Olympics 2024 breaking on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to breaking at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
Breaking has had a long road to the Olympics, from its origins in 1970s hip-hop culture through to the earliest competitive events in the 1990s and its successful inclusion in the 2018 Youth Olympics, which made an official Olympic debut a certainty. The sport got its start in New York block parties, where DJs would mix multiple records in order to achieve a longer instrumental section. Enthusiastic dancers would use these extended breakdowns to show off increasingly technical and athletic moves, giving birth to a new style of dance and, eventually, a new sport. The term "breakdancer" has often been used to refer to someone who had appropriated the dancing without any interest in the surrounding culture, so purists prefer the term b-boy or b-girl. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts There will be 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls competing in Paris, along with a DJ and MC providing the music. Dancers will face-off in one-on-one competitions, progressing through toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes - essentially a progression from fancy footwork through to momentum-gaining floor-based dances like the six-step, culminating in gymnastic feats such as the windmill. A panel of nine judges will operate a slider which is used to show a preference for the b-boy or b-girl they believe is putting in the best performance based on technique, variety, originality and musicality. An averaging of the slider scores will decide the winner of each one-on-one, with scoring weighted towards technique and creativity. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to breaking at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators When is breaking at the Olympics 2024? Breaking at the Olympics begins on Friday 9th August and runs until Saturday 10th August. Team GB breaking at the Olympics 2024 Although hopes were high for Britain’s b-boy Sunni and b-girl Roxy, a punishing qualifying schedule has left Team GB unrepresented in Olympic breaking. The medal contenders are likely to be reigning world champion b-boy Victor from the US, Canada’s former world champ b-boy Phil Wizard, and Japan’s rising star b-boy Shigekix. Japan also has a likely medal-winner in the women’s event in b-girl Ami, who will face fierce competition from Lithuania’s reigning world and European champion b-girl Nicka. View Green Video on the source website Olympics 2024 breaking on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 breaking schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Friday 9th August 3:00pm – B-Girls Round Robin 7:00pm – B-Girls Quarter-Finals 7:45pm – B-Girls Semi-Finals 8:15pm – B-Girls Finals Saturday 10th August 3:00pm – B-Boys Round Robin 7:00pm – B-Boys Quarter-Finals 7:45pm – B-Boys Semi-Finals 8:15pm – B-Boys Finals Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 rhythmic gymnastics on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
Rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympic level is contested solely by women, with athletes competing in individual and group competitions. Rhythmic gymnastics consists of floor routines, which combine dancing, jumping and rotating to music while using either clubs, hoops, ribbons or balls to accentuate the performance. Separate panels of four judges mark the competitors on difficulty, artistry and execution, with the scores from each panel being averaged and combined to find the winner. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Judges will be looking out for what are known as "dynamic elements of rotation", which are essentially the hardest moves that can be made with a given piece of apparatus, such as throwing the ribbon into the air, performing a series of moves, then catching it again on one fluid motion. In the group competition, apparatus can be passed between the competitors, allowing for eye-catching synchronised moves. The group routines can last for up to 150 seconds, and individual routines for up to 90, with penalties being imposed for going over time, poorly executing moves, or failure to use the apparatus properly. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics 2024? Rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics begins on Thursday 8th August and runs until Saturday 10th August. Team GB rhythmic gymnastics at the Olympics 2024 Team GB will only be competing in the artistic and trampoline disciplines, but the rhythmic competition still has plenty of action to look out for. In the individual competition, Italy’s Sofia Raffaelli is one to watch, having won four individual titles at the Olympic qualifying event in Bulgaria, while Germany, Israel and Bulgaria are all expected to send strong teams for the group event. Olympics 2024 rhythmic gymnastics on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 rhythmic gymnastics schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Thursday 8th August 9:00am – Individual All-Around Qualification Part 1 2:00pm – Individual All-Around Qualification Part 2 Friday 9th August 9:00am – Group All-Around Qualification Part 1 10:16am – Group All-Around Qualification Part 2 1:30pm – Individual All-Around Final Saturday 10th August 1:00pm – Group All-Around Final Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 wrestling on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to wrestling at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
One of the oldest sports in the world, and a mainstay of the Olympics, wrestling is divided into two types - Freestyle and Greco-Roman for the men, and Freestyle for the women, with each type having six weight divisions. In Greco-Roman wrestling, it is forbidden to attack your opponent’s legs, making competitors rely on upper-body and hip strength to flip and throw their opponents. Freestyle wrestlers, on the other hand, can make swift attacks on their opponents' legs for speedy takedowns. Points are awarded for throws, holds and takedowns. If a wrestler achieves a 10-point lead over their opponent in Freestyle, or eight points in Greco-Roman, then they will win by a "Technical Fall", the wrestling equivalent of boxing’s TKO. A more immediate win can be achieved by successfully pinning your opponent to the mat, automatically ending the match. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Historically, there were no time limits on matches, leading to the infamous 1912 Olympic match in which it took 11 hours for the victor to achieve the necessary winning margin. Fortunately, these days, matches are limited to two three-minute rounds. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to wrestling at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators When is wrestling at the Olympics 2024? Wrestling at the Olympics begins on Monday 5th August and runs until Sunday 11th August. Team GB wrestling at the Olympics 2024 Sadly, there are no British wrestlers participating in Paris 2024, but there are still plenty of exciting matches to watch out for. Hot prospects include former bronze medallist and current world No. 1 Amir Zare of Iran and silver medallist Geno Petriashvili of Georgia in the heavyweight division, and Japan’s Tsugumi Sakurai, who is already a three-time world champion at 57kg, and is expected to achieve Olympic dominance in Paris. Olympics 2024 wrestling on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on <a href="https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l3Hu3h/pubref:radiotimes-2077089/%5Bp_id:1011l434372%5D/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fget.discoveryplus.com%2Fgb%2Fsport%2Folympic-games%3Futm_campaign%3DUK-EU-D1-WBD-C13-PR-CAM-DR-W-SummerSports-Olympics-240719-%26utm_medium%3Doc%26utm_source%3Dpr.com%26utm_content%3Dtext-earned-pr.com-id1?utm_campaign=UK-EU-D1-WBD-C13-PR-CAM-DR-W-SummerSports-Olympics-240719-&utm_medium=oc&utm_source=pr.com&utm_content=text-earned-pr.com-id1" rel="sponsored" target="_blank">discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 wrestling schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Monday 5th August Qualification Bouts (2pm): GR 60kg, 130kg and WW 68kg Semi-finals (8pm): GR 60kg, 130kg and WW 68kg Tuesday 6th August Repechage (10am): GR 60kg, 130kg and WW 68kg Qualification Bouts (10:30am): GR 77kg, 97kg and WW 50kg Semi-finals (6:15pm): GR 77kg, 97kg and WW 50kg Medal Bouts (7:30pm): GR 60kg, 130kg and WW 68kg Wednesday 7th August Repechage (10am): GR 77kg, 97kg and WW 50kg Qualification Bouts (10:30am): 67kg, 87kg and WW 53kg Semi-finals (6:15pm): 67kg, 87kg and WW 53kg Medal Bouts (7:30pm): GR 77kg, 97kg and WW 50kg Thursday 8th August Repechage (10am): GR 67kg, 87kg and WW 53kg Qualification Bouts (10:30am): FS 57kg, 86kg and WW 57kg Semi-finals (6:15pm): FS 57kg, 86kg and WW 57kg Medal Bouts (7:30pm): GR 67kg, 87kg and WW 53kg Friday 9th August Repechage (10am): FS 57kg, 86kg and WW 57kg Qualification Bouts (10:30am): FS 74kg, 125kg and WW 62kg Semi-finals (6:15pm): FS 74kg, 125kg and WW 62kg Medal Bouts (7:30pm): FS 57kg, 86kg and WW 57kg Saturday 10th August Repechage (10am): FS 74kg, 125kg and WW 62kg Qualification Bouts (10:30am): FS 65kg, 97kg and WW 76kg Semi-finals (6:15pm): FS 65kg, 97kg and WW 76kg Medal Bouts (7:30pm): FS 74kg, 125kg and WW 62kg Sunday 11th August Repechage (10am): FS 65kg, 97kg and WW 76kg Medal Bouts (12pm): FS 65kg, 97kg and WW 76kg Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 golf on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to golf at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
