Friday sees the start of the Olympic athletics schedule and the first tennis medals will be won in Tokyo.
The men's 10,000 metres final will be staged on the first day of track and field action at the Olympic Stadium.
There will be an all-Croatia men's doubles gold medal match at the Ariake Tennis Park, plus no doubt more drama to come in the pool.
Stats Perform picks out some of the standout events to look forward to.
CHEPTEGEI FAVOURITE FOR FIRST TRACK GOLD
Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo both have the chance to become the first athlete from Uganda to win an Olympic gold medal in the men's 10,000m final.
Cheptegei, the 2019 world champion, is well fancied in the last event on the track on Friday, while his compatriot Kiplimo could become the youngest man to be crowned champion at the distance at the age of 20 years and 258 days.
Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia and Canadian Mohammed Ahmed also have high hopes of making it onto the podium.
Other events to look out for are the start of the women's 100m, men's 400m hurdles and men's high jump, along with the women's 800m and women's triple jump.
CROATIA GUARANTEED DOUBLES GOLD
One guarantee on Friday is that Croatia will add a gold and silver medal to their tally at the Tokyo Games.
Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig will face compatriots Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the gold medal match in the men's doubles final.
The men's singles semi-finals will also take place, with Novak Djokovic, chasing a Golden Slam this year, up against Germany's Alexander Zverev.
Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee will do battle with Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta to find out who will make it through from the other half of the draw.
HIGH HOPES FOR AUSTRALIAN DUO
Emma McKeon and Cate Campbell could make it an Australia one-two in the women's 100m freestyle final.
McKeon set a new Olympic record of 52.13 seconds on Wednesday and will go out in lane four next to her dangerous compatriot Campbell.
That is one of four finals on Friday, with Tatjana Schoenmaker of South Africa expected to take some stopping in the 200m breaststroke final after clocking an Olympic record time of 2:19.16 this week.
Medals will also be up for grabs in the men's 200m backstroke final and the men's 200m individual medley.
Ta Lou, Coleman, Blake and Watson confirmed for Jamaica Athletic Invitational on May 11
The excitement for the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational on May 11 continues to build as standout Ivory Coast sprinter Marie-José Ta Lou has been confirmed to join the star-studded lineup for this prestigious event in Kingston.
Alongside Ta Lou, other renowned athletes such as Christian Coleman, Antonio Watson, and Akeem Blake will grace the track, promising a thrilling mix of elite track and field competition and entertainment. Marvin Anderson, the Athletes Liaison, is curating an impressive list of participants that he believes will meet the high expectations for this exciting sporting event.
The Jamaica Athletics Invitational will feature a lineup of 10 track events and four field events, showcasing the talents of top athletes from around the globe. Fans can anticipate high-stakes competition and exceptional performances as athletes vie for victory on the track and in the field.
Tickets for this highly anticipated event will go on sale online starting April 22. Attendees will have the option to choose from two categories of grandstand tickets priced at $3,000 and $2,500, while entry to the bleachers will be free of charge.
The stage is set for an electrifying evening of athletics at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational, and fans are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to witness world-class athletes in action at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Roshawn Clarke poised to shock himself at Velocity Fest Meeting in Kingston on Saturday
Roshawn Clarke, the World U20 400m hurdles record holder, is brimming with confidence as he gears up for the Velocity Fest meeting at the National Stadium in Kingston this Saturday. Clarke, who shattered Winthrop Graham’s 30-year-old national record of 47.60 with a remarkable time of 47.34 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, is eyeing a podium finish at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris.
The 19-year-old sprinter is excited to demonstrate his current form and fitness, hinting at potentially running either the 400m or the 200m at the Velocity Fest meeting. Clarke's recent performances have been promising, with a strong 400m season opener of 46.05 on February 10 and an identical time two weeks later. He has also run a nippy 20.69 over 200m in mid-March.
"I’m running fast. I ran my first race with a personal best as a season-opener. I repeated that exact time again so I am pretty confident, I am being consistent," Clarke shared during launch of the Racers Grand Prix on Tuesday. "I am running the 400m or the 200m this Saturday so I am just going there to enjoy myself and better my season’s best."
Clarke, who will turn 20 on July 1, is determined to lower his national record and challenge the world's top athletes like world-record holder and three-time world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway, the USA’s Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the 2022 champion. These formidable competitors have all clocked times under 47 seconds in the 400m hurdles.
"In Paris, the big three won’t go any slower than 46 so I am stronger now," Clarke explained. "My speed is very much improved right now, probably if I contest the 200m this weekend I will probably shock myself, again and my coach with how fast I am in training."
With high expectations for himself and a focus on execution, Clarke is poised to make waves and as he fine-tunes his skills at the Velocity Fest meeting, fans and competitors alike eagerly anticipate his performance and potential for achieving new personal milestones.
Emma Raducanu’s run at Stuttgart Open ended by world number one Iga Swiatek
Emma Raducanu’s progress in the Stuttgart Open was halted in straight sets by world number one Iga Swiatek.
The Polish four-time grand slam champion, in her 100th week on top of the ATP world rankings, prevailed 7-6 (2) 6-3 to set up a semi-final showdown with Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
It was, however, an encouraging quarter-final performance from Raducanu, who has slipped to 303 in the world rankings after a torrid 2023.
Raducanu came in to the contest on a high after winning four matches in a row for the first time since her US Open title in 2021 and raised confidence levels were reflected in the opening exchanges.
Several booming returns from the 21-year-old Briton turned a 0-40 deficit into an immediate break of serve, but Swiatek levelled after edging a second game that featured seven deuces.
That see-saw battle set the tone for a marathon 70-minute opening set which produced plenty of high-quality ground strokes from both sides of the net.
The match went with serve from that point, with Raducanu superbly holding her nerve at 5-4 and 6-5 down to force the first set to a tie-break.
Swiatek completely dominated the tie-break though, winning the first four points before closing it out 7-2.
Raducanu was quickly in trouble again in the second set, falling 2-0 behind and covered in clay after losing her footing on the baseline.
She continued to fight and fended off break points in her next two service games to stay in the match.
But Swiatek kept up the pressure to finally end Raducanu’s resistance to move in to the last four.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
