A big day for Australia at the Olympics. Going for gold in the pool are Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell, while the Matildas seek a place in the women’s football semi-finals and the track and field competition begins. For a full rundown of Aussies in action try our handy guide:
And seeing as we’ve covered the Aussies, here are highlights for the Americans.
9.41pm EDT: women’s 200m breaststroke final
Americans Lilly King and Annie Lazor both qualified for the final, though it’s unlikely anyone will top South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker, who on Thursday posted the best semifinal time by more than a second. King is coming off a bronze in what was her signature event, the 100m breaststroke; both she and Lazor, a 26-year-old first-time Olympian who won this event at the US trials, should be in the running for silver or bronze.
9.50pm EDT: men’s 200m backstroke final
Ryan Murphy, who took gold in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events in Rio de Janeiro, finished with the third fastest time in the semifinals Thursday, and he’s a strong medal contended in a race where Russia’s Evgeny Rylov is favored. Murphy won bronze Wednesday in the 100m event, where he holds both the world and Olympic records, finishing .21 seconds behind Rylov’s first-place time.
9.59pm EDT: women’s 100m freestyle final
Abby Weitzeil, a specialist in the freestyle sprint events, will compete in lane 1 in the 100m freestyle final; but don’t let that positioning color your view of her changes. Weitzeil, who’s won three Olympic medals in relays (two in Rio and one in Tokyo), and she now has a shot at her first individual hardware. The semifinal yielded a tight field; Aussie Emma McKeon set an Olympic record in the semifinal, but Weitzeil finished just .67 seconds slower and is very much within reach of a medal.
2am EDT: men’s doubles tennis bronze medal match
USA’s Tennys Sandgren and Austin Krajicek face off against Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus of New Zealand in the bronze medal match after falling to Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic of Croatia – the reigning Wimbledon champions – in the semifinal round. This is the first Olympics for both of the Americans, who are ranked No 48 in the world (Krajicek) and No 208 (Sandgren), and they control the US’s last remaining chance to medal in tennis in Tokyo.
1am/3am EDT: men’s kayak semi-final and final
One American, Michal Smolen, qualified for the men’s kayak semifinal, and he’ll be the second boat to start on Friday in Tokyo. Smolen, who was born in Poland and is the son of a canoer (his father, Rafal) and handball player (his mother, Agnieszka), both of whom represented Poland in international competition. Smolen’s family emigrated to the US, and he began canoeing when he was 10. Smolen is one of 20 athletes to make the semifinal, and he’ll need a top-10 time to advance.