With 40 sports activities, 206 nations and the spectacular backdrop of Paris, this 12 months’s Olympic Video games promise continuous motion.
There are such a lot of occasions to observe, and it may be extremely overwhelming to know what to tune into – particularly as many televised occasions conflict with each other.
As a fan of the Video games since childhood, I’ve managed to condense a listing of the must-see occasions that it is best to mark in your calendar. When you’re notably thinking about getting patriotic, I’ve additionally included the highest Group GB sports activities that the nation stands a superb probability of getting a gold medal in.
All these occasions shall be on BBC/iPlayer and Eurosport/Discovery+ within the UK, and USA Community and Peacock within the US. Take a look at our watch information for data – we even have a tutorial for the way to watch the Olympics in 4K.
5 greatest Olympic occasions it is best to watch
Paris opening ceremony
When? – Friday 26 July 2024 at 6:30pm BST/1:30pm ET/10:30am PT
From James Bond and the ‘Queen’ skydiving into the stadium in London 2012 to the Olympic cauldron being lit by a flaming arrow in Barcelona 1992, each opening ceremony gives spectacular moments that may mark the historical past books.
Paris is planning on standing out by internet hosting its occasions down the River Seine, making use of the town’s lovely skyline and iconic landmarks. You’ll get to see all of the athletes in the course of the parade, and there are sturdy rumours that celebrity Celine Dion shall be making a triumphant return to the stage.
It doesn’t matter what sport you observe, the opening ceremony is one to not miss.
Simone Biles within the girls’s gymnastics
When? – Ranging from Sunday 28 July at 8:30am/BST/3:30am ET/12:30am PT
One of many biggest athletes of all time, Simone Biles will compete for the USA in each the workforce and particular person occasions for gymnastics. The athlete already holds seven medals from Rio and Tokyo, and 23 world titles. She has quite a few strikes named after her, as they’re so advanced and had by no means been tried earlier than.
In Tokyo, she withdrew from a number of occasions to prioritise her psychological well being. Now although, she has extra expertise and an enormous crowd to carry out in entrance of, so we might see historical past being made.
Listed below are the occasions that Simone might very nicely compete in – the finals are, after all, pending her qualification:
- Simon Biles and Group USA qualifying – Sunday, 28 July at 8:30am/BST/3:30am ET/12:30am PT
- Girls’s workforce closing – Tuesday 30 July at 5:15 BST/12:15pm ET/9:15am PT
- Girls’s all-around closing – Thursday 1 August at 5:15 BST/12:15pm ET/9:15am PT
- Girls’s vault closing – Saturday 3 August at 3:20pm BST/10:20am ET/7:20am PT
- Girls’s uneven bars closing – Saturday 4 August at 2:40pm BST/9:40am ET/6:40am PT
- Girls’s stability beam closing – Monday 5 August at 11:36am BST/6:36am ET/3:36am PT
- Girls’s flooring train closing – Monday 5 August at 1:20pm BST/8:20am ET/5:20am PT
Girls’s athletics 100m dash and 4x100m relay
When? – Saturday 3 August 2024 at 8:20pm BST/3:20pm ET/12:20pm PT (100m), and Friday 9 August at 6:30pm BST/1:30pm ET/10am PT (4x100m relay)
Whereas previous competitions have been very a lot targeted on the boys’s races with record-breaker Usain Bolt, the ladies’s races are going to be extremely thrilling this 12 months.
Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is again on the observe for her closing Olympics, and the pocket rocket is seeking to exit on a excessive by beating her fellow Jamaican teammate Shericka Jackson, and – after all – USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson, the world’s quickest girl this 12 months. Group GB’s quickest girl, Dina Asher-Smith, will even be giving her a run for her cash (actually).
Many sprinters may have their eyes on the world file of 10.49 seconds, set by Florence Griffith Joyner again in 1988. The athletes will even have to hitch forces for the workforce relay, which has usually seen a number of the greatest sprinters wrestle to get the baton round.