After a 100 year absence, golf returned to the Olympics in 2016, when Team GB’s Justin Rose won gold. He won’t be playing this time, but plenty of big names have qualified in the top 60 Official Golf World Rankings that decide Olympic eligibility. Countries cannot send more than 4 competitors no matter how many players they have in the top 60, and some countries Olympic committees won’t send a player unless they’re a realistic medal prospect. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts The 120 qualified players in the men’s and women’s events will play four rounds of 18 holes over four days, with a sudden death playoff for a tied score in any of the medal positions. The competition will be held at Le Golf National, France’s national golfing centre on the outskirts of Paris. The centre contains two separate full size courses and is the traditional venue for the French Open, as well as having hosted the Ryder Cup in 2018. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to golf at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is golf at the Olympics 2024? The men’s golf competition will start on Thursday 1st August and run until Sunday 4th August, with play starting at 8am UK time each day. The women’s golf competition will start on Wednesday 7th August and run until Saturday 10th August, with play starting at 8am UK time each day. Team GB golf at the Olympics 2024 Team GB will send Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick to compete in the men’s event, and Charley Hull and Georgia Hall in the women’s. Hall is tipped as strong medal prospect for Team GB, although she’ll need to be at her best to win gold, while Fitzpatrick has experience of winning at Golf National, having triumphed at the French Open in 2017. Other likely medal winners include the United States’s defending champions Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda, with their compatriots Scottie Scheffler and Lilia Vu also looking like a strong prospects. Outside of the US, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and Spain’s Jon Rahm are also highly tipped, with Ko looking to take the final step up the podium, having already won bronze and silver in the last two Olympics. Olympics 2024 golf on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 golf schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Men's Thursday 1st August – Sunday 4th August (8am daily) Women's Wednesday 7th August – Saturday 10th August (8am daily) Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 boxing on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to boxing at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
An Olympic medal has lit the fuse on a vast number of boxing’s celebrated careers – Lennox Lewis, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali, Nicola Adams and Claressa Shields are just a few of the many names who’ve capped their amateur careers with a gold medal before turning professional and becoming world champions. As such, Olympic boxing has a double-layer of excitement - not only is it the pinnacle of amateur boxing, but it’s usually an early glimpse of the names that will be dominating the sport for the next decade. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Hard fought Olympic qualifying tournaments have taken place in Poland, Italy and Bangkok, and if all that weren’t gruelling enough, the IOC have had to remove one of the eight male weight divisions in order to accommodate a sixth weight division for the women, an entirely correct logistical decision, but one that has hotly increased the competition for the more limited spaces in the teams, as well as potentially creating some David-and-Goliath match ups. Matches will be fought over three 3-minute rounds for the men, and four 2-minute rounds for the women. Although the bar on professionals competing at the Olympics was lifted in 2016, comparatively few took part in Rio and Tokyo, and none will be present in Paris. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to boxing at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is boxing at the Olympics 2024? Boxing at the Olympics begins on Saturday 27th July and runs until Saturday 10th August. Team GB boxing at the Olympics 2024 Team GB has managed to qualify six fighters for the games, including returning Tokyo participant Charley-Sian Davison, as well as Rosie Eccles, Chantelle Reid, Lewis Richardson, Pat Brown and the hotly tipped Heavyweight Delicious Orie. As always, Cuba heads the list of countries with fighters to look out for, with Pan-American Games Gold Medallists Julio Cesar La Cruz, Arlen Lopez and Saidel Horta fighting at Heavyweight, Middleweight and Featherweight respectively. After a disappointing Olympics in Tokyo, the US is hoping for great things from its fighters, particularly Jennifer “Troublemaker” Lozado and the small but speedy heavyweight Joshua Edwards. Olympics 2024 boxing on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on <a href="https://prf.hn/click/camref:1011l3Hu3h/pubref:radiotimes-2077079/%5Bp_id:1011l434372%5D/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fget.discoveryplus.com%2Fgb%2Fsport%2Folympic-games%3Futm_campaign%3DUK-EU-D1-WBD-C13-PR-CAM-DR-W-SummerSports-Olympics-240719-%26utm_medium%3Doc%26utm_source%3Dpr.com%26utm_content%3Dtext-earned-pr.com-id1?utm_campaign=UK-EU-D1-WBD-C13-PR-CAM-DR-W-SummerSports-Olympics-240719-&utm_medium=oc&utm_source=pr.com&utm_content=text-earned-pr.com-id1" rel="sponsored" target="_blank">discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 boxing schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Saturday 27th July 2:30pm – Women’s 54kg prelims – Round of 32 3:18pm – Women’s 60k prelims – Round of 32 4:06pm – Men’s 63.5kg prelims – Round of 32 4:38pm – Men’s 80kg prelims – Round of 32 7pm – Women’s 54kg prelims – Round of 32 7:48pm – Women’s 60kg prelims – Round of 32 8:36pm – Men’s 63.5kg prelims – Round of 32 9:08pm – Men’s 80kg prelims – Round of 32 Sunday 28th July 10am – Men’s 51kg prelims – Round of 32 10:16am – Men’s 57kg prelims – Round of 32 10:32am – Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 32 11:04am – Men’s 92kg prelims – Round of 16 11:36pm – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 32 12:08pm – Women’s 66kg prelims – Round of 32 2:30pm – Men’s 57kg prelims – Round of 32 2:46pm – Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 32 3:02pm – Men’s 92kg prelims – Round of 16 3:30pm – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 32 4:22pm – Women’s 66kg prelims – Round of 32 7pm – Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 32 7:16pm – Men’s 92kg prelims – Round of 32 8:04pm – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 32 8:36pm – Women’s 66kg prelims – Round of 32 Monday 29th July 10am - Women’s 60kg prelims – Round of 16 10:48am – Men’s 63.5kg prelims – Round of 16 11:36am – Men’s +92kg prelims – Round of 16 2:30pm – Women’s 60kg prelims – Round of 16 3:02pm – Men’s 63.5kg prelims – Round of 16 3:50pm – Men’s +92kg prelims – Round of 16 7pm – Women’s 60kg prelims – Round of 16 7:48pm – Men’s 63.5kg prelims – Round of 16 8:20pm – Men’s +92kg prelims – Round of 16 Tuesday 30th July 10am – Men’s 51kg prelims – Round of 16 10:48am – Men’s 80kg prelims – Round of 16 11:20am – Women’s 54kg prelims – Round of 16 12:08am – Women’s 57kg prelims – Round of 32 2:30pm – Men’s 51kg prelims – Round of 16 3:18pm – Men’s 80kg prelims – Round of 16 3:50pm – Women’s 54kg prelims – Round of 16 4:38pm – Women’s 57kg prelims – Round of 32 7pm – Men’s 51kg prelims – Round of 16 7:32pm – Men’s 80kg prelims – Round of 16 8:36pm – Women’s 54kg prelims – Round of 16 9:08pm – Women’s 57kg prelims – Round of 32 Wednesday 31st July 10am – Men’s 57kg prelims – Round of 16 10:32am – Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 16 11:04am – Women’s 75kg prelims – Round of 16 12:08pm – Women’s 60kg – Quarter-final 2:30pm – Men’s 57kg prelims – Round of 16 3:18pm- Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 16 4:38pm – Women’s 60kg – Quarter-final 7pm – Men’s 57kg prelims – Round of 16 7:48pm – Men’s 71kg prelims – Round of 16 8:36pm – Women’s 75kg prelims – Round of 16 9:08pm – Women’s 60kg – Quarter-final Thursday 1st August 10am – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 16 10:48am – Women’s 66kg prelims – Quarter-final 11:36am – Women’s 54kg – Quarter-final 11:52am – Men’s 63.5kg – Quarter-final 12:08pm – Men’s 92kg, Quarter-final 2:30pm – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 16 3:18pm – Women’s 66kg prelims – Round of 16 4:06pm – Women’s 54kg – Quarter-final 4:38pm – Men’s 63.5kg – Quarter-final 4:54pm – Men’s 92kg – Quarter-final 7pm – Women’s 50kg prelims – Round of 32 7:32pm – Women’s 66kg prelims – Round of 16 8:04pm – Women’s 54kg – Quarter-final 8:20pm – Men’s 63.5kg – Quarter-final 8:52pm – Men’s 92kg – Quarter-final Friday 2nd August 2:30pm – Women’s 57kg prelims – Round of 16 3:34pm – Men’s 51kg – Quarter-final 4:06pm – Men’s 80kg – Quarter-final 4:38pm – Men’s +92kg – Quarter-final 7pm – Women’s 57kg prelims – Round of 16 8:04pm – Men’s 51kg – Quarter-final 8:36pm – Men’s 80kg – Quarter-final 9:08pm – Men’s +92kg – Quarter-final Saturday 3rd August 2:30pm – Men’s 57kg – Quarter-final 3:02pm – Men’s 71kg – Quarter-final 3:34pm – Women’s 50kg – Quarter-final 4:06pm – Women’s 66kg – Quarter-final 4:38pm – Women’s 60kg – Semi-final 7pm – Men’s 57kg – Quarter-final 7:32pm – Men’s 71kg – Quarter-final 8:04pm – Women’s 50kg – Quarter-final 8:36pm – Women’s 66kg – Quarter-final 9:08pm – Women’s 60kg – Semi-final Sunday 4th August 10am – Women’s 57kg – Quarter-final 10:32am – Women’s 75kg – Quarter-final 11:04am- Women’s 54kg – Semi-final 11:20am – Men’s 51kg – Semi-final 11:36am – Men’s 63.5kg – Semi-final 11:52am – Men’s 80kg – Semi-final 12:08pm – Men’s 92kg – Semi-final 2:30pm – Women’s 57kg - Quarter-final 3:02pm – Women’s 75kg – Quarter-final 3:34pm – Women’s 54kg – Semi-final 3:50pm – Men’s 51kg – Semi-final 4:06pm – Men’s 63.5kg – Semi-final 4:22pm – Men’s 80kg – Semi-final 4:38pm – Men’s 92kg – Semi-final Tuesday 6th August 8:30pm – Men’s 71kg – Semi-final 9:02pm – Women’s 50kg – Semi-final 9:34pm – Women’s 66kg – Semi-final 10:06pm – Women’s 60kg – Final Wednesday 7th August 8:30pm – Women’s 57kg – Semi-final 9:02pm – Men’s +92kg – Semi-final 9:34pm – Men’s 63.5kg – Final 9:51pm – Men’s 80kg – Final Thursday 8th August 8:30pm – Men’s 57kg – Semi-final 9:02pm – Women’s 75kg – Semi-final 9:34pm – Men’s 51kg – Final 9:51pm – Women’s 54kg – Final Friday 9th August 8:30pm – Men’s 71kg – Final 8:47pm – Women’s 50kg – Final 9:16pm – Men’s 92kg – Final 9:51pm – Women’s 66kg – Final Saturday 10th August 8:30pm – Women’s 57kg – Final 8:47pm – Men’s 57kg – Final 9:16pm – Women’s 75kg – Final 9:51pm – Men’s +92kg - Final Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 artistic gymnastics on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
