Summer Olympics 2016: Predictions for Day 9 Medal Events

It's transition day at the Olympics as we start the countdown for the last week of action.

We have our final events in fencing, shooting and tennis. Boxing and sailing will award their first medals, and wrestlers take the mat for the first time.

Men's golf wraps up, and the day leads up to one of the marquee events of the Games, the men's 100-meter dash.

Shooting

ISSOUF SANOGO/Getty Images

Love and bullets.

Men's 50-meter rifle 3 positions

You might not think of shooting as an extreme sport, but Matt Emmons has had wild ups and downs in his Olympic career:

2004: Rifle sabotaged. Wins gold anyway. Has second gold in the bag until he fires at the wrong target. Meets woman who would become his wife, Czech shooter Katerina (Katy) Kurkova.

2008: Silver medal in first event. Has hands on gold but fires early on last shot, missing podium.

2012: Bronze medal in this event.

Oh, and he beat thyroid cancer. 

Qualification starts at 8 a.m. ET; the final is at noon.

Gold: Matt Emmons, United States

Silver: Zhu Qinan, China

Bronze: Hui Zicheng, China

Sailing

Paul Gilham/Getty Images

You can't catch him.

Men's RS-X (windsurfing)

Defending champion Dorian van Rijsselberghe has dominated, clinching gold before the medal race. Britain's Nick Dempsey will take silver, as he did in 2012.

But the race for bronze is close, with Piotr Myszka (Poland), Pierre le Coq (France) and Byron Kokkalanis (Greece) in contention.

Competition starts at 12:05 p.m. ET

Gold: Dorian van Rijsselberghe, Netherlands

Silver: Nick Dempsey, Great Britain

Bronze: Piotr Myszka, Poland

Women's RS-X (windsurfing)

This one, on the other hand, is wide-open. 

Let's explain: Like golf, you want to finish with the fewest points, and you get a point for each place you finish in each race. One point for first, two for second and so on. You can drop your worst result. In the medal race, points are doubled. 

Drop the worst result for each sailor, and we have a tie for first between Italy's Flavia Tartaglini and Russia's Stefaniya Elfutina, each with 55 net points. Then a three-way tie for third (60 points) and another sailor one point back. Pre-Games favorite Bryony Shaw (Great Britain) is eighth.

Competition starts at 1:05 p.m. ET

Gold: Stefaniya Elfutina, Russia

Silver: Flavia Tartaglini, Italy

Bronze: Chen Peina, China

Tennis

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You'd also be excited if you had just beaten Rafael Nadal.

Three finals finish out the tennis action in Rio. They'll start at 11 a.m. ET, but the exact order of play might not be set.

Men's Singles

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro won an epic semifinal against Spanish great Rafael Nadal on Saturday. He'll face Andy Murray, who could hardly have had a better year so far, reaching the final of all three Grand Slams and winning Wimbledon, which loves its British champions.

He also carried the flag for Great Britain in the opening ceremony before taking care of business in the singles draw, squeaking past the USA's Steve Johnson in the quarterfinals before routing Japan's Kei Nishikori in the semis.

Nadal and Nishikori will play for bronze.

Gold: Andy Murray, Great Britain

Silver: Juan Martin del Potro, Argentina

Bronze: Rafael Nadal, Spain

Women's Doubles

Martina Hingis, returning to the Olympics after a 20-year absence, has had a couple of eventful weeks. She was supposed to play mixed doubles with Roger Federer and women's doubles with Belinda Bencic, who wasn't born when Hingis last played in the Olympics, but Federer and Bencic dropped out. Timea Bacsinszky stepped in, and the Swiss duo will play for gold against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova won the all-Czech bronze-medal match.

Gold: Martina Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland 

Silver: Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, Russia

Bronze: Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic

Mixed Doubles

Venus Williams won singles and women's doubles gold in 2000, then women's doubles gold again in 2008 and 2012. She's going to add a fifth medal, reaching this final with Rajeev Ram.

It's actually an all-American final. Bethanie Mattek-Sands is here with Jack Sock, who already took bronze in men's doubles.

The Czech Republic's Lucie Hradecka is in her second bronze-medal match in two days, losing out in women's doubles.