LeBron James returning to basketball in Paris
When? – From Sunday 28 July 2024 at 4:15pm BST/11:15am ET/8:15am PT
Top-of-the-line basketball gamers on the planet, LeBron James, is returning to the courtroom – his final Olympic Video games was again in 2012.
At age 39, James is a four-time NBA MVP and two-time gold medallist. With him onboard, Group USA is hoping to fend off fierce competitors from Germany, France, Canada and Australia. He’ll even be one of many flag bearers for Group USA.
Listed below are all of the video games LeBron James is at present confirmed to compete in – this doesn’t embrace the finals, as they’ve not been decided on the time of writing:
- Serbia Vs United States – Sunday 28 July 2024 at 4:15pm BST/11:15am ET/8:15am PT
- United States Vs South Sudan – Wednesday 31 July 2024 at 8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm ET
- Puerto Rico Vs United States – Saturday 3 August 2024 at 4:15pm BST/11:15am ET/8:15am PT
Andy Murray’s final tennis match
When? – From Friday 2 August 2024, Time TBC
After pulling out of Wimbledon resulting from an harm, Scottish tennis legend Andy Murray has confirmed that his swansong would be the Paris 2024 Olympics Video games, the place he’ll participate within the males’s doubles match with Dan Evans. He withdrew from the singles match simply earlier than the Video games started.
Murray has already received two golds on the Olympic Video games, although this 12 months he’ll be going through stiff competitors from his long-standing rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
5 Olympic sports activities Group GB might win
The UK has a formidable file on the Olympics. Group GB’s greatest medal depend was in Rio, the place it landed second place with 67 medals, solely being bested by the sporting superpower of the USA.
As such, there are many names to be careful for who might decide up one other title.
Tom Daley’s fifth Olympic diving competitors
When? – Monday 29 July 2024 at 10am BST/5am ET/2am PT
After clinching his first-ever Gold in Tokyo in 2021, Tom Daley will start his fifth Olympic outing with the 10m synchronised platform occasion alongside Noah Williams.
Daley first entered the Olympics aged 14, making his debut in Beijing. Since then, he’s tallied over six medals and is a fan favorite of Group GB – he has additionally been chosen as one of many flag bearers for the opening ceremony.
Keely Hodgkinson going for gold in athletics
When? – From Friday 2 August at 6:45pm BST/1:45pm ET/10:45am PT
22-year-old Keely Hodgkinson is seeking to dominate the middle-distance discipline this 12 months for Group GB. In Tokyo, she completed with a silver medal and a brand new file time for the nation – breaking the one set by Kelly Holmes in 1995.
Simply 5 days in the past, she broke her personal file and set a world lead on the London Diamond League, working the race in 1:54.61. She’s on prime type, and one to observe within the athletics stadium.
The heats start on Friday 2 August. If she reaches the ultimate, this may happen on Monday 5 August at 8:45pm BST.
Josh Kerr to face his rival in males’s 1500m race
When? – From Friday 2 August 2024 at 10:05am BST/5:05am ET/2:00am PT
Josh Kerr has a longstanding rivalry with Norwegian runner Jakob Ingebrigtsen, with the Brit simply snatching the title on the World Athletics Championships in Budapest final 12 months.
He claimed Bronze in Tokyo, and this time the athlete is seeking to safe a win for Group GB in athletics. If he will get to the ultimate, this may air on Tuesday 6 August at 7:50pm BST.
Adam Peaty searching for a 3rd gold medal in breaststroke
When? – Saturday 27 July 2024 with time TBC (heats), Saturday 28 July 2024 at 8:44pm BST/3:44pm ET/12:30pm PT (closing)
Adam Peaty has spent years dominating the boys’s 100m breaststroke race on the Olympics. Whereas the swimmer has confronted accidents and psychological well being struggles up to now few years, he’s raring to go and win his third successive gold on this race.
Sky Brown aiming for second Olympic medal in skateboarding
When? – Sunday 28 July 2024 from 11am BST/6am ET/3am PT
Sky Brown made her Olympic debut in Tokyo at simply 13 years outdated. She was self-taught within the sport of skateboarding, having learnt from YouTube.
She landed a bronze medal within the final competitors – so can the athlete step up and win gold this time?