LONDON, England ● Thousands of spectators are set to flock to Hyde Park once again to watch the men’s Triathlon on a day that another 21 gold medals will be won at London 2012.
A huge crowd gathered in the famous London park to watch Nicola Spirig of Switzerland win the women’s Triathlon in a dramatic finish on Saturday. And the men’s race also promises to be a thrilling spectacle, with British brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee strongly fancied to do battle for the gold medal.
The athletes start with a 1.5km swim then face a 43km cycling stage before finishing with a 10km run, and the brothers from Leeds can expect plenty of support as they bid to add to Team GB’s medal haul.
Fresh from 100 metres glory Jamaica’s Usain Bolt begins a highly anticipated 200m title defence in teh Olympic stadium, while women’s 100m hurdles world champion Sally Pearson is favourite to go one better than her silver in Beijing.
Australia’s Pearson, who holds the event’s fastest performance since 1992 (12.28 seconds), is likely to face competition from American duo Lolo Jones, best remembered for stumbling in the final as favourite in Beijing, and defending Olympic champion Dawn Harper.
The semi-finals start at 1915 local time with the final at 2100.
Bolt, who wowed the crowd on Sunday night by becoming the only man to cross the line first in two 100m finals, returns to the Olympic stadium bidding to become the first man to win two 200m golds and cement himself as unquestionably the greatest sprinter in history.
Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop, the world’s fastest man this year, will have one thing on his mind in London – to win the 1500m properly. The world champion has often expressed his dissatisfaction at taking Olympic gold in Beijing after Rashid Ramzi was stripped of his title for a doping offence.
A Kenyan clean sweep could be on the cards, with Commonwealth champion Silas Kiplagat and youngster Nixon Chebseba both in with a chance of a podium finish.
Gold medals will also be up for grabs in the men’s high jump and discus finals, as well as final berths in the men’s 800 metres and women’s 200 metres.
Great Britain have high hopes for more glory in the Velodrome, with Chris Hoy going for gold in the men’s Keirin and Victoria Pendleton also aiming to return to the top of the podium by winning the women’s Sprint. The women’s Omnium medals will also be decided on another mouthwatering day of Track Cycling competition.
More high quality Artistic Gymnastics will be on show at ExCeL, with four finals taking place on Day 11. Medals will be up for grabs in the women’s Balance Beam and women’s Floor competition, while the men will compete in the Horizontal Bars and Parallel Bars finals.
There will also be Greco-Roman Wrestling medals at stake at ExCeL in the men’s 66kg and the men’s 96kg. And Table Tennis medals will also be won at ExCeL in the women’s Team event.
There are more medal races to look forward to at Weymouth and Portland in men and women’s Windsurfer (RS-X). Greenwich Park will play host to the Team Dressage final, with Great Britain, Germany and the Netherlands considered to be the leading medal contenders.
In Synchronised Swimming, the women’s Duet final takes place in the afternoon, while the men’s 3m Springboard Diving final will also feature at the Aquatics Centre. Weighlifting medals will also be won at ExCeL in the men’s +105kg category in the evening.