Rio 2016 #Olympics What to Watch For — Saturday & Sunday August 13–14

The Rio 2016 Olympics are here at last! There’s lots to watch on a million channels, over 6500 hours in all, and it’s tough to keep track of everything — so I’ve put together a handy guide.

It’s not comprehensive; instead it should guide you through the highlights and can’t-miss events each day. It will focus largely on Team USA medal possibilities with an attempt to look in at other big names or interesting events as well. Each event is given 1 to 5 stars (★) to highlight importance. All television viewing times listed are Central Time and are approximate.

Please follow me here on Medium at Brandon Anderson and on Twitter at @wheatonbrando for daily updates as the Olympics continue.

Saturday August 13th

★★ Men’s golf third round — all morning starting 5:30am (Central) Golf Channel

This is like the 5th major, no wait, the 6th major, or something. Come for the golf, stay for the capybaras.

★★ Men’s 100m — prelims 7:30am NBCSN, round one 10am NBC

Usain Bolt is a world treasure and you should watch him perform at every opportunity. Justin Gatlin and the Americans are alright too I guess.

★★★ Women’s tennis singles finals — USA Madison Keys vs Czech — 10am Bravo

Keys miracle run came up short with a loss to Kerber in the semis yesterday, but she still has a chance to medal if she can beat Kvitova here. Would still be an amazing accomplishment for a rising American tennis star!

★★★★ Men’s tennis semifinals — 10am Bravo

You’re looking at some incredible tennis Saturday. Spain’s Rafa Nadal is healthy and on point and will face an absolutely on fire Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. In the other semifinal, gold medal favorite Andy Murray of Great Britain will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori. Both matches will be awesome.

★★ Men’s soccer quarters — Portugal vs Germany — 11am NBCSN

Portugal and Germany are no strangers to one another in soccer. Portugal is the 2016 Euros champ, and Germany is the defending World Cup champ — of course these are mostly younger players but there’s still a lot on the line with a likely match against Nigeria in the semifinals for the winner.

★ Women’s water polo — USA vs Hungary — 11am NBC

The US women are 2–0 and look to stay undefeated against an average Hungary team.

★★ Men’s basketball — Brazil vs Argentina — 12pm USA

Brazil has given us some of the most entertaining basketball games of the tournament so far, and there’s no love lost between these long-time rivals. Whoever loses this game will be on the brink of extinction.

★★ Tennis mixed doubles semis — USA x2 — 1pm Bravo

Well the mixed tourney flew by. Suddenly USA has two of the four semifinal teams and a chance for a gold medal showdown! Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram face a pair from India while Jack Sock and Bethanie Mattek-Sands take on Czech Republic. After all the disappointing American tennis, wins by both could mean USA having 6 players take home a Rio medal.

★★ Men’s skeet shooting finals — 1:15pm NBCSN

Think Duck Hunt — just 16 shots per competitor, so matches take about 10 minutes total. America’s Vincent Hancock is a favorite for gold.

★★★ Men’s and women’s rowing coxed eights — 1–3pm NBC

The men are in medal contention while the women are a dynasty and haven’t lost in eights in a final since 2006. These races are delayed but you can stream them around 9am online if you prefer.

★ Men’s trampoline gold — 1:40pm NBC

Last chance to catch a fun event. The men’s favorite is China’s Dong Dong. I’ll just let you write the joke yourself.

★★ Men’s volleyball — USA vs France — 3pm NBC

The men’s team finally showed up against Brazil Thursday night in an incredible match and got their first win of the tournament. They could use another win against 2–1 France to keep tournament hopes alive.

★ Women’s fencing team sabre gold medal — 4:15pm MSNBC

You could have another chance to see inspiring Muslim-American Ibtihaj Muhamad, the first American to compete at the Olympics in a hijab. The women are expected to be in medal contention, with the bronze medal match at 3pm if they fall just short.

