Summer Olympics 2016: Predictions for Day 12 Medal Events
This is the portion of the Olympics that belongs to track and field, and Wednesday could be a big night for the Americans.
The U.S. has dominated both the women's 100-meter hurdles and high jump and could salvage what will be an otherwise average day for the Americans medals-wise.
Day 12 will feature finals in table tennis, badminton, sailing, wrestling and taekwondo, sports that aren't a strength for the United States. The U.S. does have a chance to add a medal in equestrian.
The day will finish with what should be an entertaining finale to women's beach volleyball. Now let's get to the predictions for Day 12.
Equestrian
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Team Jumping
The team show jumping medal race has been blown wide-open, and it appears the defending gold-medal champion team, Great Britain, is out of contention after a fault at the tricky water jump cost Nick Skelton in an otherwise flawless round. There is a four-way tie for the top spot going into the finals between Team USA, Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands.
The powerhouse contingent from Team USA, anchored by veteran Olympian and two-time team gold medalist (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008) Beezie Madden, is the favorite for the top spot on the podium. McLain Ward, one of the biggest show jumping stars in the world, has had his sights set on Rio with his up-and-coming mount HH Azur as they made the round on the grand prix circuit. HH Azur is one of the most talented horses in the Games and is careful and athletic enough to tackle even the most challenging course.
The German team also looks formidable. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum, a last-minute addition to the roster, has been excellent, and she is no stranger to competing in world-class events. Her mount, Fibonacci 17, may still be learning the ropes, but he's proved to be a bold, athletic competitor with scope and speed to spare.
Gold: United States
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Netherlands
Table Tennis
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Men's team
China has yet to lose a game in the team portion of Olympic table tennis and is a heavy favorite in its gold-medal match against Japan.
The Chinese unleash the gold and silver medalists in singles (Ma Long and Zhang Jike) in the first two games and then finish off the opponent with the doubles tandem of Ma and Xu Xin, the reigning world champs.
The Japanese are led by Jun Mizutani, who won bronze in men's singles but lost his semifinal match to Ma. Japan beat Germany 3-1 in the semis to advance. The Germans face South Korea in the bronze-medal match.
Gold: China
Silver: Japan
Bronze: Germany
Badminton
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Mixed doubles finals
Malaysia gets a rematch with Indonesia in the finals after losing to the Indonesians in pool play earlier in the Olympics.
Indonesia's pair of Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir have yet to drop a game in Rio and upset the top-ranked team and defending Olympic champions, Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei of China, in the semifinals. The duo from Indonesia entered the Olympics ranked third in the world and finished fourth at the London Olympics.
Malaysia's Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying also pulled off an upset to reach the gold-medal match, knocking off the Chinese duo that won silver at the 2012 Games.
Gold: Indonesia
Silver: Malaysia
Bronze: China
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Track and Field
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Men's 3,000-meter steeplechase
It could be time for Ezekiel Kemboi to hand the baton to fellow Kenyan Conseslus Kipruto as the world's best in this event. Kipruto finished second to Kemboi at the last two World Championships, but the 21-year-old Kipruto has the top three times recorded in the world this year and the top time in qualifying.
Kemboi, 34, has dominated the 3,000-meter steeplechase for years. He won gold at the Olympics in 2004 and 2012 and has won four straight world titles.
The United States put three runners in the top nine during qualifying, including Evan Jager, who took sixth at last year's World Championships. Donald Cabral had the top time for the Americans, finishing third and just 0.56 seconds behind Kipruto in their heat.
Gold: Conseslus Kipruto, Kenya
Silver: Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenya
Bronze: Evan Jager, United States
Women's long jump
American Brittney Reese has dominated the sport for the last seven years, winning gold at the 2012 Olympic Games and six world championships, the first coming in 2009. Reese is on a redemption tour this year after failing to make the finals of the Outdoor World Championships last year. She won the Indoor Worlds in March and put up the best mark in 2016 (7.31 meters) at the U.S. trials last month.
Reese finished third in the qualifying round and is one of two Americans to make the finals—the other being Tianna Bartoletta, who won last year's Worlds.
