Jamaican runner Usain Bolt is back in action Thursday to defend his unofficial title of “fastest man alive” as he competes in the 200 meter sprint.
Bolt won the race in London in 2012 and already won the 100 meter race this year. But he doesn’t just want to win the race, Bolt thinks he has a good shot to break the world record – which he currently holds – and become the first man to run a sub-19 second 200 meters.
“I definitely think I can try for the world record, I definitely feel that,” he said after his semifinal race Wednesday night. “I need to run efficiently and get into the straight and run the perfect race.”
He added that he thinks he has the best chance of running under 19 seconds if he is placed in a higher lane because, he said, “If I get a lower lane it’s always harder for me to run the corner when it is tighter.”
Women’s Hurdles
In other action, Team USA’s Dalilah Muhammad is looking for her first medal of the 2016 games as she competes in the 400 meter hurdles. Muhammad blew away the competition in her semifinal match, beating her closest opponent by nearly a full second.
While Muhammad is heavily favored to win the gold, she will face a few tough competitors in the race, namely Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic and Sara Petersen of Denmark. Hejnova is the current world champion.
Competition will conclude in the men’s decathlon as American Ashton Eaton looks to maintain the healthy lead he built on Wednesday. Eaton leads his nearest opponent, Kai Kazmirek of Germany, by 121 points after he won the long jump and 400 meter race, and placed second in the 100 meter race.
Thursday’s decathlon events include the 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and the 1,500 meter race.
Other track and field medals will be handed out in the men’s shotput and women’s javelin.
Triathlon
Two brothers out of Great Britain won medals in the triathlon in London in 2012, and they will look to continue their success Thursday. Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee won gold and bronze, respectively, four years ago and are favored to stand on the podium again in Rio. The men’s triathlon kicks off at 10 a.m. and should take around two hours to complete.
In total, 25 gold medals will be won on Thursday, including men’s beach volleyball, women’s wrestling, men’s field hockey, sailing and both men’s and women’s boxing.
WATCH: In Photos – Rio Day 12
Day 12 Highlights
Brianna Rollins led Team USA to the first ever sweep of medals in the women’s 100 meter hurdles on Wednesday night after she and two teammates secured the top three spots.
To close out competition Wednesday night, Rollins launched a dominating performance, crossing the finish line with a time of just 12.48 seconds. Her teammates, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin, weren’t far behind, logging times of 12.59 and 12.61, respectively, to take all three spots on the medal podium.
After the race, Rollins called her relationship with her two teammates “like a sisterhood.”
“I’ve known these girls for years. I’m so grateful and blessed that we were able to accomplish this together,” she said.
Track & Field
Women’s track and field events occupied most of the Olympic primetime line-up Wednesday night, with medals also handed out in the long jump and the 200 meter sprint.
In a shocking upset, reigning champion American Brittany Reese lost to teammate Tianna Bartoletta, who took the gold medal on her final jump of 7.17 meters. Reese had to settle for silver after she couldn’t make it past the 7.15 mark.
Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic, who recorded the best jump in qualifying rounds earlier this week, took bronze with a 7.08 meter jump.
Elaine Thompson of Jamaica took home her second gold medal in Rio after she narrowly edged out reigning world champion Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands in the 200 meter sprint. Thompson won the women’s 100 meter sprint on Saturday.
Schippers, who stumbled coming off the line, couldn’t manage to make up the lost time and lost to Thompson by just a tenth of a second, clocking a time of 21.88 to Thompson’s 21.78. Torie Bowie of the U.S. won bronze.
Ping Pong
Elsewhere in Rio, China continued its domination of the ping pong table, sweeping the Olympic table tennis championships when world number one Ma Long and teammate Zhang Jike beat Japan 3-1 in the men’s team gold medal match. China had already won gold in the men’s singles and both the women’s singles and team tournaments. Germany beat South Korea for the bronze medal.
Volleyball
Laura Ludwig and Kira Walkenhorst of Germany beat Brazil’s Bárbara Seixas and Agatha Bednarczuk two sets to none to give Germany its first ever gold medal in women’s beach volleyball. Seixas and Bednarczuk were the second Brazilian team to face defeat in the sand Wednesday after Americans Kerri Walsh Jennings and April Ross defeated Brazil’s other women’s team in the bronze medal match.
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