Gold: Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, United States

Silver: Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock, United States

Bronze: Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, India 

Boxing

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Hasanboy Dusmatov eliminated Nico Hernandez in the semifinals.

Men's light flyweight

You can throw out the record books when Colombia and Uzbekistan meet in the ring.

That would be Colombia's Yurberjen Herney Martinez vs. Uzbekistan's Hasanboy Dusmatov. Martinez reached the final with a split decision over Joahnys Argilagos (Cuba). Dusmatov ended a nice run by the USA's Nico Hernandez.

Sunday's boxing begins at 10 a.m. ET and includes the men's lightweight semifinals. The USA's Shakur Stevenson fights at 11:15 a.m.; Gary Russell takes the ring at 12:30 p.m. 

The light flyweight final goes at 1:15 p.m.

Gold: Hasanboy Dusmatov, Uzbekistan

Silver: Yurberjen Herney Martinez, Colombia

Bronze (already decided): Joahnys Argilagos, Cuba

Bronze (already decided): Nico Hernandez, United States

Golf

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images

Not a Cinderella story...

Men's final round

Play begins at 6 a.m. ET, but the contenders won't hit the course until 9. The last group of Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Marcus Fraser has a 9:39 a.m. tee time.

The leaders:

Rose (GBR): 12 under
Stenson (SWE): 11 under
Fraser (AUS): nine under

Then three golfers, including the USA's Bubba Watson, are tied at six under.

Gold: Henrik Stenson, Sweden

Silver: Justin Rose, Great Britain

Bronze: Bubba Watson, United States

Gymnastics

David Ramos/Getty Images

She's back.

Four apparatus finals on tap ...

Men's floor exercise

Eight gymnasts, four countries (USA, Japan, Great Britain, Brazil). Americans Sam Mikulak and Jacob Dalton went one-two in qualifying, scoring 15.800 and 15.600, respectively. All-around champion Kohei Uchimura was next at 15.533, just ahead of Brazil's Diego Hypolito and Great Britain's Max Whitlock.

But Uchimura upped his game in the team event (15.600) and again in the all-around (15.766), while Mikulak hasn't matched his qualifying score.

Competition starts at 1 p.m. ET

Gold: Kohei Uchimura, Japan

Silver: Max Whitlock, Great Britain

Bronze: Sam Mikulak, United States

Women's vault

Simone Biles had the top score in this event in qualifying. And the team event. And the all-around. 

Oddly enough, she has not won this event in her three years of world championship all-around dominance. She was second in 2013, second to North Korea's Hong Un Jong in 2014 and third to Russia's Maria Paseka and Hong in 2015.

But Biles bested Paseka in the team event, 15.933 to 15.700. 

Competition starts at 1:47 p.m.

Gold: Simone Biles, United States

Silver: Maria Paseka, Russia

Bronze: Hong Un Jong, North Korea

Men's pommel horse

It was a British one-two in qualifying, with world champion Max Whitlock doing even better in the all-around (15.875). Louis Smith, the silver medalist in London 2012 and last year's world championships, slipped off the pace in the team event.

France's Cyril Tommasone was third in qualifying and has been waiting for this opportunity, missing out on the team event and all-around.

Alex Naddour (USA) qualified seventh.

Competition starts at 2:34 p.m.

Gold: Max Whitlock, Great Britain

Silver: Cyril Tommasone, France

Bronze: Harutyun Merdinyan, Armenia

Women's uneven bars

We can say with certainty that Simone Biles will not win this event. This is her weakest discipline, and she did not qualify. The USA still finished first (Madison Kocian, 15.866) and third (Gabby Douglas, 15.766) in qualifying. Kocian did even better in the team event (15.933), but Russia's Aliya Mustafina matched her.

In 2012, Mustafina got an unworldly 16.133 to take gold.

This was the event with the wild four-way tie for first in the 2015 world championships. Kocian was one of the four.

Competition starts at 3:21 p.m.

Gold: Madison Kocian, United States

Silver: Aliya Mustafina, Russia

Bronze: Gabby Douglas, United States

Diving

Rob Carr/Getty Images

Her grades are better than yours, too.

Women's 3-meter springboard

No surprise in the semifinals Saturday. China's Shi Tingmao (2015 world champion, Rio gold in synchro) and He Zi (2013 world champion, London gold in synchro) finished one-two.

