Sport

Rio 2016: Day eight preview – Team GB athletics stars eye Super Saturday take two

Four years ago London 2012 exploded on Super Saturday as Team GB ran riot. 

And in Rio the stage is set for history to repeat itself as the terrific trio of Jessica Ennis-Hill, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford – who all won gold in the space of 46 minutes four years ago – are reunited by a quirk of the athletics scheduling. 

Rutherford goes for gold in the long jump after sneaking through qualifying, Farah defends his 10,000m title while Ennis-Hill can be crowned in the heptathlon after finishing day one top of the pile.

But those aren’t the only three with realistic gold medal hopes on day seven, Laura Trott leads Team GB’s women’s team pursuit quartet on the track in the velodrome hoping to become the first British female to win three Olympic titles.

Becky James will be hoping for a similar story in the women’s keirin while Jason Kenny continues his quest for a second Olympic gold of the Games in Rio and fifth of his career in the men’s sprint but he will face serious competition from his teammate Callum Skinner.

It’s the last day of rowing on the iconic Lagoa with both the Team GB men’s and women’s eights looking for a golden ending while the action in the swimming concludes with Fran Halsall set to go in the women’s 50m freestyle final.

The Team GB men’s 4x100m medley relay team, led by newly-crowned Olympic champion Adam Peaty, are also in with a fantastic shout after finishing first in their heat, the women’s quartet will also race for a medal.

That wraps up the main medal hopes on day seven but the men’s 100m does start on the athletics track and the women’s 100m concludes while Nathan Bailey will have high hopes in gymnastics’ men’s trampoline event following teammate Bryony Page’s silver success on Friday.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is the last Team GB tennis player standing and is just one win against Japan’s Kei Nishikori away from the gold-medal match.  

Team GB’s women face USA in their last hockey pool match having already qualified for the quarter-finals, boxer Joe Joyce begins his campaign in the super heavyweight division and Justin Rose and Danny Willett return for golf’s third round.

Weightlifter Sonny Webster goes in Group B of the men’s 94kg and Grace Reid dives in the women’s 3m springboard semi-finals after comfortably progressing out of the preliminary on her Olympic debut.

Badminton continues at Riocentro with Chris and Gabby Adcock going in the mixed doubles, Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis in the men’s doubles and Lauren Smith and Heather Olver in the women’s doubles.

The action at the Marina da Gloria is also starting to ramp up with the final races ahead of the double points medal showdown in the Laser, involving Nick Thompson, and Laser Radial, involving Alison Young.

Images courtesy of SNTV via YouTube, with thanks.

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