NBC Olympics Schedule 2016: Rio Thursday Event Guide, Live-Stream Info and Picks
Only four days remain of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but there's still a lot of exciting action to come.
Many of the medals have not yet been decided, which means the standings could change significantly before Sunday. The events of the next four days should be heavily concentrated with fierce competition that comes out when an Olympic medal is in reach.
Let's check in with how well each country is faring in the medal hunt, before previewing Thursday's schedule and predicting the outcomes of some of the main events.
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Thursday's highlight should be the men's 200-meter dash final at 9:30 p.m. ET, but other medal events and otherwise important matches are on the docket as well. All of the events can be live-streamed at NBCOlympics.com.
Below is NBC's schedule for all medal events. The full schedule can be viewed at the NBC Sports website.
| 7:30 a.m. | Men's and women's badminton |
| 8 a.m. | Men's and women's canoe/kayak |
| 8:30 a.m. | Men's and women's track and field |
| 10 a.m. | Men's triathlon |
| 11 a.m. | Men's field hockey |
| 12 p.m. | Men's and women's sailing |
| 1 p.m. | Men's and women's boxing |
| 3 p.m. | Women's diving |
| 3 p.m. | Women's wrestling |
| 4 p.m. | Men's field hockey |
| 5:35 p.m. | Men's and women's track and field |
| 7 p.m. | Men's and women's taekwondo |
| 9 p.m. | Men's beach volleyball |
| 11 p.m. | Men's beach volleyball |
Picks for Marquee Thursday Events
The United States women’s basketball team is down to its final two tests before it can claim gold for the sixth straight Olympics. The Americans square off against France in a semifinal contest at 6 p.m. ET Thursday.
The squad did have a bit of a slip-up against Japan in the first half of their quarterfinal match, limping out to a mere 46-44 lead late in the second quarter against an active Japanese bunch. Per ESPN.com’s Johnette Howard, Diana Taurasi said there was a point when the team wasn’t totally confident it would get the win.
Taurasi said the following about Japan: “They were hard to handle, they had us worried. That was the first time we went into the locker room here and said, 'We've got to get this going.’” The squad then ended up quickly pulling away for a 110-64 victory.
France’s 4-2 record heading into the contest doesn’t inspire much confidence against the Americans. Not only has the U.S. won all six games so far, every win his come by at least 26 points. Unlike the United States’ men’s basketball squad, this women’s group is comprised of the very best the WNBA has to offer and is also playing up to its potential. Expect a win by at least 20 points.
One of the main highlights on the track Thursday will be the men’s 200-meter final at 9:30 p.m. ET. Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is the favorite, but Canada’s Andre De Grasse is a rising superstar and the United States’ LaShawn Merritt should be a factor with his impressive sprint endurance. The trio all ran below 20 seconds in Wednesday’s semifinals, which none of the others accomplished in the round.
Of the three aforementioned names, though, Bolt and De Grasse should be the clear top two. They ran 19.78 and 19.80 seconds, respectively, in Wednesday night’s race despite exchanging knowing smiles over the past 20 meters or so. NBC provided a nice view of the memorable moment:
Expect Bolt to use his huge stride to win his third straight 200-meter gold in approximately 19.4 seconds, with De Grasse running 19.5 behind him and Merritt running 19.7 to round out the medals.
If you’re still awake, the final for the men’s beach volleyball event takes place at 11 p.m. ET Thursday. Brazil’s Bruno Schmidt and Alison Cerutti will square off in the sand against Italy’s Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo.
Schmidt and Cerutti are understandably the major favorites, as the pair won the 2015 World Championships in the Netherlands. Nicolai and Lupo did place fifth at the 2012 Olympics, but the Brazilian duo has been more impressive in the elimination portion and was the favorite entering competition.
Expect Schmidt and Cerutti, who looked especially impressive against in eliminating the United States on Monday, to use their home-court advantage to win gold in a three-set victory.
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