Sha’Carri Richardson makes her long-awaited Olympic debut as track and field rev up Friday at the Paris Olympics. Excitement in men’s soccer and tennis round out an action-packed day.
Here is a guide of what to look out for:
Richardson’s Olympic debut
Richardson missed the Tokyo Games because of a positive marijuana test at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. She will debut as the favorite in the women’s 100-meter dash in a first-round heat that starts at 11:50 a.m. CEST (5:50 a.m. EDT).
Richardson is the reigning world champion in the event, and her 10.71-second sprint at the U.S. trials in June made her the fastest woman in the world this year.
Shericka Jackson of Jamaica said Wednesday she will not run in the 100, where she was expected to challenge Richardson for gold. Richardson will still face tough competition from three-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, who has won the race twice. Fraser-Pryce is competing in her fifth and final Olympics.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200, will miss the Paris Games because of an injury.
Marchand looks to continue Paris dominance
France’s Léon Marchand aims for his fourth gold medal of the 2024 Games when he swims in the 200-meter individual medley at 8:43 p.m. CEST (2:43 EDT) at Paris La Defense Area.
Marchand dominated the 400 individual medley Sunday, then won the 200 butterfly and 200 breaststroke about two hours apart Wednesday night.
Also Friday, American Caeleb Dressel will go for his ninth Olympic gold medal and second in Paris when he competes in the men’s 50-meter freestyle final at 8:30 p.m. CEST (2:30 p.m. EDT). Dressel anchored the U.S. men’s 4×100 freestyle relay team that won gold on Saturday.
Additionally, the women’s 200 backstroke final starts at 8:36 p.m. CEST (2:36 p.m. EDT).
U.S. men end drought, France and Argentina clash in men’s soccer
The U.S. men’s soccer team will play Morocco in its first Olympic quarterfinal match in 24 years — since the 2000 Sydney Games.
The Americans are playing in the Olympics for the first time since 2008. They bounced back from their opening loss to France by winning back-to-back games against New Zealand and Guinea.
The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. CEST (9 a.m. EDT) at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The other men’s quarterfinal matchups are Japan vs. Spain starting at 5 p.m. CEST (11 a.m. EDT) at Lyon Stadium; and Egypt vs. Paraguay starting at 7 p.m. CEST (1 p.m. EDT) at Marseille Stadium.
A clash between bitter soccer rivals France and Argentina at 9 p.m. CEST (3 p.m. EDT) at Bordeaux Stadium will round out the night. It’s a rematch of the 2022 World Cup final in which Argentina won in a penalty shootout.
Excitement in men’s tennis
The men’s tennis singles semifinals will start at 12 p.m. CEST (6 a.m. EDT).
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz will play Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. Alcaraz advanced to the semis by eliminating American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6 (7) on Thursday. The win made Alcaraz the youngest man to reach the singles semifinals at a Summer Games since Novak Djokovic in 2008.
Lorenzo Musetti of Italy will play Djokovic in the second semifinal after beating Tokyo Games gold medalist Alexander Zverev in their quarterfinal match.
The mixed doubles gold-medal match at Roland Garros begins at 7 p.m. CEST (1 p.m. EDT).
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