But North America is in the mix. Canada's Jennifer Abel, a synchro medalist in London, led the first round and was third in qualifying. Abel has been in the top six in the last four major events dating back to the 2012 Olympics.

Also floating in the top six in qualifying and the semifinals is the USA's Abby Johnston, who took synchro silver in 2012 and is now a Duke medical student.

The final starts at 3 p.m. ET

Gold: Shi Tingmao, China

Silver: He Zi, China

Bronze: Jennifer Abel, Canada

Fencing

FABRICE COFFRINI/Getty Images

My name is Gauthier Grumier. I won bronze in the individual event. Prepare to lose.

Men's team epee

Nine teams are in this event, so we'll have a play-in match to start, with Venezuela facing Brazil at 8 a.m. The quarterfinals start at 9:30, the semis are at 11, fifth- through eighth-place will be decided at 1:30 p.m., and the medal bouts are at 4.

Epee might be the most realistic fencing discipline. The swords are heavier and more rigid than foil and sabre, and the entire body is a valid target. Like foil, though, you have to score with the tip of the sword.

This is the last fencing event. If you want to see any more swords in Rio, you'll have to watch modern pentathlon.

The U.S. team did not qualify, so it won't be able to add to the impressive tally of four fencing medals in Rio.

Gold: France

Silver: Ukraine

Bronze: Italy

Cycling

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

I'm terribly sorry, but I need to pull away from you now.

Men's sprint

"After you." "No, after you." "I couldn't possibly." "I insist."

No wonder the ever-polite British are so good at this event. The final is all-British: Jason Kenny vs. Callum Skinner. Russia's Denis Dmitriev faces Australia's Matthew Glaetzer for bronze. They aren't surprise medal contenders by any stretch of the imagination.

Track cycling sprint races are an exercise in patience. They're one-on-one races, but neither cyclist wants to lead until it counts. You'll see a lot of cat-and-mouse, then a sudden burst of speed to the finish.

Check it out at 4:04 p.m., surrounded by preliminary races in other disciplines.

Gold: Jason Kenny, Great Britain

Silver: Callum Skinner, Great Britain

Bronze: Matthew Glaetzer, Australia

Wrestling

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Andy Bisek. Fear the stache.

Men's 59 Kg Greco-Roman

The USA's Jesse Thielke opens in the round of 16 against Morocco's Messoud El Mahadi. With a win, he'd likely have to face Azeri favorite Rovshan Bayramov in the quarterfinals.

First round at 9 a.m., round of 16 at 9:12 a.m. (Thielke goes at 9:24 a.m.), quarterfinals start at 9:48 a.m., semifinals follow at 10:12 a.m., and then we catch our breaths before a repechage at 3 p.m., bronze-medal bout at 4 p.m. and final at 5 p.m.

(To qualify for the repechage, giving a wrestler a shot at one of the two bronze medals, just lose to one of the eventual finalists.)

Gold: Rovshan Bayramov, Azerbaijan

Silver: Ismael Borrero, Cuba

Bronze: Almat Kebispayev, Kazakhstan

Bronze: Elmurat Tasmuradov, Uzbekistan

Men's 75 Kg Greco-Roman

American Andy Bisek is a contender here. He'll face Cuba's Yurisandy Hernandez first.

First round at 9:06 a.m., round of 16 at 9:12 a.m. (Bisek goes at 9:30 a.m.), quarterfinals start at 10 a.m., semifinals follow at 10:19 a.m., and then we come back in the afternoon for a repechage at 3 p.m., bronze-medal bout at 4:30 p.m. and final at 5:30 p.m.

Gold: Roman Vlasov, Russia

Silver: Mark Madsen, Denmark

Bronze: Doszhan Kartikov, Kazakhstan

Bronze: Andy Bisek, United States

Weightlifting

Melissa Majchrzak/Getty Images

Do NOT try this at home.

Women's 75+ Kg

A couple of interesting notes on the start list for the heaviest female competitors (see page 36-37 of the IWF's official PDF):

• American Sarah Robles is the oldest of the eight lifters in Group A, having just turned 28. She was seventh in 2012.
• China's Meng Suping has lifted 305 kg. North Korea's Kim Kuk-hyang is next at 297. Then it's a group of three at 285. (Robles is at 272, second lowest in Group A but ahead of everyone in Group B.)