Artistic gymnastics consists of a series of individual competitions in various disciplines, as well as a team competition. Gymnasts showcase their technical skills across a range of equipment - vaulting horse, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercises for the women, while the men compete across the pommel horse, vaulting horse, rings, parallel bars and the horizontal bars. The competition will take place inside the grassy, pyramidal walls of the Bercy centre, and will begin with nerve-wracking qualifiers in which competitors will need to balance the complexity of the routines against the duration of the event - peak too soon and there’s nothing left to wow the judges in the final; keep too much in the bag and they may not qualify. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Gymnasts are no longer scored using the traditional 10-point system, which is now seen as lacking nuance. Instead, judges will assess the athletes moves using separate Difficulty and Execution scores. The D score starts at zero, and points ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 are awarded to the moves the gymnast incorporates into their routine. The E score, meanwhile, starts at 10 and has points deducted. The D and E scores are then combined to decide the winners. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to artistic gymnastics at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is artistic gymnastics at the Olympics 2024? Artistic gymnastics at the Olympics begins on Saturday 27th July and runs until Monday 5th August. Team GB artistic gymnastics at the Olympics 2024 One of Team GB’s strongest hopes is Jessica Gadirova, who helped Team GB win their first team gymnastics medal in over 90 years at the Tokyo Olympics, and has since picked up individual gold and bronze medals at the World Championships. Other names to note are the powerhouse US team that includes two former all-around gold medalists in Suni Lee and the all-time great Simone Biles, whose tally of 37 Olympic and World Championship medals makes her the most successful artistic gymnast in history. Olympics 2024 artistic gymnastics on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 artistic gymnastics schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Saturday 27th July Men's Qualification - Subdivision 1 (10am) Men's Qualification - Subdivision 2 (2:30pm) Men's Qualification - Subdivision 3 (7pm) Sunday 28th July Women's Qualification - Subdivision 1 (8:30am) Women's Qualification - Subdivision 2 (10:40am) Women's Qualification - Subdivision 3 (1:50pm) Women's Qualification - Subdivision 4 (5pm) Women's Qualification - Subdivision 5 (8:10pm) Monday 29th July Men's Team Final (5:30pm) Tuesday 30th July Women's Team Final (5:15pm) Wednesday 31st July Men's All-Around Final (4:30pm) Thursday 1st August Women's All-Around Final (5:15pm) Saturday 3rd August Men's Floor Exercise Final (2:30pm) Women's Vault Final (3:20pm) Men's Pommel Horse Final (4:10pm) Sunday 4th August Men's Rings Final (2pm) Women's Uneven Bars Final (2:40pm) Men's Vault Final (3:25pm) Monday 5th August Men's Parallel Bars Final (10:45am) Women's Balance Beam Final (11:36am) Men's Horizontal Bar Final (12:31pm) Women's Floor Exercise Final (1:20pm) Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 badminton on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to badminton at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
The badminton competition in Paris 2024 will consist of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and a mixed doubles competition. Games will take at the newly opened Porte de la Chapelle Arena, with each game played to the best of three sets, with a set won by the first player or pair to reach 21 points. Badminton is one the most dynamic sports at the Olympics, with slow, defensive lobs suddenly giving way to frantic flurries of volley shots or powerful smashes. There will be 172 places for qualifying athletes, with nations allowed to enter a maximum of eight players across the five competitions. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts China is the dominant nation in world badminton, and they are likely to pick up medals in all competitions, particularly with defending women’s champion Chen Yu Fei. They may not get it all their own way, however, as Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen is the defending men’s Olympic champion and current world No. 1, not to mention the top qualifier for Paris 2024. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to badminton at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is badminton at the Olympics 2024? Badminton at the Olympics begins on Saturday 27th July and runs until Monday 5th August. Team GB badminton at the Olympics 2024 Team GB have qualified three players for the badminton competition - Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the men’s doubles, and Kirsty Gilmour in the women’s singles. All three have Olympic experience, with Lane and Vendy having competed in Tokyo, while Gilmour has previously competed at Rio and Tokyo. Although none of the trio have yet achieved a medal at the Olympics, they have a number of bronze and silver medals between them from both the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. Olympics 2024 badminton on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 badminton schedule Saturday 27th July – Wednesday 31st Prelim: Men's singles Prelim: Men's doubles Prelim: Women's singles Prelim: Women's doubles Prelim: Mixed doubles Wednesday 31st July QF: Mixed doubles Thursday 1st August SF: Mixed doubles QF: Men's doubles QF: Women's doubles Ro16: Men's singles Ro16: Men's singles Friday 2nd August F: Mixed doubles SF: Men's doubles SF: Women's doubles QF: Men's singles Saturday 3rd August F: Women's doubles QF: Women's singles Sunday 4th August F: Men's doubles SF: Men's singles SF: Women's singles Monday 5th August F: Men's singles F: Women's singles Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Olympics 2024 volleyball on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to volleyball at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
The traditional indoor version of volleyball may not attract as much attention as its sandy sibling outdoors, but it’s no less exciting. A frantically-paced team sport, volleyball sees opposing teams of six trying to score by landing the ball on the other side of the net. When the ball is in play, teams can take no more than three touches before launching the ball over the net, and no player may take two consecutive touches. These touches can be used to manoeuvre the ball into a good scoring position, or to set up an aggressive downward hit called a spike, which is a common means of scoring. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Players can also feint, pretending to set up a spike when, in fact, they have a different strike in mind. In an average game, each player can end up making nearly 300 vertical leaps in attempt to score or defend, making it an extremely energetic sport. The competition is divided into the qualifying round, when teams are split into three groups and must play everyone else in their group, with the eight highest-ranked teams from the group stage moving into a knockout phase of quarters, semi-finals, finals and bronze medal matches. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to volleyball at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is volleyball at the Olympics 2024? Volleyball at the Olympics begins on Saturday 27th July and runs until Sunday 11th August. Team GB volleyball at the Olympics 2024 Britain has only competed in the volleyball competition once, in 2012, when they qualified automatically as host nation, and they won’t be competing in Paris. The USA and Brazil are the traditional powerhouses of the sport, and are the current gold and silver medal holders in the women’s event, while the French will be hoping that home advantage will help them hold onto the gold medal they won in the men's event in Tokyo. Olympics 2024 volleyball on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 volleyball schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Men's Saturday 27th July France v Japan (8am) Germany v Japan (8am) France v Italy (12pm) Brazil v Italy (12pm) France v Poland (4pm) Egypt v Poland (4pm) France v USA (8pm) Argentina v USA (8pm) Sunday 28th July France v France (4pm) Serbia v France (4pm) France v Slovenia (8pm) Canada v Slovenia (8pm) Tuesday 30th July France v Italy (8am) Egypt v Italy (8am) France v USA (12pm) Germany v USA (12pm) France v Slovenia (4pm) Serbia v Slovenia (4pm) France v France (8pm) Canada v France (8pm) Wednesday 31st July France v Poland (8am) Brazil v Poland (8am) France v Japan (12pm) Argentina v Japan (12pm) Friday 2nd August France v Argentina (8am) Germany v Argentina (8am) France v Brazil (12pm) Egypt v Brazil (12pm) France v France (4pm) Slovenia v France (4pm) France v Japan (8pm) USA v Japan (8pm) Saturday 3rd August France v Poland (4pm) Italy v Poland (4pm) France v Canada (8pm) Serbia v Canada (8pm) Monday 5th August Quarter-finals (8am) Quarter-finals (12pm) Quarter-finals (4pm) Quarter-finals (8pm) Wednesday 7th August Semi-finals (3pm) Semi-finals (7pm) Friday 9th August Bronze Medal Match (3pm) Saturday 10th August Gold Medal Match (12pm) Women's Sunday 28th July France v Italy (8am) Dominican Republic v Italy (8am) France v Poland (12pm) Japan v Poland (12pm) Monday 29th July France v Türkiye (8am) Netherlands v Türkiye (8am) France v Brazil (12pm) Kenya v Brazil (12pm) France v USA (4pm) China v USA (4pm) France v France (8pm) Serbia v France (8pm) Wednesday 31st July France v USA (4pm) Serbia v USA (4pm) France v Poland (8pm) Kenya v Poland (8pm) Thursday 1st August France v Türkiye (8am) Dominican Republic v Türkiye (8am) France v Brazil (12pm) Japan v Brazil (12pm) France v Italy (4pm) Netherlands v Italy (4pm) France v France (8pm) China v France (8pm) Saturday 3rd August France v Netherlands (8am) Dominican Republic v Netherlands (8am) France v Japan (12pm) Kenya v Japan (12pm) Sunday 4th August France v Italy (8am) Türkiye v Italy (8am) France v France (12pm) USA v France (12pm) France v China (4pm) Serbia v China (4pm) France v Brazil (8pm) Poland v Brazil (8pm) Tuesday 6th August Quarter-finals (8am) Quarter-finals (12pm) Quarter-finals (4pm) Quarter-finals (8pm) Thursday 8th August Semi-finals (3pm) Semi-finals (7pm) Saturday 10th August Bronze Medal Match (4:15pm) Sunday 11th August Gold Medal Match (12pm) Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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Olympics 2024 hockey on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to hockey at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
