Jesse Squire | On 15, Aug 2016

Allyson Felix is the biggest star of the day, but there’s a whole lot more to watch too.

Welcome to the fourth of our daily Olympic track and field viewer’s guides. We’re here to help you find out what, when, how, who and why to watch all of the action.

Today’s highlights:

Morning finals include the women’s hammer throw and women’s steeplechase.
Evening finals include the men’s pole vault, men’s 800 meters, and women’s 400 meters.

TV coverage

Things are always in flux, but these are what the current listings say. All times are Eastern.
NBC Sports Network, 8:00-11:00am (live)
NBC, 10:00am-1:00pm (live)
NBC, 8:00-11:00pm (live and tape-delay)

You have plenty of other viewing options as well, mainly via the internet.

Important links

The IAAF’s live results page is awesome, bookmark it.
You also need our own Non-Track Fan’s Guides to the Olympics for men and women, even if you’re already a track fan.

Morning Session

The Schedule

Track and field competition schedules are best understood in a visual format since the sport is a sort of three-ring circus, with many things happening at once.

The basics are that competition begins at 8:30am (Eastern time) and goes until about 11:20.

8:30am: Men’s Triple Jump qualifying

Qualifying format: Two groups will compete simultaneously in side-by-side pits. The top 12 or everyone over 16.95 meters (55′ 7½”) will go to the final, whichever is more.
The favorites: Christian Taylor (USA), Will Claye (USA), Pedro Pablo Pichardo (Cuba), Dong Bin (China), Alexis Copello (Cuba)
Americans: Taylor, Claye, Chris Benard
Canadians: none

8:30am: Women’s 200 meter heats

Qualifying format: The first two in each of nine heats qualify to the semifinals, plus the next six fastest runners.
The favorites: Dafne Schippers (Holland), Elaine Thompson (Jamaica), Tori Bowie (USA), Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica), Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain), Deajah Stevens (USA), Jenna Prandini (USA)
Americans: Bowie, Stevens, Prandini
Canadians: Crystal Emmanuel

9:25am: Men’s Steeplechase heats

Qualifying format: The first three in each heat plus the next six fastest will qualify to the final.
The favorites: Ezekiel Kemboi (Kenya), Conseslus Kipruto (Kenya), Evan Jager (USA), Brimin Kipruto (Kenya), Mahiedine Mekhissi (France), John Koech (Bahrain)
Americans: Jager, Cabral, Hillary Bor
Canadians: Matt Hughes, Taylor Milne, Chris Winter

9:40am: Women’s Hammer Throw final

The favorites: Anita Wlodarczyk (Poland), Zheng Wang (China), Wenxiu Zhang (China), Betty Heidler (Germany)
Americans: Amber Campbell, DeAnna Price
Canadians: none
Bet worth taking: Campbell is 7:1 to medal.
How big a favorite is Wlodarczyk? Most British betting houses give her 1:33 odds to win, meaning you must bet $33 to win $1. Campbell and Price are the first US Olympic finalists in this event in 16 years, and no Americans have ever finished better than seventh.

10:15am: Women’s Steeplechase Final

The favorites: Hyvin Jepkemoi (Kenya), Ruth Chebet (Bahrain), Habiba Ghribi (Tunisia), Emma Coburn (USA), Sofia Assefa (Ethiopia)
Americans: Coburn, Courtney Frerichs, Colleeen Quigley
Canadian: Geneviève Lalonde
Kevin Sully previewed this for us. The basics are that Jepkemoi and Chebet threatened the world record while nearly running to a dead heat earlier this year, and Coburn is in the hunt for a medal.

10:35am: Men’s 400 Hurdles heats

Qualifying format: The first three in each of six heats plus the next six fastest will qualify to the semifinals.
The favorites: Kerron Clement (USA) , Yasmani Copello Escobar (Turkey), Javier Culson (Puerto Rico), Michael Tinsley (USA), Nicholas Bett (Kenya)
Americans: Clement, Tinsley, Byron Robinson
Canadians: none

Evening Session

The Schedule

There are three big finals tonight, the men’s pole vault, men’s 800 meters, and women’s 400 meters.

7:30pm: Women’s Discus qualifying

Qualifying format: Two groups will throw, starting at 7:30 and 8:50. The top 12 overall will go to the final, with anyone over 62.00 meters (203′ 5″) doing so automatically.
The favorites: Sandra Perkovic (Croatia), Denia Caballero (Cuba), Julia Fischer (Germany), Dani Samuels (Australia), Nadine Müller (Germany), Shanice Craft (Germany), Yaimí Pérez (Cuba)
Americans: Whitney Ashley, Shelbi Vaughan, Kelsey Card
Canadians: none

7:35pm: Men’s Pole Vault final

The favorites: Renaud Lavillenie (France), Sam Kendricks (USA), Shawn Barber (Canada)
American: Kendricks
Canadian: Barber
Bet worth taking: Barber pays 8:1 to win.
Defending champion Lavillenie is a heavy favorite to win, but that’s been true at the last two World Championships and he’s come up short. Barber won last year’s Worlds and Kendricks won in Lavillenie’s only Diamond League failure this year.

7:40pm: Men’s 110 Hurdles heats

Qualifying format: The first four in each of five heats plus the next four fastest will qualify to the semifinals.
The favorites: Omar McLeod (Jamaica), Devon Allen (USA), Dimitri Bascou (France), Ronnie Ash (USA), Orlando Ortega (Spain), Pascal Martinot-Lagarde (France)
Americans: Allen, Ash, Jeff Porter
Canadians: Jonathan Cabral, Sekou Kaba

8:30pm: Women’s 400 Hurdles heats

Qualifying format: The first three in each of six heats plus the next six fastest will qualify to the semifinals.
The favorites: Dalilah Muhammad (USA), Sara Slott Petersen (Denmark), Eilidh Doyle (Great Britain), Zuzana Hejnová (Czech Republic), Ashley Spencer (USA), Sydney McLaughlin (USA)
Americans: Muhammad, Spencer, McLaughlin
Canadians: Noelle Montcalm, Sage Watson, Chanice Chase

9:25pm: Men’s 800 meter final

The favorites: David Rudisha (Kenya), Alfred Kipketer (Kenya), Taoufik Makhloufi (Algeria), Boris Berian (USA), Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (France)
Americans: Berian, Clayton Murphy
Canadians: none
Bet worth taking: Murphy pays 7:1 to medal.
Kevin Sully previewed this for us. In a nutshell, the 800 is the least predictable of all the flat running events. That’s why I listed five of the eight finalists as “favorites”. Rudisha is still the man to beat but he won’t produce a Secretariat-like run like he did in 2012. The USA has two young, smart and talented runners in Berian and Murphy and you never really know what either of them could do.

9:45pm: Women’s 400 meter final

The favorites: Allyson Felix (USA), Shericka Jackson (Jamaica), Phyllis Francis (USA), Shaunae Miller (Bahamas)
Americans: Felix, Francis, Natasha Hastings
Canadians: none
Bet worth taking: Jackson pays 15:1 to win.
Kevin Sully previewed this for us. This is the big night for Allyson Felix, and her semifinal suggested she’s ready to roll.