Their first gold medal of the games – won Saturday by a woman, of course: Ginny Thrasher in shooting. The U.S. was followed by China, Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Advertisement
Immediately after Phelps exits the pool for what could be the final time in an Olympic individual competition, the woman who has already begun to fill his massive shoes, Katie Ledecky, will slide into the pool for her final individual race in Rio.
The forecast also puts Spain as the second best country in the world in disciplines such as basketball or synchronised swimming, sports in which the Spanish team has previously achieved silver and gold medals.
Should she win bronze, as predicted, in skeet, she would become only the second person ever to win a medal in an individual event in six consecutive Olympic Games.
Mikulak will compete in the floor and high bar finals, while Leyva will compete in the high bar and parallel bar finals.
And even if Olympic champions choose to hold onto their medals, the ultimate symbol of athlete prowess, they can expect a little cash to come their way.
Henrik Stenson, who earned his first career major crown at last month’s Open Championship, sits as a +575 favorite to win gold in the first Olympic golf tournament in over a century. Their audience extends further still in the comfort of our homes: If the upward trend in viewership continues, Rio could surpass London 2012 – which reached 4.8 billion viewers worldwide, according to the London 2012 Olympic Games Global Broadcast Report.
There will be action in 20 sports to look forward to on day one of the Games, here we round up the key storylines to keep an eye out for.
Biles has not lost an all-around competition in three years, and she is fully capable of winning five gold medals. These Games will be an opportunity for competing with participants from all over the world in the best traditions of sportsmanship.
Advertisement
Does That Mean Team USA Was Actually The Best? Also on their schedule this week – Wednesday against Australia (6 p.m. ET), Friday against Serbia (6 p.m. ET) and finally, Sunday against France (1:15 p.m. ET).