Group B, featuring 17-year-old Algerian Bouchra Fatima Zohra Hirech, starts at 2:30 p.m. Group A, with Meng, Kim, Robles and the other top contenders, starts at 6.

Gold: Meng Suping, China

Silver: Kim Kuk-hyang, North Korea

Bronze: Son Younghee, South Korea

Track and Field

JEWEL SAMAD/Getty Images

Fine, thanks. How are you?

Begin the day with a classic distance race, end with a classic sprint.

Women's Marathon

This is a tough race to predict. The top runners only compete at this grueling distance a couple of times a year, and they don't always go to the world championships. Times from one course on a cool day may not be comparable to another course on a warmer day.

This course? Flat, according to a RunnersWorld analysis. But also sunny, and temperatures may be near 80 by the end of the race.

American Shalane Flanagan took bronze in the 10,000 meters in 2008. Since moving up to the marathon, she has a second-place finish in the 2010 New York City marathon and several top 10s. Other than her and Italian Valeria Straneo, expect a lot of East Africans.

Ethiopia has 2015 world champion Mare Dibaba, Tirfi Tsegaye (fastest time of 2016) and 2015 London champion Tigist Tufa. Kenya counters with Helah Kiprop, 2016 London champion Jemima Sumgong (won that race despite a fall) and Visiline Jepkesho. Then there's Eunice Jepkirui Kirwa, a Kenyan now competing for Bahrain. 

Fun fact: The Estonia competitors here are triplets—Leila, Liina and Lily Luik.

They'll start at 8:30 a.m.

Gold: Mare Dibaba, Ethiopia

Silver: Jemima Sumgong, Kenya

Bronze: Tirfi Tsegaye, Ethiopia

Women's Triple Jump

Rising University of Georgia junior Keturah Orji, whom Daily Relay's Jesse Squire calls "first American in a generation who is competitive on a world level," has made the final.

Colombia's Caterine Ibarguen has the best jump since the 2008 Olympics, hopping, skipping and jumping 15.31 meters in 2014. She and Venezuela's Yulimar Rojas are the only athletes over 15 meters this year.

Jumping starts at 7:55 p.m.

Gold: Caterine Ibarguen, Colombia

Silver: Yulimar Rojas, Venezuela

Bronze: Olga Rypakova, Kazakhstan

Men's 400 Meters

The USA swept this event in two straight Games—2004 and 2008. Then the Americans were shut out in 2012, with an all-Caribbean medal stand. (No, not Jamaica. It was Grenada, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago.)

LaShawn Merritt won this event in 2008 and followed up with the 2009 world championship. Then he served a doping suspension he attributed to the male-enhancement drug ExtenZe. He returned in 2011 and took silver behind Grenada's Kirani James, but a hamstring problem kept him from finishing his heat in the 2012 Olympics.

Merritt reclaimed the world title in 2013. In 2015, South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk broke through for the world title, followed by Merritt and James.

Those three have the top times of 2016 as well: Merritt 43.97, James 44.00 (in Saturday's semifinals), van Niekerk 44.11.

Race goes at 9 p.m.

Gold: LaShawn Merritt, United States

Silver: Kirani James, Grenada

Bronze: Wayde van Niekerk, South Africa

Men's 100 Meters

Don't take qualifying for granted—one of our sleeper picks, Trinidad and Tobago's Keston Bledman, is out—but favorites Justin Gatlin (10.01 seconds) and Usain Bolt (10.07) got far enough in front to ease up at the finish in their respective heats.

Bolt's fellow Jamaicans, Yohan Blake and Nickel Ashmeade, also had no trouble. American phenom Trayvon Bromell also was in the magic top two in his heat, while Marvin Bracy was third in his heat and had to sweat it out to see if his time of 10.16 held up. (It did.)

Semifinals begin at 8 p.m. Then drop whatever you're doing to watch the final at 9:25 p.m.

Gold: Justin Gatlin, United States

Silver: Usain Bolt, Jamaica

Bronze: Trayvon Bromell, United States