Warriors star Draymond Green and Oakland native Damian Lillard will help lead Team USA basketball in a semifinal matchup against Australia as the Americans set their sights on a fourth straight gold medal. Plus, track and field ramps up, and Danville’s Maggie Steffens inches closer to another gold in women’s water polo. Here’s the top events to look for today:
U.S. men’s basketball battles Australia in semifinals
Team USA is two wins away from its fourth straight men’s basketball gold medal, and its next test comes against Australia in a semifinal contest at 9:05 p.m. Wednesday.
After a concerning opening loss to France, the U.S. men have strung together three straight wins over Iran, the Czech Republic and Spain. Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard and Jayson Tatum are among the standouts for the U.S. through four games, with Durant scoring a team-high 29 points in a quarterfinal win over Spain on Tuesday.
Australia is unbeaten coming into Thursday’s semifinal contest. Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Co. went 3-0 in group play before handing Argentina a lopsided, 38-point quarterfinal loss on Tuesday. Australia is seeking its first ever Olympic men’s basketball medal.
The winner of Team USA-Australia will play the winner of Slovenia-France in the gold medal game on Friday, while the two losers will play for bronze on Saturday.
Watch on Peacock, or stream live.
Grant Holloway, Ryan Crouser chase track and field gold medals
Wednesday night’s 5 p.m. session features three finals: the men’s triple jump, men’s shot put and men’s 110m hurdles.
Grant Holloway leads a group of three American men into the 110m hurdles final. He posted the fastest time in qualifying at 13.02, just .22 seconds off the world record time set by American Aries Merritt in 2012. He will be joined by U.S. teammates Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts.
The men’s shot put final will also feature three Americans. Ryan Crouser, the world and Olympic record holder, is the favorite, while Joe Kovacs and Payton Otterdahl were the final two qualifiers.
Two Americans will partake in the men’s triple jump final. Will Claye (No. 2) is the highest-ranked athlete in the final, while Donald Scott is No. 5. Claye’s personal best (18.14m) is .05m longer than the Olympic record.
Wednesday night’s slate also includes men’s decathlon events, women’s heptathlon events, women’s high jump qualification and Round 1 of the men’s and women’s 4x100m relays.
Track and field returns with another session beginning at 3 a.m. Thursday. The finals will take place in the women’s pole vault and men’s 400m. On top of that, there are races in the women’s 4x400m relay and men’s 1500m, while the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon will crown their champions.
Watch the first session on NBC’s primetime coverage, or stream live. Watch the second session on Peacock, or stream live.
Team USA faces ROC in women’s water polo semifinals
The U.S. women’s water polo team will face the Russian Olympic Committee in a battle of Group B foes during a semifinal matchup at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Team USA, winners of two straight Olympic gold medals, suffered a rare loss in group play against Hungary. Aside from that loss, the Americans have posted three double-digit wins along with a five-point win. One of those double-digit victories came against ROC in the final game of round-robin play, with the U.S. coming out on top 18-5.
Maggie Steffens, a product of Danville and Stanford University, has led a high-powered U.S. attack in Tokyo. Steffens and Stephania Haralabidis both scored four points in the win over ROC, while five Americans scored multiple goals in a 16-5 quarterfinal win over Canada. Meanwhile, Ashleigh Johnson has also been a stalwart in net for Team USA.
The winner of Team USA-ROC will battle the winner of the Spain-Hungary semifinal for a gold medal on Saturday.
Watch Team USA-ROC on CNBC, or stream live.
USWNT goes for bronze against Australia
The U.S. women’s soccer team looks to bounce back from a gut-wrenching semifinal loss to Canada in Thursday’s bronze medal match at 1 a.m.
After winning four of the first five gold medals in Olympic women’s soccer history, Team USA has now failed to make it to the final in back-to-back Olympics. The U.S. was in a scoreless tie with Canada until Jessie Fleming beat Adrianna Franch on a penalty kick in the 74th minute for the game’s lone goal.
Now, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and the USWNT turn their attention back to Australia. Needing a win or tie against Australia in round-robin play, the Americans earned a point in a 0-0 draw against the Aussies on July 27.
It’s not gold, but after missing out on the podium altogether at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the USWNT will be hungry in Thursday’s tilt.
Watch on USA Network, or stream live.
Colin Duffy tries to reach first Olympic sport climbing podium
Two Americans will attempt to race to the top of the walls — and standings — at Tokyo’s Aomi Urban Sports Park on Thursday.
Team USA’s Colin Duffy and Nathaniel Coleman are among the eight athletes competing in the inaugural Olympic sport climbing final. Duffy came in third overall during qualifying after ranking sixth in speed, fifth in bouldering and second in lead. Coleman, on the other hand, was eighth overall and the final qualifier for the final. He ranked 10th in speed, 11th in bouldering and fifth in lead.
France’s Mickael Mawem placed atop the leaderboard in qualifying, while Japan’s Tomoa Narasaki Tomoa was second.
The action begins with the speed final at 1:30 a.m., transitions to the bouldering final at 2:30 a.m. and 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.
Source: NBC Bay Area