Serbia's Ivana Spanovic, who finished second at last year's World Championships, had the top mark in the qualifying round (6.87 meters) followed by Germany's Malaika Mihambo (6.82). Also in the finals is Germany's Sosthene Moguenara, who has the second-best long jump in the world this year.
Gold: Brittney Reese, United States
Silver: Ivana Spanovic, Serbia
Bronze: Brooke Stratton, Australia
Women's 200-meter dash
Can anyone catch Dafne Schippers? The Netherlands star has five of the top seven times in the world this year and put up her second-best time in the semis Tuesday night, entering as the top seed at 21.96 seconds.
Schippers won the world title last year, and it's going to be a chore to catch her in Rio. American Tori Bowie, who won her semifinal in 22.13 seconds, has been the closest to putting up Schippers-level times this year. Jamaica's Elaine Thompson, already the 100-meter dash champ in Rio, also has a chance. She finished second to Schippers in the second semifinal.
Gold: Dafne Schippers, Netherlands
Silver: Tori Bowie, United States
Bronze: Elaine Thompson, Jamaica
Women's 100-meter hurdles
It would be a big upset if America doesn't win gold, and the U.S. has a chance to take up every spot on the podium Wednesday night. The United States is so dominant in this event that American Kendra Harrison set the world record this year but didn't even make the Olympic team, finishing sixth at the U.S. trials.
The U.S. has the seven fastest women in the 100-meter hurdles this year, but only three were able to qualify for Rio. The gold-medal favorite is Brianna Rollins, who had the top time in qualifying (12.54 seconds). She was followed by teammate Kristi Castlin (12.68 seconds).
Gold: Brianna Rollins, United States
Silver: Kristi Castlin, United States
Bronze: Nia Ali, United States
Sailing
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Women's 470 (dinghy)
This one has already been decided before the final race. The Great Britain duo of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark will win gold with an insurmountable 20-point lead over the 2012 Olympic champs, Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie of New Zealand.
The next two medal spots are up for grabs with four teams jumbled up in the standings entering the final race: Aleh and Powrie (48 points), Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha of the United States (50), France's Helene Defrance and Camille Lecointre (50) and Japan's Miho Yoshioka and Ai Kondo Yoshida (52).
Gold: Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, Great Britain
Silver: Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie, New Zealand
Bronze: Annie Haeger and Briana Provancha, United States
Men's 470 (dinghy)
We know who will be on the podium Wednesday, but the order is still to be determined.
The Croatian team of Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic are heavy favorites to win gold with an 11-point lead entering the finals. Greece's Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis are in second place, two points ahead of Australia's Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan.
The United States team of Stuart McNay and David Hughes are in fourth place but sit too far behind to contend for a podium spot.
Gold: Sime Fantela and Igor Marenic, Croatia
Silver: Panagiotis Mantis and Pavlos Kagialis, Greece
Bronze: Mathew Belcher and Will Ryan, Australia
Boxing
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Men's welter 69 kilogram final
The welterweight final is between an upstart in the division, Shakhram Giyasov, and one of the more accomplished fighters in the field, Daniyar Yeleussinov.
Giyasov is the surprise of the Olympics in his weight class, and he's become a fan favorite in Rio after he celebrated his quarterfinal win by emulating Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. He earned the right to celebrate in style by beating 2012 Olympic champ Roniel Iglesias of Cuba in the quarters. He followed that up with an upset win over 2015 world champion Mohammed Rabii of Morocco in the semis.
Yeleussinov is the 2013 world champion in the welterweight division and lost to Rabii in the finals at last year's world championship.
Gold: Shakhram Giyasov, Uzbekistan
Silver: Daniyar Yeleussinov, Kazakhstan
Bronze: Mohammed Rabii, Morocco
Bronze: Souleymane Cissokho, France
Wrestling
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Women's freestyle 48 kilogram
This weight class has been dominated in recent years by Eri Tosaka of Japan, who will be competing in her first Olympics. Tosaka has won three straight world championships, but she did lose earlier this year at the Asian Championships to China's Sun Yanan.
The most accomplished wrestler in the field is Azerbaijan's Mariya Stadnyk. She was the 2009 world champion and has medaled twice in the Olympics, winning silver in London and bronze in Beijing. She finished second to Tosaka at the 2015 World Championships.