Played by two teams of 11 players, hockey is one of the fastest and most exciting Olympic sports. The astroturf pitch is watered, primarily to make it less abrasive for the players, but this has the added effect of increasing the speed of the ball and producing dramatic geysers as players strike, flick, hook and push the ball. Gender equality is a notable feature of hockey, both globally and at the Olympics, with a 50/50 split between genders for both the athletes and the officials: 12 men's teams and 12 women’s teams will compete across a pool stage followed by knockout quarter- and semi-finals. In addition to the eventual gold medal matches, there will also be bronze medal matches for the defeated semi-finalists. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts Matches take place over four 15-minute quarters, with players attempting to reach the D-shaped shooting area from which goals can be scored. The armoured goalkeeper is the only player on the pitch who is allowed to touch the ball with their body, while all outfield players can only use their stick. Penalties can be awarded for fouls in the shooting area, and in the later knockout stages, can also be used to decide a tied game. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to hockey at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is hockey at the Olympics 2024? Hockey at the Olympics begins on Saturday 27th July and runs until Friday 9th August. Team GB hockey at the Olympics 2024 Team GB is sending two experienced teams, with no fewer than four of the women’s team having been part of the gold medal-winning team at the Rio Olympics, including captain Hollie Pearne-Webb. The men’s team features captain David Ames and Sam Ward, both competing in their third Olympics, while several more are on their second Olympic outing. The current Olympic Champions are Belgium and the unpredictable but dangerous Netherlands. It’s also worth keeping an eye out for India, historically the most successful Olympic hockey nation. Olympics 2024 hockey on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 hockey schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Men's Saturday 27th July Pitch 1: Great Britain v Spain: 9am Netherlands v South Africa: 11:45am Germany v France: 4pm Pitch 2: Belgium v Ireland: 9:30am Australia v Argentina: 12:15pm India v New Zealand: 4:30pm Sunday 28th July Pitch 1: Germany v Spain: 4pm Netherlands v France: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Belgium v New Zealand: 4:30pm South Africa v Great Britain: 7:15pm Monday 29th July Pitch 1: Ireland v Australia: 9am India v Argentina: 11:45am Tuesday 30th July Pitch 1: Spain v France: 9am Great Britain v Netherlands: 11:45am Argentina v New Zealand: 4pm Australia v Belgium: 6:45pm Pitch 2: South Africa v Germany: 9:30am Ireland v India: 12:15pm Wednesday 31st July Pitch 1: Spain v South Africa: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Germany v Netherlands: 4:30pm Thursday 1st August Pitch 1: India v Belgium: 9am France v Great Britain: 11:45am Pitch 2: New Zealand v Australia: 9:30am Argentina v Ireland: 12:15pm Friday 2nd August Pitch 1: New Zealand v Ireland: 4pm France v South Africa: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Netherlands v Spain: 9:30am Australia v India: 12:15pm Belgium v Argentina: 4:30pm Great Britain v Germany: 7:15pm Sunday 4th August Pitch 1: Quarter-final: 9am Quarter-final: 11:30am Quarter-final: 4:30pm Quarter-final: 7pm Tuesday 6th August Pitch 1: Semi-final: 1pm Semi-final: 6pm Thursday 8th August Pitch 1: Bronze medal match: 1pm Gold medal match: 6pm Women's Saturday 27th July Pitch 1: Argentina v United States: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Netherlands v France: 7:15pm Sunday 28th July Pitch 1: Belgium v China: 9am Australia v South Africa: 11:45am Pitch 2: Germany v Japan: 9:30am Great Britain v Spain: 12:15pm Monday 29th July Pitch 1: Great Britain v Australia: 4pm Germany v Netherlands: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Japan v China: 9:30am Spain v United States: 12:15pm South Africa v Argentina: 4:30pm France v Belgium: 7:15pm Wednesday 31st July Pitch 1: Argentina v Spain: 9am France v Germany: 11:45am Belgium v Japan: 4pm Pitch 2: South Africa v Great Britain: 9:30am Australia v United States: 12:15pm Netherlands v China: 7:15pm Thursday 1st August Pitch 1: United States v Great Britain: 4pm Japan v France: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Spain v South Africa: 4:30pm Argentina v Australia: 7:15pm Friday 2nd August Pitch 1: China v Germany: 9am Belgium v Netherlands: 11:45am Saturday 3rd August Pitch 1: Great Britain v Argentina: 9am Australia v Spain: 11:45am China v France: 4pm Germany v Belgium: 6:45pm Pitch 2: Netherlands v Japan: 9:30am United States v South Africa: 12:15pm Monday 5th August Pitch 1: Quarter-final: 9am Quarter-final: 11:30am Quarter-final: 4:30pm Quarter-final: 7pm Wednesday 7th August Pitch 1: Semi-final: 1pm Semi-final: 6pm Friday 9th August Pitch 1: Bronze medal match: 1pm Gold medal match: 7pm Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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Olympics 2024 football on TV: Channel, schedule, live stream
Your guide to football at the Olympic Games 2024, including TV coverage and schedule.
With an identical game format to traditional FIFA competitions, it can be difficult at first to see what separates Olympic football from the usual international game. Look a little closer, however, and the differences become apparent - the squad size is limited to 18, forcing some hard choices on management. More importantly, for the men’s competition, there is an age limit of 23 for all but three players in the squad, skewing the competition towards up-and-coming players rather than allowing nations to simply field their national sides. Check out our Olympics on today guide, including hand-picked highlights from Olympic gold medallists and experts As such, the Olympics is a place to see football stars of the future, with the likes of Ferenc Puskas, Ronaldo and Lionel Messi all having represented their countries. RadioTimes.com brings you our guide to football at the Olympic Games in 2024. Don’t miss a minute of the Games with our complete 16-day Olympics TV Guide download, including how to watch all the action on TV, online, on catch-up and on the radio. Read more: Olympics TV coverage | Olympics radio coverage | Olympics presenters and commentators View Green Video on the source website When is football at the Olympics 2024? Football at the Olympics begins on Wednesday 24th July and runs until Saturday 10th August. Team GB football at the Olympics 2024 Unfortunately, there will be no Team GB football teams at the Olympics in 2024. Because there are separate football associations in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with only England’s being affiliated with the IOC, it has traditionally been difficult for a GB team to take part in Olympic football. As hosts in 2012 a team was put together, but before and after that Team GB has largely chosen not to compete in men’s Olympic football, while the women’s team failed to qualify for the 2024 tournament. Olympics 2024 football on TV You can tune in to watch every single minute of every event live on discovery+ throughout the Olympic Games 2024 in the UK. All of this summer's Olympic action will be broadcast across the discovery+ online streaming platform, totalling around 3,800 hours over the course of the Games, while the Eurosport channels will host wall-to-wall coverage each day. Fans will be spoiled for choice with more than 55 live feeds constantly rolling to cover every single event. BBC will boast 250 hours of live coverage throughout the Games. Check out what they will show on their limited live feeds each day with our downloadable Olympics TV Guide or our online Olympics on Today Guide. Olympics 2024 football schedule All UK time. Subject to change. Men's Wednesday 24th July Group B: Argentina v Morocco (2pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group C: Uzbekistan v Spain (2pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Group C: Egypt v Dominican Republic (4pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group A: Guinea v New Zealand (4pm) Stade de Nice Group B: Iraq v Ukraine (6pm) Stade de Lyon Group D: Japan v Paraguay (6pm) Stade de Bordeaux Group A: France v USA (8pm) Stade de Marseille Group D: Mali v Israel (8pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Saturday 27th July Group B: Argentina v Iraq (2pm) Stade de Lyon Group C: Dominican Republic v Spain (2pm) Stade de Bordeaux Group C: Uzbekistan v Egypt (4pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group B: Ukraine v Morocco (4pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group A: New Zealand v USA (6pm) Stade de Marseille Group D: Israel v Paraguay (6pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Group A: France v Guinea (8pm) Stade de Nice Group D: Japan v Mali (8pm) Stade de Bordeaux Tuesday 30th July Group C: Dominican Republic v Uzbekistan (2pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Group C: Spain v Egypt (2pm) Stade de Bordeaux Group B: Ukraine v Argentina (4pm) Stade de Lyon Group B: Morocco v Iraq (4pm) Stade de Nice Group A: New Zealand v France (6pm) Stade de Marseille Group A: USA v Guinea (6pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group D: Israel v Japan (8pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group D: Paraguay v Mali (8pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Friday 2nd August QF1: 1B v 2A (2pm) Parc des Princes, Paris QF2: 1D v 2C (4pm) Stade de Lyon QF3: 1C v 2D (6pm) Stade de Marseille QF4: 1A v 2B (8pm) Stade de Bordeaux Monday 5th August SF1: Winner Match QF1 v Winner Match QF2 (5pm) Stade de Marseille SF2: Winner Match QF4 v Winner Match QF3 (8pm) Stade de Lyon Thursday 8th August Bronze medal match: Loser SF1 v Loser Match SF2 (4pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Friday 9th August Gold medal match: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (5pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Women's Thursday 25th July Group C: Spain v Japan (4pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group A: Canada v New Zealand (4pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group C: Nigeria v Brazil (6pm) Stade de Bordeaux Group B: Germany v Australia (6pm) Stade de Marseille Group A: France v Colombia (8pm) Stade de Lyon Group B: USA v Zambia (8pm) Stade de Nice Sunday 28th July Group C: Brazil v Japan (4pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Group A: New Zealand v Colombia (4pm) Stade de Lyon Group C: Spain v Nigeria (6pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group B: Australia v Zambia (6pm) Stade de Nice Group A: France v Canada (8pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group B: USA v Germany (8pm) Stade de Marseille Wednesday 31st July Group C: Brazil v Spain (4pm) Stade de Bordeaux Group C: Japan v Nigeria (4pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Group B: Australia v USA (6pm) Stade de Marseille Group B: Zambia v Germany (6pm) Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne Group A: New Zealand v France (8pm) Stade de Lyon Group A: Colombia v Canada (8pm) Stade de Nice Saturday 3rd August QF1: 1B v 2C (2pm) Parc des Princes, Paris QF2: 1C v 3A/B (4pm) Stade de Lyon QF3: 2A v 2B (6pm) Stade de Marseille QF4: 1A v 3B/C (8pm) Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Tuesday 6th August SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF3 (5pm) Stade de Lyon SF2: Winner QF4 v Winner QF2 (8pm) Stade de Marseille Friday 9th August Bronze medal match: Loser SF1 v Loser SF2 (2pm) Stade de Lyon Saturday 10th August Gold medal match: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 (4pm) Parc des Princes, Paris Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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Rio 2016 Olympic triathlon: a viewer's guide
A challenging route and some notable absences make the Olympic triathlon an unpredictable event – can Team GB's women match the Brownlee brothers' win this Saturday?
Britain’s Brownlee brothers stormed to victory in the men's Olympic triathlon race – now it's the turn of Team GB's women. Expect to see a lively battle this Saturday between the favourite, Gwen Jorgenson of the USA, and contenders including GB’s Helen Jenkins, Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig and Sweden’s Lisa Norden. What time is the Olympic triathlon on TV? The women’s triathlon race will be held on Saturday 20th August from 3pm on BBC1, the BBC Sport website and the Red Button. What is the Rio 2016 triathlon course like? The event will start with a 1.5km swim off the Copacabana beach, followed by eight laps of a 5km bike circuit and a final 4 laps of a 2.5km beachfront loop. As with all multi-discipline events, the key to success is leveraging your strengths in your stronger discipline while defending in your weaker events, but unlike the heptathlon or omnium, there’s an added edge to triathlon, as each event flows into the next without a break. View oEmbed on the source website Traditionally gaps between groups of contenders open in the swim and it’s said that triathlons, although not won in the swim, are often lost there. The run is also seen as pivotal, as a good performance there can make up a lot of lost ground. In Rio, however, there are some unusual complications – the bike route features several tight, technical corners and two significant hills. The added difficulty of the bike course could make it the key to the whole event, as it will now favour competitors who are good across all fields, as opposed to specialists. Who are the ones to watch? In the women’s event the swim is seen as crucial. Gwen Jorgenson is the Triathlon World Series champion and is extremely strong in the run. Viewers might be deceived at first: she’s traditionally slow in the transition between bike and run, with a tendency to go gently in the early kilometres, but when she’s ready she can increase the pace very quickly. It’s widely believed that her rivals will need around a minute advantage going into the run to stand a chance of holding her off. This might play into the hands of Britain’s two-time World Champion Helen Jenkins, who is good in the water and, along with reigning Olympic champion Nicola Spirig, is among the strongest on the bike. If Jenkins establishes a lead over Jorgensen in the swim, she’ll give everything to maintaining it during the bike leg, but may get caught on the run. If the favourites end the swim together, the bike leg could well be a procession before Jorgensen tests them all in the run. Once again, watch for the swimmers to stretch into a long line as the pace increases, before breaking into smaller groups moving at their own sustainable speed.
The race that's six events in one - scratch race, individual pursuit, elimination race, time trial, flying lap and points race
The Omnium is track cycling’s multi-discipline event, similar to a heptathlon for cyclists. It takes place over two days and starts with a scratch race, followed by an individual pursuit and an elimination race. The following day will see riders compete in a time trial, a flying lap and the points race. The mixture of sprint and endurance events means that rider’s positions in the standings can vary wildly as each event plays to different strengths.The order of events and point scoring system has been simplified since London 2012 – riders now accrue points over the course of the first five events with 40 points for first place, 38 for second, and so on down to 21st place and below, which earns a single point. The accumulated score is then used as a sort of head start in the final event, the Points Race, where riders will score extra points in a sprint every ten laps, or for lapping the field. Team GB’s Laura Trott is the defending Olympic champion and current World Champion at the Omnium. In the men’s event, former World Road Race champion and 2011 Tour de France Green Jersey winner Mark Cavendish will be hoping to nab a gold medal, to complete his stellar collection of palmares. The Scratch Race The scratch race is the equivalent of the bike races you’ll remember from when you were a kid. No points, stopwatches or eliminations, just a race over 16 or 10 kilometres for the men and women respectively. Riders with a short, sharp turn of speed will hope to keep the race in one piece for a bunch sprint, while endurance riders will attempt to escape off the front of the pack, posing a dilemma for the riders behind. A rider who escapes and is caught won’t have the energy to try again, but a rider who chases an escapee must be careful not to exhaust himself before the final sprint. The Individual Pursuit The Individual Pursuit sees riders starting on opposite sides of the track and attempting to chase each other down. You’ll be able to see both sides of the track in splitscreen on your TV. A particularly dominant rider will cross the line visibly before his opponent does, which means he’s closing the distance. More closely-matched riders will be distinguishable only by the split times on each lap. The Elimination Race Formerly known as “Devil Take The Hindmost”, the Elimination race sees the last rider in the field eliminated after every second lap, and is a strong event for GB’s Laura Trott. Riders at the front will try to maintain a steady pace so they can’t be overhauled, while riders at the rear will fight a desperate battle not to be in last place on the vital laps. This can cause the race to accordion wildly, and things can get risky as the riders spread over the back of the field suddenly become densely packed and attempt to overtake each other. The Time Trial The Kilo or One Kilometre Time Trial (500 metres in the women’s event) sees each rider individually set his or her fastest time for a kilometre. It’s a race of four laps against the clock. The Flying Lap The flying lap will see riders given two-and-a-half laps to wind themselves up to their top speed in time for the third lap, on which they’re timed. The Points Race The points race sees the riders covering a distance of 40km on the track (25km for the women’s event). Every ten laps a bell is rung, and the riders sprint for the line in an attempt to score points for crossing the line first. Some riders will attempt to save their strength and jostle for position in between the bell laps, while others will try to score a massive 20 point bonus for lapping the field. The favourites As reigning World and Olympic champion, Laura Trott is the hot favourite for the Omnium, although the ever present American Sarah Hammer should pose a strong challenge, while Mark Cavendish is likely to renew his road-racing rivalry with Colombia’s rising star and current World Champion Fernando Gaviria. The Omnium begins on 14th August for the men and 15 for the women, with coverage of the opening events starting at 8:40pm on BBC1
Olympic track cycling: a guide to the Keirin
Wondering why there's a motorbike on the cycling track? You need our guide to the wonderfully wacky Keirin...
