Summer Olympics 2016 Schedule: Friday TV, Live-Stream Coverage from Rio
A week after hosting the extravagant opening ceremony, Rio de Janeiro will entertain its first Friday of Olympic events.
As always, the card is stacked. Most viewers will anxiously await the night's main events, where Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps will look to snatch more gold in their final individual races.
In the meantime, two of the United States' most decorated teams will compete following performances below their usual level of excellence. Although no harm was done in either instance, both squads will return with a vengeance Friday.
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Let's take a look at Day 7's full schedule, with NBC Olympics providing live-stream coverage for each event:
| 8 a.m. | Archery, Track and Field | MSNBC |
| 9 a.m. | Fencing, Shooting | USA |
| 10 a.m. | Track and Field, Beach Volleyball | NBC |
| 11 a.m. | Tennis | Bravo |
| Noon | Swimming, Rowing, Track and Field | NBC |
| Noon | Women's Soccer: USA vs. Sweden | NBCSN |
| Noon | Fencing, Women's Volleyball | USA |
| Noon | Badminton, Handball, Shooting | MSNBC |
| 2 p.m. | Swimming, Volleyball, Rowing, Track and Field, Trampoline | NBC |
| 2:30 p.m. | Women's Basketball: USA vs. Canada | NBCSN |
| 3 p.m. | Archery, Equestrian, Sailing | MSNBC |
| 4:15 p.m. | Beach Volleyball | NBCSN |
| 6 p.m. | Men's Basketball: USA vs. Serbia | NBCSN |
| 8 p.m. | Track and Field, Swimming, Diving, Beach Volleyball | NBC |
| 8 p.m. | Fencing | NBCSN |
| 9 p.m. | Women's Soccer: Brazil vs. Australia | NBCSN |
| 11 p.m. | Weightlifting, Boxing | NBCSN |
Women's Soccer Quarterfinals
In its defense, the U.S. women's national soccer team had little on the line when facing Colombia on Wednesday. The 2-2 draw was enough to wrap up Group G and advance to the quarterfinals, where Sweden awaits in the knockout stage.
Yet Colombia entered the final preliminary bout without an Olympic goal, and the defending champion had not allowed one. So it was surprising to see Hope Solo relinquish two scores.
Early in the match, a seemingly harmless free kick slithered through her legs, a rare miscue for the veteran goalkeeper. After Crystal Dunn and Mallory Pugh erased the deficit, Team USA squandered the victory during the 90th minute.
Per NBC Olympics, Solo turned her sights toward the next round during her post-match interview:
Luckily for Solo and the U.S., the hiccup occurred during a nonessential contest. However, there's no longer any room for error, with the tournament switching to single-elimination gear.
On Friday afternoon, the USWNT must defeat a familiar face. Former U.S. manager Pia Sundhage, who led the 2008 and 2012 gold-medal teams, now coaches Sweden. Despite surviving the group stage, Sundhage's squad had a rough time, notably surrendering five goals to Brazil.
The U.S. remains the heavy favorite, but as Wednesday's contest showed, that doesn't mean the Americans are infallible.
Men's Basketball
This may say more about the monumental gap between Team USA and everyone else, but the men's hoops squad has some explaining to do after winning by only 10 points.
On Wednesday, Australia provided a tougher challenge than anyone expected. Instead of coasting to an easy win, Team USA entered halftime behind and trailed early in the fourth quarter. Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova nearly took down an empire.
Instead, Carmelo Anthony inserted himself as the veteran leader, saving the day with 31 points and nine three-pointers. In the process, he became the team's all-time leading scorer.
Per the Associated Press' Tim Dahlberg, head coach Mike Krzyzewski acknowledged only the positives of beating a feisty Australian squad that upset medal contender France earlier in preliminary play.
"It's pretty obvious why it's good for us," he said. "You beat one of the best teams in the tournament. You beat a team that's going to vie for a gold medal. You beat a team that was undefeated and has played together for years, a really good basketball team, so I don't know how that could not be good for us."
As long as the U.S. bounces back with a convincing triumph over Serbia on Friday, everything will go back to normal as pundits credit Wednesday's test for fending off complacency.
Women's Swimming
Ledecky has lived up to the hype, winning both of her individual events (the 200-meter and 400-meter freestyle) while capping off a team victory in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay.
If Thursday's preliminary swim was any indication, she's about to claim another gold medal in Friday night's 800-meter freestyle final.
Ledecky annihilated the pack in the qualifying heat, nonchalantly setting an Olympic record in the process. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, the 19-year-old has notched all of the 800-meter freestyle's top times:
The longer the distance, the more she dominates. If the International Olympic Committee offered a 1,500-meter freestyle for women, she'd probably win and walk to the podium before the runner-up finished.
The scariest part of Thursday's record-setting swim: She probably wasn't going at full speed. Given one more opportunity to put on a show in her best event, Ledecky could top Thursday's record and create a longer cushion than seven seconds in Friday's final.
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