Gold: Eri Tosaka, Japan
Silver: Mariya Stadnyk, Azerbaijan
Bronze: Jessica Blaszka, Netherlands
Bronze: Sun Yanan, China
Women's freestyle 58 kilogram
Want a chance to watch one of the greatest wrestlers of all time? Then tune in for this weight class to witness Japan's Kaori Icho. She's won the last three Olympic golds in the 63-kilogram weight class, and she's won an additional 10 world championships—the last two have come at 58 kilograms.
Icho is also entering these Games with some extra motivation after losing for the first time since 2003 earlier this year. Mongolia's Orkhon Purevdorj, who is in the field, beat Icho in January at a Golden Grand Prix event in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.
Icho's top challengers include Elif Jale Yesilirmak (bronze medalist at the last two world championships), Petra Olli (silver medalist at last year's worlds) and Jackeline Renteria (won bronze at the last two Olympics competing at 55 kilograms).
Gold: Kaori Icho, Japan
Silver: Elif Jale Yesilirmak, Turkey
Bronze: Petra Olli, Finland
Bronze: Orkhon Purevdorj, Mongolia
Women's freestyle 69 kilogram
This is one of the most accomplished fields in the Olympics, but a relative newcomer, China's Zhou Feng, is the favorite to win gold. Feng made it to the finals of the World Championships last year, losing to Natalia Vorobieva of Russia. Vorobieva also won gold four years ago in London, wrestling at 72 kilograms.
But Feng is the No. 1 wrestler in the weight class and won a test event in Rio earlier this year that included several of the top wrestlers in the field, Vorobieva among them. Canada's Dorothy Yeats was the runner-up in that test event.
Other top competitors in this weight class include Germany's Aline Focken (2014 world champion), Sweden's Jenny Fransson (2012 world champion at 72 kilograms) and Japan's Sara Dosho (medalist at the last three world championships).
Gold: Zhou Feng, China
Silver: Dorothy Yeats, Canada
Bronze: Natalia Vorobieva, Russia
Bronze: Sara Dosho, Japan
Taekwondo
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Women's 49 kilogram
Wu Jingyu is one of the biggest names in the sport and has a chance to become the first athlete ever to win three straight gold medals in taekwondo. Wu has dominated the sport with a career record of 92-10.
Her top competitor in Rio is Thailand's Panipak Wongpattanakit, who won the 2015 World Taekwondo Championships in the 46-kilogram division—Wu competed one division up at 49 kilograms and won silver. Brazilian Iris Sing is in medal contention and working with a home-field advantage. Sing won bronze in the 46-kilogram division at last year's World Championships.
Gold: Wu Jingyu, China
Silver: Panipak Wongpattanakit, Thailand
Bronze: Iris Sing, Brazil
Bronze: Lucija Zaninovic, Croatia
Men's 58 kilogram
The gold-medal favorite is a relative newbie to the scene in 19-year-old Farzan Ashourzadeh of Iran. Ashourzadeh won last year's world championship and is ranked No. 1 in the world.
Ashourzadeh's top challenger is South Korea's Kim Tae-hun, who recently took down the Iranian in the Grand Prix Final. Other medal contenders include Portugal's Rui Braganca, Mexico's Carlos Ruben Navarro Valdez (yes, that is one man) and Germany's Levent Tuncat, a veteran who has won three European Championships.
Gold: Farzan Ashourzadeh, Iran
Silver: Kim Tae-hun, South Korea
Bronze: Rui Braganca, Portugal
Bronze: Carlos Ruben Navarro Valdez, Mexico
Beach Volleyball
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Women's beach volleyball
Brazil's Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk ended Kerri Walsh Jennings' chance at winning gold in four straight Olympics.
The Brazilian duo will take on Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig in the gold-medal match Wednesday night. The Germans knocked off gold-medal favorites Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes from Brazil in the semis.
The expectation was that Walsh Jennings and April Ross would take on Franca and Antunes for gold. They'll have to settle for a consolation matchup.
Gold: Barbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk, Brazil
Silver: Kira Walkenhorst and Laura Ludwig, Germany
Bronze: Larissa Franca and Talita Antunes, Brazil
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