The Keirin is one of track cycling’s delightfully eccentric events, in which riders are paced up to speed behind a special motorbike before launching their attacks from top speed in the final 600 metres. It’s a race that is dominated by sprinters and often features a little illicit roughhousing as riders jostle for position. The Derny Keirin racing starts behind a pace bike known as a Derny. Combining a small engine with a traditional bicycle’s pedals-and-chain drivetrain, it’s capable of precisely controlled acceleration and deceleration, which makes it ideal for pacing riders up to speed. The Derny was traditionally used as a pacer in road cycling’s longer single-day events, such as the 560Km Bordeaux-Paris, but as those races fell out of favour the Derny became a fixture at track events where it’s now used to start the Keirin. The Derny rider sits bolt upright to provide a windbreak for the following riders as the Derny gradually accelerates from a cruising speed of about 30kph up to a decidedly taxing speed of around 50kph before pulling aside two-and-a-half laps from the finish of the eight-lap race. The Race Not only do the riders have to keep pace with the accelerating Derny, they also have to manoeuvre for position behind it. Having been paced up to speed, Keirin riders will be able to launch incredibly fast attacks for the line once the Derny peels off. Some riders favour an immediate attack from directly behind the Derny, while cagier riders prefer to carefully time their sprint so that they can accelerate just as the riders in front start to fade. The Contenders Britain’s Becky James has two bronze and one gold medal in the Keirin from the World Championships, and will be riding in the Olympics for the first time – she considers her main rivals to be Germany and Australia, most likely represented by Kristina Vogel and Anna Meares. Jason Kenny, meanwhile, will likely find himself pitted against World Champion Joachim Eilers, and New Zealand’s Eddie Dawkins. The Keirin heats start at 2pm on 13th August on BBC4
Everything you need to know about the controversial new rule changes, Team GB's medal hopes, other fighters to look out for and exactly how the scoring works
Rule changes and controversy Few sports have changed more than boxing in the space of a single Olympic cycle. Rio 2016 will see boxers fighting without head guards and using the “10-point must” scoring system from professional boxing (more below), rather than the traditional count of punches landed cleanly used in amateur boxing. The event will also be open to professional boxers for the first time, a cumulative set of changes that makes Olympic boxing difficult to distinguish from the professional sport, although matches will still be significantly shorter. Fans of the changes say it will allow the biggest names in the sport to add a gold medal to their laurels, and will put an end to the mismatches seen when countries which prohibit professional sports field mature, experienced fighters against younger amateurs from western nations, like when 17 year old Amir Khan lost to 33 year old Mario Kindelan at Beijing in 2004. It also makes it easier for medallists from previous Olympics to return and defend their medals, an opportunity taken up by Great Britain’s Nicola Adams in the women’s boxing. Critics believe that it will simply increase the number of meetings between amateur and professional boxers, leading to a greater number of dangerous mismatches. The British Boxing Board of Control has criticised the change, and two of the professional sport’s governing bodies, the IBF and WBC, have threatened a variety of sanctions against professionals who compete. The upshot is that while a number of professional fighters have qualified, they are all young fighters rather than the superstars of the sport. Weight categories There are ten weight categories for the men, ranging from light flyweight to super heavyweight, and three for women – flyweight, lightweight and middleweight. Team GB Great Britain is sending 12 fighters, its largest team of boxers for 32 years, and has set a target of three to five medals for the boxing team. In addition to defending champion Nicola Adams (pictured), keep an eye out for Joe Joyce at super heavyweight, Josh Kelly at welterweight, Pat McCormack at light welterweight and the evocatively named flyweight, Muhammad Ali. Other fighters to watch Top international prospects include bantamweight Shakur Stevens and middleweight Claressa Shields (pictured), who are expected to end Team USA’s boxing medal drought, and Ireland’s Paddy Barnes, who has two Olympic bronze medals and is one of the favourites for a gold medal at light flyweight. How matches work Men’s matches will consist of three three-minute rounds, while the women’s will be four two-minute rounds. The 10-point must system of scoring is almost universally used in professional boxing and awards the winner of each round 10 points based on criteria including effective aggression (the ability to take the fight to their opponent in a controlled, deliberate fashion), ring generalship (how well they control the movement and pace of the fight), cleanly landed punches and defensive skill. The loser of each round receives nine points - unless they were thoroughly dominated or knocked down, when they receive eight. On rare occasions, rounds can be scored 10-10 for a draw or even 10-7 for a round with multiple knockdowns. Points deductions for fouls are applied after the initial scoring, making a 9-9 round a possibility as well. The judges hand in their scorecards after each round, so there will no longer be a “live” score during the fight the way there used to be in the days of simply tallying up the clean punches. The shorter duration of amateur fights means that the pace of the action is usually more frantic than professional boxing – keep an eye out for professional fighters tiring as they attempt to fight at a faster pace than usual. A fresh fighter will pull his arm straight back from a punch into a defensive position around their face, while a tired or arm-weary fighter will tend to drop his or her arms to his sides before hoisting them back up into position. Footwork is important too – a good fighter rarely moves directly backwards or “crosses” his feet during the action – the lead foot is always in front, the rear is always behind. This is to prevent being caught by a sudden forward surge by an opponent, and to avoid the moment of imbalance as the feet cross. Tired fighters tend to let these fundamentals slip, and it’s here where fights are often won or lost. Matches take place every day of the Olympics, with most of the coverage on BBC red button as well as BBC1 and BBC4. Quarterfinals start on 10th August, semi-finals on 12th August and Finals begin on 14th August
Olympic track cycling Individual and Team Sprint: a viewer's guide
As GB's Jason Kenny hits the Velodrome to defend his Olympic gold, Jamie Ewbank tells us what to look out for in the team and individual events
Britain’s track team has evolved in the four years since London: Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton have retired, while Jess Varnish was controversially not selected for Rio. There are still plenty of familiar faces however – current World Champion Jason Kenny will be defending his 2012 gold medal in the Individual Sprint, as well as competing alongside Phillip Hindes and Callum Skinner in the Team Sprint. Given the simple banked oval of the track, the gearless bikes and the sheer size of a track sprinter’s thigh muscles, you would be forgiven for thinking that track sprinting is less nuanced than road cycling. But while athleticism certainly plays a significant role in track cycling, tactics will still be as important as pure power... The Individual Sprint The riders will qualify with a 200m flying lap that ranks them before the eliminations begin. The fastest rider is matched against the slowest, second fastest against the second slowest, until the final eight competitors will face each other in best-of-three competitions of three laps each. This is where the tactics come into play. The rider who starts on the inside line has the best route around the track, but will be forced to lead and won’t be able to see when their opponent starts their attack. Slower riders will try to keep the pace low for as long as they can so that their faster rivals don’t have the time to get up to their top speed once the dash for the line begins. Faster riders might try to swoop down the banked track to gain a little extra acceleration, but such moves are just as likely to be a crafty feint designed to panic their rival into attacking sooner than they want to. Sometimes riders will come to almost a complete halt, known as a track stand, in an attempt to lure their rivals through to the front or blunt their impending acceleration with a standing start. Amid all this cat-and-mouse riders also have to contend with the difficulty of controlling the bike on the banked track. On the straights the bike will want to drop down below the black line that marks the edge of the track, while a fast ride through the curves will see the bike trying to rise up the banking. Expert bike handling is required to prevent the inner bike from veering dangerously into the path of the outer rider, and it’s not unusual for fast riders to be disqualified because their bike control isn’t as refined as their speed. The Team Sprint The Team Sprint, on the other hand, is all about power. Raced over three laps, each rider takes it in turn to do a single lap at the front at the very highest speed they can manage, while their teammates follow in their slipstream. As the teams aren’t racing head to head, tactics take a back seat to strength. It’s an unforgiving event in which victory is decided by a few hundredths of a second, so there’s no chance to recover from error or ride at anything less than your desperate best. The contenders Among the favourites for the men’s Team Sprint are the defending champions, Team GB, the current World Champions New Zealand, and the strong German team. The women’s Team Sprint is likely to see a clash between World Champions Russia, and ever-present threats China, Australia and Germany. Team GB haven’t qualified for the women’s Team Sprint, but Britain’s former two-time World Champion Becky James will do battle in the Individual Sprint against contenders including Australia’s Anna Meares, Germany’s Kristina Vogel and World Champion Zhong Tianshi. The Sprint qualifiers begin on 11th August from 8pm on BBC1
Olympic track cycling Team Pursuit: a viewer's guide
How and why do the riders change places on the track? Who are the main contenders? And can Team GB's men and women defend their London 2012 titles?