★★★ Men’s basketball — Spain vs Lithuania — 5pm NBCSN

It’s shocking how much Spain has struggled at this Olympics so far, just 1–2 so far after barely escaping a poor Nigeria team for their first win. They have Lithuania and Argentina remaining in the group and could have to win both to stay alive. A loss here is pretty close to curtains, and Lithuania are 3–0.

★★★★★ Olympic prime time on NBC — 7–11pm NBC

It’s the final night of swimming with four finals including the last Olympic race ever for Michael Phelps. You’ll also see the women’s 100m and other track and field events along with women’s diving and beach volleyball.

★★ Men’s long jump — 6:50 NBC

Three American men are competing with all of them in contention for the medal stand. Marquis Dendy and Jarrion Lawson compete for USA with Jeff Henderson the favorite. Expect to see highlights of this during prime time.

★ Men’s 10k — 7:25pm NBC

You’ll catch the end of this one and that could be a chance for you to see one of the hero’s from London Britain’s Mo Farah going for another gold.

★★ Men’s soccer quarters — Brazil vs Colombia — 8pm NBCSN

Brazil went from the brink of extinction Wednesday night to a big win and a great tournament draw. They face rival Colombia here, and suddenly now a first ever men’s soccer gold is in clear sight.

★ Men’s swimming 1500m freestyle — 8:10pm NBC

This is a long boring race that gives you a great chance for a 15 minute breather, but come back for the end and cheer on Connor Jaeger as he pushes for a medal.

★★★★ Women’s 100m — semis 7pm — finals 8:30pm NBC

Americans Tori Bowie and English Gardner will both push for medal contention, but a pair of Jamaicans and Dutch woman Dafne Schippers are the favorites. It’s the race for Fastest Woman in the World.

★★★ Women’s swimming 50m freestyle — 8pm NBC

Simone Manuel inspired us by becoming the first African-American woman to win a gold in swimming in the 100m, beating the favored Australian sisters Bronte and Cate Campbell. They meet up again here a final time in a race that is sure to be extremely close.

★★★★ Women’s swimming 4x100m medley relay — 8:45pm NBC

It’s the final women’s swim and you’ll see a lot of faces you’ve grown to love, but USA is an underdog with Australia expected to push hard for gold.

★ Women’s heptathlon finals — 8:50pm NBC

You’ll see the final event of the heptathlon, the 800m race. You may feel compelled to root for Canada’s Brianne Theisen-Eaton, wife of star American decathlete Ashton Eaton. Her top competition is Britain’s Jessica Ennis-Hill.

★★★★★ Men’s swimming 4x100m medley relay — 9pm NBC

This is Michael Phelps final Olympic race ever, and the Americans are of course the favorites. Phelps will swim the butterfly portion of the relay as the third swimmer. Double gold winner Ryan Murphy will lead off on backstroke, Kevin Cordes on breaststroke, and Nathan Adrian anchoring on freestyle.

★★★ Men’s beach volleyball round of 16 — USA Dalhuasser / Lucena vs Austria — 10pm NBC

Dalhausser and Lucena remained perfect with an epic tiebreak win and now they begin knockout play with a chance to avenge American teammates Gibb and Patterson, who were knocked out by this Austrian pair.

★ Men’s 400m semifinals — 11:30pm NBC

Three semifinals from earlier will be replayed with LaShawn Merritt, Gil Roberts, and David Verburg all in contention for Team USA.

Sunday August 14th

★★★ Men’s golf final round — starting 5:30am (Central) Golf Channel, concluding 12–2pm NBC

It’s a lazy Sunday morning, leaving you to choose between a women’s marathon and the finals of a golf event no one seems to care much about. My recommendation is tuning in to Arsenal and Liverpool over on NBCSN as the English Premier League kicks off. Britain’s Justin Rose takes a 1 stroke lead into Sunday over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson. Americans Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar are in the top 7 and in medal contention.

★ Women’s marathon — 7:30am NBC

Are you interested in 2 and a half hours of women running? Well I have GREAT news for you. Shalane Flanagan is the best American competitor but 7 women from Kenya and Ethiopia are the favorites.

