TV Info & More

Eight days of competition are in the books for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and we head into the ninth day with some of the most exciting events coming up.

Track and field will be prevalent with multiple medal events. There will also be medals awarded in badminton, cycling and even wrestling.

This is the where the Olympics starts to get extremely varied in terms of what is being played and here is the Day 9 event preview:

Event Info

* Times are EDT

* Full schedule can be found here
 
 

Badminton

TV: 4 a.m.-5 a.m. (NBC Sports), 6:30 a.m.-7 a.m. (NBC Sports), 3 p.m.-3:30p.m.(NBC Sports), 

Basketball: Women's Preliminary play

TV: 4 a.m.-6:15 a.m. (NBC Specialty), 6:15 a.m.-8 a.m. (NBC Specialty, NBC Sports), 9:30 a.m.-11:45 a.m. (NBC Specialty), 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (NBC), 3 p.m.-5:15 p.m. (NBC Specialty), 5:15 p.m.-7 p.m. (NBC Specialty)

Beach Volleyball: Elimination Matches

TV: 1 p.m.-2 p.m. (MSNBC), 2 p.m.-3 p.m. (NBC Sports), 7 p.m.-12 a.m. (NBC)

Boxing: Round-of-16 Men's Flyweight, Light Welterweight and Light Heavyweight

TV: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (CNBC), 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (CNBC)

Cycling: Track Cycling, Women's Final Late

TV: 5 a.m.-6:30 a.m. (NBC Sports), 4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (NBC)

Diving

TV: 7 p.m.-12 a.m. (NBC)

Equestrian: Jumping Qualifying

TV: 1:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. (NBC)

Field Hockey: Men's, Great Britain vs. Australia

TV: 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. (NBC Sports)

Gymnastics: Finals in Men's Floor Exercise, Men's Pommel Horse and Women's Vault

TV: 7 p.m.-12 a.m. (NBC)

Handball: Women's, Denmark vs. France 

TV: 5:15 p.m.-6 p.m. (MSNBC)

Shooting: Men's Pistol Final

TV: 11:50 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (NBC Sports)

Synchonized Swimming: Duet Qualifying

TV: 10 a.m.-11:50 a.m. (NBC Sports)

Table Tennis: Men's Team Quarterfinals

TV: 9 a.m.-9:45 a.m. (NBC)

Tennis: Mixed Doubles Final, Men's Bronze and Gold Medal Matches, Women's Doubles Finals

TV: 7 a.m.-8:30 a.m. (NBC Sports), 7 a.m.-9 a.m. (MSNBC), 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (NBC), 12:15 p.m.-2 p.m. (NBC Sports)

Track and Field

TV: 6 a.m.-9 a.m. (NBC), 7 p.m.-12 a.m. (NBC)

Volleyball: Women's Group Play

TV: 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m. (NBC Sports), 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (NBC), 4:15 p.m.-5 p.m. (NBC Sports), 5 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC Sports),

Water Polo: Women's Quarterfinal Play

TV: 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. (MSNBC), 2 p.m.-3 p.m. (NBC), 3:30 p.m.-4:20 p.m. (MSNBC)

Weightlifting: Women's Superheavyweight Competition

TV: 3:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m. (NBC Sports)

Wrestling: Qualifying and Finals in Greco-Roman Discipline

TV: 12:15 p.m.-1 p.m. (MSNBC), 4:20 p.m.-5:15 p.m. (MSNBC)

Top Athletes 

Usain Bolt, Jamaica, Men's 100-Meter Dash

The reigning fastest man in the world. He has not just the Olympic record but the world record in the 100 meter dash. He seems to have slowed a bit, though. Bolt needs to revert to his Beijing form, otherwise his 6'5" frame will be crossing the finish line in second...or worse.

Yohan Blake, Jamaica, Men's 10 Meter Dash

Blake beat Bolt in the World Championships in the 100-meter dash. He is arguably the fastest man in the world. He should surprise everyone with the result in London on Day 9 as he at the very minimum will medal, and at best, he will win the title of fastest man in the world.

McKayla Maroney, USA, Women's Gymnastics Vault

McKayla Maroney is the best vaulter in the world and should be an instant gold for the United States. She is so good and has a unique jump that could very well be named after her. If she decides to do her triple-twisting Yurchenko vault, it would be renamed as a Maroney since she would be the first to complete it in competition.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist and Trends and Traffic Writer for Bleacher Report. As a Featured Columnist, he covers the Atlanta Falcons, NFL and NFL draft. He is also the Falcons analyst at Drafttek and runs the NFL draft website ScarDraft.com and hosts Kvetching Draftniks Radio.

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