The most beautiful event in track cycling is the Team Pursuit, which combines speed and endurance with complex manoeuvres as teams compete to outdo each other over a distance of four kilometres. The race For viewers it’s a particularly enjoyable spectacle, as the teams start on opposite sides of the track and pursue each other over 16 laps. A dominant performance will see one team visibly gaining ground on the other, while a more hard fought battle will see teams appearing to maintain almost identical track positions, with only hundredths of a second between them. If the teams seem to be flashing across the top and bottom of your TV screen at the same time, then you’re witnessing a really tight battle, but if you’re watching one catching up with the other then you’re seeing one team perform astonishingly well. The riders start from positions spread up the banking and quickly fall into a line, with the rider closest to the inside of the track having the delicate task of attaining top speed as quickly as possible without burning his or her teammates off their back wheel. Once the team is riding at full speed, each member will take it in turn to do a lap or a lap-and-a-half at the front, before attempting an inch-perfect manoeuvre: swinging up the banking to allow the following riders through, before dropping back down into the rearmost position. This way, the riders alternate between the tough leg-work at the front and the benefit of riding in their teammates' slipstream at the back. If the returning rider drops back into line too late it will be almost impossible to close the gap in time for their next turn on the front. Teams will often burn one rider off entirely, having them put in an extra, sacrificial effort to keep the pace high, as the time recorded is based on the third rider to cross the line. The favourites The need to attain maximum speed and perfect synchronisation makes the Team Pursuit one of the most difficult disciplines in track cycling. Team GB are the defending Olympic Champions in both the men’s and women’s events, and although the teams have changed since 2012, they are looking good in training. The men’s team has unofficially broken world records during a practice session, although they’ll face stiff competition from reigning World Champions Australia. Of particular interest to British fans is the return of Sir Bradley Wiggins as part of the team, not to mention Laura Trott’s defence of her Team Pursuit gold from 2012. The women’s Team Pursuit has been updated since the last Olympics, with the women now riding the same distance as the men, rather than the 12 laps of 21012. In the women’s event the Australians, again, are always dangerous, as are the reigning World Champions, the USA. The first round of the men's and women’s pursuit starts on 11th August from 8pm on BBC1
Rio 2016 Olympic road cycling guide: how to watch the men's and women's time trials
Everything you need to know about the road time trial races live on the BBC this Wednesday 10 August
After the controversial, crash-filled Rio 2016 cycling road race comes the men's and women's time trials. Tour de France winner Chris Froome rides for GB again, as does fellow GB rider Geraint Thomas, who crashed out dramatically in the final descent of the men's road race. In the women, Emma Pooley rides for Britain, joining a field that includes road race winner and time trial favourite Anna Van der Breggen. She's aiming to becoming the first rider, male or female, to win both the Olympic road race and time trial at the same Games. Here's everything you need to know. When is the Rio 2016 Olympic time trial live on TV? Both races take place on Wednesday 10th August. The women's race starts at 12.30pm, scheduled to be live on BBC2. The men's race starts at 2pm, set to be live on BBC1. What is the course like? Both races use much of the same circuit used during the road race, with both the Grumani and Grota Funda climbs making an appearance here. The men do two laps of the course, a total distance of 54.6km, while the women's race is one lap totalling 29.9km. At the weekend, BBC commentator Chris Boardman criticised the course after women's race leader Annemiek van Vleuten suffered a horrible crash just before the finish. View oEmbed on the source website How does the time trial work? The Time Trial is known as the “race of truth”, but for most practitioners it’s actually a race of uncertainty. Riders set off individually and attempt to set the fastest time for the course. The general rule is that if you’re going at a pace you’re certain you can sustain to the finish then you’re not working hard enough to win. The ideal time trial is ridden alone, in a state of anxiety. Because each rider sets off alone there’s no opportunity to nestle in the slipstream of other riders and stay out of the wind, which makes aerodynamic equipment vitally important for time triallists. Riders wear one-piece skinsuits without seams or creases in order to minimise drag, and a finned helmet that smooths the airflow over their head. Bikes are similarly aerodynamic, with disc wheels rather than spokes, and long, low handlebars that extend out in front of the bike, forcing the rider to tuck into a low, elongated position. Position is vital in time trialling in order to optimise the strength of the rider’s legs but minimise aerodynamic drag. Riders adopt a flat-backed, head up position, and will move around as little as possible. You can tell when a time triallist has gone too deep into energy reserves as they begin to wriggle from side to side in an attempt to use their body weight on the pedals. Backs hump and heads lower in exhaustion, turning an elongated helmet from a helpful fairing into a hindering sail. Who are the favourites? The past masters of this discipline are Britain’s Bradley Wiggins, Germany’s Tony Martin and Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara, but as the years creep up, Britain’s Chris Froome and Holland’s Tom Dumoulin are seen as the heirs apparent. The 54km men’s time trial race is up in the air – Wiggins has chosen to ride the track events instead of the road, Martin and Dumoulin are both recovering from injuries and Froome may be tired from his Tour winning efforts. Keep an eye on Belarussian Time Trial World Champion Vasil Kiriyenka if the beleaguered favourites aren’t on their best form. In the women’s event, Britain's Emma Pooley favours a hilly time trial, so the 30km women’s course might suit her, but it’s likely that her rivals will have better form. Keep an eye out for Anna van der Breggen (winner of the road race), World Champion Linda Villumsen of New Zealand and the veteran two-time gold medallist Kristin Armstrong from the USA.
Rio 2016 Olympic cycling guide: how to watch the men's and women's road races
Chris Froome and Lizzie Armitstead lead Team GB's big for road cycling glory, but what else do you need to know before watching the cycling road race live on the BBC?
Team GB’s first medals of the Olympics might well be awarded at the men’s and women’s road races, which take place on Saturday 6th August and Sunday 7th August live on the BBC. With three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, reigning World Champion Lizzie Armitstead and up-and-coming talent Adam Yates in the team, Great Britain has a shot at early medal success, but it won’t be easy. Here's a viewer's guide to watching the Rio 2016 road cycling on TV. When is the Rio 2016 Olympic road race live on TV? Coverage of the men’s road race starts from 1:30pm on Saturday 6th August on BBC1 and BBC4. The women’s road race begins at 4:15pm on Sunday 7th August on BBC1 and continues on BBC4. What is the course like? The Rio road race route is a very different creature to the London course. Among other challenges the 237km men’s race features three ascents of the Vista Chinesa, a short but very steep climb with a maximum gradient of 14% (compared to Box Hill’s 4% slopes in 2012). This, combined with a short 30km run-in from the top of the final summit to the finish, means that the heavily-muscled sprinters who will struggle to get their weight up the climb will have almost no time to catch up on the way to the finish. The favourites It’s the lighter, nippier climbers who are expected to contest the finish: GB's Chris Froome, Italy’s 2014 Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali, and Spain’s hilly one-day race specialist Alejandro Valverde are the most likely medal candidates. Strong all-rounders like Geraint Thomas, Steve Cummings and Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski could also put their big engines to use if they can hold on over the climbs. But the revelation of this year’s Tour de France, Bury lad Adam Yates, could be a good outsider bet to cause an upset: crowned the best young rider in Paris last month, this steep, choppy course could suit his strength. The women’s event will cover 141km over the same route, but with fewer laps of the start and finish circuits. 2012 silver medallist and current World Champion Lizzie Armitstead is the hot favourite for Great Britain, but she’s had a tough week and she will face strong opposition from Marianne Vos and Anna van der Breggen. Both from the Netherlands, 2012 gold medallist Vos competes on the back of a stellar career and van de Breggen has had a prolific season. Other names to note include Team USA’s Megan Guarnier and Mara Abbot. What to watch for Helicopter shots of the peloton as it speeds along will give you a good indication of the state of the race. A block or blob-shaped peloton tends to mean that the pace is low, and that any riders who have escaped from the main group aren’t considered a threat. Should the peloton take on an arrowhead formation, you can assume that the bunch is wary and the pace is being kept pretty high to stop the breakaway riders from building up too great an advantage. And if the group stretches out into a long, thin line, you’ll know that the riders are going “full gas” and are riding their hardest to reel in any escapees, or to dislodge weaker riders from the back of the group on the climbs. The coastal location of the route might mean that the riders contend with crosswinds, which smash a race to pieces as each rider tries to shelter by tucking in alongside the next. This creates echelons - diagonal lines of riders stretching from one side of the road to the other – and the limited space across the width of the road forces the race to split into numerous small groups. It can be astonishingly difficult for a rider to make it from one group to another, with no space to squeeze in if you do. Riders working together in small groups will take turns to ride on the front to keep the pace high, and will “flick” their elbows to the side when they want the rider behind to come through and take a turn. Keep an eye out for this - crafty cyclists start to ignore the elbow flicks in the later stages of the race to conserve energy for the finish. On TV, the most important data is the kilometres to go graphic and the gap – this tells you how far the lead rider or group is from the finish, and how far behind the chase has fallen behind the leader. Often, times will be given for as many as three or four groups if the race has split up. Each time gap will be taken from the leading rider, so you can tell how close the groups are to each other by calculating the difference between their respective times to the leaders.