★★ Men’s rifle shooting, 3 positions — 11am USA

It’s your last chance to watch Olympic shooting competition, with American Mark Emmons back to defend his gold medal as a favorite.

★★★★ Tennis mixed doubles gold — USA V.Williams/Ram vs Sock/Mattek-Sands — 11:30am Bravo

Though USA disappointed in tennis singles, doubles was a different story. Jack Sock and Steve Johnson already took home the bronze in men’s doubles, and now Sock can add a gold here with Bethanie Mattek-Sands. To do it, they’ll have to take down Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram in a gold-silver USA showdown. The former are the favorites and haven’t lost a set yet.

★★★ Men’s tennis singles bronze — Spain vs Japan — 11:30am Bravo

Nadal vs Nishikori should be a great showdown between two of the most fun players in the field… unfortunately it’s the same time as the USA gold-silver mixed doubles match so you may have to stream it somewhere to watch it.

★★★★ Men’s basketball — USA vs France — 12pm NBCSN

France is one of the best non-US teams at the Olympics with guys like Tony Parker, Nic Batum, Boris Diaw, and Rudy Gobert dotting the roster. If this one gets to more of an NBA feel, USA athleticism on the wings should dominate, but an open international game could make things interesting.

★★★★★ Men’s tennis singles gold — Argentina vs Great Britain — 1pm Bravo

Juan Martin del Potro has been absolutely incredible for Argentina, with epic wins over both Djokovic and Nadal in the last week. If he can add a third against Murray in the final, they should just probably give him all three medals. Murray is favored — we’ll see if DelPo has anything left.

★★ Men’s water polo — USA vs Italy — 1:30pm NBC

USA finally got a win against France but at 1–3, this is a match they have to win against the group leader Italy in order to stay alive.

★ Women’s volleyball — USA vs China — 3pm NBC

Just a reminder that Team USA women are cleaning up here. A win keeps them perfect and gives them a protected draw in the quarters.

★ Men’s Greco-Roman wrestling (75kg) finals — 4pm NBCSN

If you’re hoping to get a glimpse of Greco-Roman wrestling, this is your chance with American Andy Bisek expected to be in medal contention.

★★★★★ Olympic prime time on NBC — 7–11pm NBC

Sunday is a big one with the men’s 100m featured along with a quartet of individual gymnastics events, women’s diving, and a beach volleyball quarterfinal. Make sure you’re home at 8:25 (central) to see Usain Bolt live.

★★★ Men’s 100m semifinals — 7pm NBC

Yes Americans Justin Gatlin and Trayvon Bromell could be right there at the finish line but let’s be honest. You’re rooting for Usain Bolt. We all are.

★★★ Men’s gymnastics floor and pommel horse — prime time NBC

Alex Naddour competes for Team USA on the pommel horse, always a nervy watch. Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton will push for a medal on the floor.

★★★★ Women’s gymnastics vault and uneven bars

For all the credit Simone Biles has been given, maybe no gymnast has been quite as incredible as American Madison Kocian on the uneven bars. She just flies off the bars and had not a single deduction in the team competition. This event is the reason she and Gabby Douglas are on Team USA and they’ll both push for gold here. Simone Biles won’t compete on the bars but she is the favorite on the vault.

★★★ Men’s 400m — 8pm NBC

American LaShawn Merritt is expected to be among the top three and should have a good shot to medal here, but South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk is the favorite.

★★★★★★★ Men’s 100m finals — 8:25pm NBC

It’s the race for World’s Fastest Man, and that means it’s the Usain Bolt show. It happens once every year for under 10 seconds, and it is the single most must-see event of the entire Olympics. Don’t miss it.

★★★★ Beach volleyball quarters — USA Walsh Jennings / Ross vs Australia — 10pm NBC

Neither pair has lost so far, and of course Kerri Walsh Jennings has never lost an Olympic match in 12 years of competition so far. There’s no margin for error from here forward.