Stanford’s Alix Klineman and her partner April Ross are unbeaten heading into the gold medal match Thursday evening, and Allyson Felix headlines a busy day in track and field, along with the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays. Here’s what’s on tap in the next 24 hours at the Tokyo Olympics:
April Ross, Alix Klineman battle for beach volleyball gold
April Ross already has a silver medal and a bronze medal in her collection. Now, she has a chance to add gold.
Ross and Stanford’s Alix Klineman will take on Australian duo Mariafe Artacho and Taliqua Clancy in the women’s beach volleyball gold medal match at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The American duo is a perfect 6-0 in the tournament so far, losing only one set along the way. Ross and Klineman enter the final off the heels of a semifinal win over Switzerland’s Anouk Verge-Depre and Joana Heidrich.
A U.S. pair has stood atop the podium in three of the last four Olympics, but Ross has yet to claim a gold medal. With Klineman by her side, that can change Thursday night.
Watch on NBC’s primetime coverage, or stream live.
Allyson Felix, Team USA’s 4x100m relays highlight stacked track and field action
The stars will be under the bright lights of Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium on Friday.
The session, which begins at 3:50 a.m., features six intriguing finals: women’s javelin throw, men’s 5000m, women’s 400m, women’s 1500m, women’s 4x100m relay and the men’s 4x100m relay.
Allyson Felix is making her fifth Olympic appearance in Tokyo and is hoping to add to her historic medal totals. She won silver in the women’s 400m in Rio and among the medal contenders in the event once again.
The U.S. men will be looking for their first Olympic gold in the 4x100m relay since 2000 and first medal of any kind since 2004. Team USA was represented on the men’s 100m podium with Fred Kerley winning silver, while Ronnie Baker placed fifth in the final. Trayvon Brommell, Micah Williams and Cravon Gillepsie will also look to help Team USA reclaim a podium finish.
The Jamaican women went a level above the American men in the 100m, sweeping the podium. Still, the American women come into the 4x100m final as the two-time defending Olympic champions and set the record at the 2012 London Games
Maggie Malone is the United States’ lone competitor in the women’s javelin final after she posted the second-best overall result in qualifying, trailing only Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk. Malone is making her second Olympic appearance and attempting to become the first American woman to medal in the event since 1976.
Paul Chelimo, who posted the second-fastest overall time in the men’s 5000m heats, will be joined by fellow American William Kincaid in the final, while there are no American racers in the women’s 1500m final.
Watch on Peacock, or stream live.
Team USA tips off against Serbia in women’s basketball semifinal
The U.S. women’s basketball has looked like a team determined to win its seventh straight Olympic gold medal so far in Tokyo.
After trailing heading into the second quarter of Wednesday’s quarterfinal matchup against Australia, Team USA took charge on its way to a 79-55 rout. The victory extended the team’s 53-game Olympic winning streak dating back to 1992 and put the team two wins away from another gold medal. Breanna Stewart continued her scorching Tokyo run with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting.
Next up for Dawn Staley’s squad is a semifinal contest against Serbia, which went 2-1 in Group A play and handled China 77-70 in the quarterfinals. Serbia is looking for its second straight Olympic medal after earning bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Team USA is hoping to send Serbia back to the bronze medal game once again. Tipoff is at 9:40 p.m. Thursday.
Watch on NBC, or stream live.
Brooke Raboutou looks to climb Olympic podium
Brooke Raboutou has a chance to make history during the first ever Olympic women’s sport climbing final, which begins at 1:30 a.m. Friday.
The 20-year-old climber placed fifth overall in Wednesday’s qualification at Tokyo’s Aomi Urban Sports Park. She finished 12th in speed, second in bouldering and eight in lead, totaling 192 points along the way.
Raboutou has some catching up to do if she wants to win an inaugural Olympic women’s sport climbing medal. Slovenia’s Janja Garnbret, South Korea’s Seo Chae-Hyun, Japan’s Miho Nonaka and Japan’s Akiyo Noguchi finished above her in qualifying. Nonaka, who placed third overall in qualifying, had half the points of Raboutou with 96, while Garnbret held the lead with 56.
The action begins with the speed final at 1:30 a.m., transitions to the bouldering final at 2:30 a.m. and ends with the lead final at 5:10 a.m. While the climbers take on three different disciplines, the medals will be awarded to the three highest finishers on the overall leaderboard.
USA volleyball faces Serbia in women’s semifinals
The U.S. women’s volleyball team has overcome plenty of adversity in reaching the semifinals in Tokyo.
Two of the team’s top players, Jordan Thompson and Jordyn Poulter, went down during pool play with apparent injuries. Without two stars, the squad grouped together for a dominant quarterfinal win over Cuba on Wednesday. Andrea Drews stepped up at the net with 21 points, while Micha Hancock took Poulter’s spot as the facilitator and collected 37 assists.
Thursday’s match, which begins at 9 p.m., is a rematch of the semifinals in Rio. Serbia got the better of the U.S. last time, winning a tight contest in the fifth set. Serbia claimed silver, its first Olympic women’s volleyball medal, after falling to Brazil in the championship match.
Watch on USA Network, or stream live.
Source: NBC Bay Area