How to watch the Olympic Track Cycling Omnium - a beginner's guide
In its first Olympic year, a rundown of the six events that make up cycling's version of the heptathlon, plus how the scoring works and who's in contention
The Omnium is track cycling’s multi-discipline event, similar to a heptathlon for cyclists, and is making its Olympic debut in London. Riders will compete over six different events and their placing in each event will be their points score: one point for first place, two for second and so on. At the end of the six events, the winner is the rider with the lowest overall score. Team GB’s Ed Clancy and Laura Trott have both been Omnium World Champions, and will be entering the event on a high: Clancy has already won a gold medal in the Team Pursuit, and Trott has set a World Record in the women’s Team Pursuit. The Omnium takes place over two days and starts with a flying lap, followed by a points race and an elimination race. The following day will see them compete in a scratch race, an individual pursuit and a kilometre time trial. Both Team GB riders excel at the individual events which take place against the clock, and will use them to gain advantages that they can defend in the melee of the mass start races. The Flying Lap The flying lap will see riders given two-and-a-half laps to wind themselves up to their top speed in time for the third lap, on which they’re timed. The Points Race The points race sees the riders covering a distance of 30km on the track (20km for the women’s event). Every ten laps a bell is rung, and the riders sprint for the line in an attempt to score points for crossing the line first. Some riders will attempt to save their strength and jostle for position in between the bell laps, while others will try to score a massive 20 point bonus for lapping the field. The Elimination Race Formerly known as “Devil Take The Hindmost”, the Elimination race sees the last rider in the field eliminated after every second lap, and is a strong event for GB’s Laura Trott. Riders at the front will try to maintain a steady pace so they can’t be overhauled, while riders at the rear will fight a desperate battle not to be in last place on the vital laps. This can cause the race to accordion wildly, and things can get risky as the riders spread over the back of the field suddenly become densely packed and attempt to overtake each other. The Scratch Race The scratch race is the equivalent of the bike races you’ll remember from when you were a kid. No points, stopwatches or eliminations, just a race over 16 or 10 kilometres for the men and women respectively. Riders with a short, sharp turn of speed will hope to keep the race in one piece for a bunch sprint, while endurance riders will attempt to escape off the front of the pack, posing a dilemma for the riders behind. A rider who escapes and is caught won’t have the energy to try again, but a rider who chases an escapee must be careful not to exhaust himself before the final sprint. The Individual Pursuit As in the Team Pursuit, the Individual Pursuit sees riders starting on opposite sides of the track and attempting to chase each other down. You’ll be able to see both sides of the track in splitscreen on your TV. A particularly dominant rider will cross the line visibly before his opponent does, which means he’s closing the distance. More closely-matched riders will be distinguishable only by the split times on each lap. The Time Trial Finally there’s the Kilo or One Kilometre Time Trial, in which each rider individually sets his fastest time they can for a kilometre. It’s a race of four laps against the clock and, like the flying lap and pursuit, it’s where we expect Ed Clancy to do well. The favourites Watch out for Team GB’s Clancy and Trott. Other strong contenders for the Omnium include Australia’s Glenn O’Shea and Annette Edmondson, Canada’s Zachary Bell and Tara Whitten, and USA’s Sarah Hammer. The Omnium unfolds throughout the day on BBC1 and BBC Olympics 6 and 7, with the final events from 4:45pm
How to watch the Olympic Track Cycling Keirin - a beginner's guide
The Keirin is one of track cycling’s delightfully eccentric events, in which riders are paced up to speed behind a special motorbike before launching their attacks from top speed in the final 600 metres. It’s a race that is dominated by sprinters and often features a little illicit roughhousing as riders jostle for position. The Derny Keirin racing starts behind a pace bike known as a Derny. Combining a small engine with a traditional bicycle’s pedals-and-chain drivetrain, it’s capable of precisely controlled acceleration and deceleration, which makes it ideal for pacing riders up to speed. The Derny was traditionally used as a pacer in road cycling’s longer single-day events, such as the 560Km Bordeaux-Paris, but as those races fell out of favour the Derny became a fixture at track events where it’s now used to start the Keirin. The Derny rider sits bolt upright to provide a windbreak for the following riders as the Derny gradually accelerates from a cruising speed of about 30kph up to a decidedly taxing speed of around 50kph before pulling aside two-and-a-half laps from the finish of the eight-lap race. The Race Not only do the riders have to keep pace with the accelerating Derny, they also have to manoeuvre for position behind it. Having been paced up to speed, Keirin riders will be able to launch incredibly fast attacks for the line once the Derny peels off. Some riders, such as the reigning Olympic champion, Team GB’s Sir Chris Hoy, favour an immediate attack from directly behind the Derny. Cagier riders prefer to carefully time their sprint so that they can accelerate just as the riders in front start to fade. The Contenders Sir Chris Hoy is the favourite by a wide margin: he has won four World Championship and one Olympic Gold medals in the Keirin, although he will face competition from France’s Mickael Bourgain and Germany’s Maximilian Levy. In the women’s event, old rivals Victoria Pendleton and Anna Meares are among the favourites for a medal, as are China’s Guo Shuang and Lithuania’s Simona Krupeckaite. The heats of the women's Keirin start at 4pm today, with the finals at 6:38pm, on BBC2 and BBC Olympics 8
How to watch the Olympic Track Cycling Team Pursuit - a beginner's guide
Speed, endurance and complex manoeuvring combine in the most elegant of the track cycling formats, says Jamie Ewbank
The most beautiful event in track cycling is the Team Pursuit, which combines speed and endurance with complex manoeuvres as teams compete to outdo each other over a distance of four kilometres for the men and three kilometres in the women’s event. The race For viewers it’s a particularly enjoyable spectacle, as the teams start on opposite sides of the track and pursue each other over 16 or 12 laps. A dominant performance will see one team visibly gaining ground on the other, while a more hard fought battle will see teams appearing to maintain almost identical track positions, with only hundredths of a second between them. If the teams appear to be flashing across the top and bottom of your TV screen at the same time, then you’re witnessing a really tight battle, but if you’re watching one catching up with the other then you’re seeing one team perform astonishingly well. The riders start from positions spread up the banking and quickly fall into a line, with the rider closest to the inside of the track having the delicate task of attaining top speed as quickly as possible without burning his or her teammates off their back wheel. Once the team is riding at full speed, each member will take it in turn to do a lap or a lap-and-a-half at the front before attempting an inch-perfect manoeuvre: swinging up the banking to allow the following riders through, before dropping back down into the rearmost position. If the returning rider drops back into line too late it will be almost impossible to close the gap in time for their next turn on the front. The favourites The need to attain maximum speed and perfect synchronisation makes the Team Pursuit one of the most difficult disciplines in track cycling. In the men’s event, defending Olympic champions Great Britain are likely to do battle with the current World Champions, Australia. The women’s Team Pursuit is new to the Olympics, but has been a World Championship event since 2008. Team GB’s women are not only the reigning World Champions, but have won the event four out of the five times it has been held. Their main rivals will be Canada and, as ever, Australia. The first round of the men's pursuit starts at 4:18pm, with the finals from 5:59pm, on BBC2 and BBC Olympics 8
How to watch the Olympic Cycling Track Sprint - a beginner's guide
As GB's Victoria Pendleton, Jess Varnish, Chris Hoy and Jason Kenny hit the Velodrome, Jamie Ewbank tells us what to look out for in the team and individual events
Tonight’s Sprint and Team Sprint finals at the Olympic Velodrome will give us our first inkling of whether the British track cycling team can repeat the incredible success it had in Beijing, where they won 11 medals, including seven golds. The riders Britain’s track team has evolved in the four years since Beijing: Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish are now concentrating on road racing, while Sir Chris Hoy will be contesting the Team Sprint and Keirin, but not defending the gold medal he won in the Individual Sprint. That honour will go to Jason Kenny, the current World Champion and silver medallist from Beijing. Victoria Pendleton will defend her Individual Sprint gold medal from Beijing, and compete alongside newcomer Jess Varnish in the newly introduced Women’s Team Sprint. The tactics Given the simple banked oval of the track, the gearless bikes and the sheer size of Sir Chris Hoy’s thigh muscles, you would be forgiven for thinking that track sprinting is less nuanced than road cycling. Although athleticism plays a significant role in track cycling, tactics will still be as important as pure power. - The Individual Sprint The riders will qualify with a 200m flying lap that ranks them before the eliminations begin, the fastest rider is matched against the slowest, second fastest against the second slowest, until the final eight competitors will face each other in best-of-three competitions of three laps each. This is where the tactics come into play. The rider who starts on the inside line has the best route around the track, but will be forced to lead and won’t be able to see when their opponent starts their attack. Slower riders will try to keep the pace low for as long as they can so that their faster rivals don’t have the time to get up to their top speed once the dash for the line begins. Faster riders might try to swoop down the banked track to gain a little extra acceleration, but such moves are just as likely to be a crafty feint designed to panic their rival into attacking sooner than they want to. Sometimes riders will come to almost a complete halt, known as a track stand, in an attempt to lure their rivals through to the front or blunt their impending acceleration with a standing start. Amid all this cat-and-mouse riders also have to contend with the difficulty of controlling the bike on the banked track. On the straights the bike will want to drop down below the black line that marks the edge of the track, while a fast ride through the curves will see the bike trying to rise up the banking. Expert bike handling is required to prevent the inner bike from veering dangerously into the path of the outer rider, and it’s not unusual for fast riders to be disqualified because their bike control isn’t as refined as their speed. - The Team Sprint The Team Sprint, on the other hand, is all about power. Raced over two laps for the women and three for the men, each rider takes it in turn to do a single lap at the front at the very highest speed they can manage. As the teams aren’t racing head to head, tactics take a back seat to strength. It’s an unforgiving event in which victory is decided by a few hundredths of a second, so there’s no chance to recover from error or ride at anything less than your desperate best. The contenders Favourites for the men’s Team Sprint are the defending champions, Team GB, the current World Record holders from Germany, and the French with their self-described “caged Tiger” Gregor Bauge. The women’s Team Sprint is likely to see another clash between old rivals Team GB and Australia. In the Individual Sprint, Jason Kenny is likely to find himself up against France’s Gregor Bauge and Germany’s Robert Forstemann, while Victoria Pendleton will probably battle her long time rivals, Australia’s Anna Meares, Lithuania’s Simona Krupeckaite and Shuang Guo of China.