The Rio 2016 weekend preview

The ‘triple-triple’: the final chapter

Saturday, from 02:35, BBC

As a name familiar to even non-sports fans, and a record holder with his name already resting comfortably in the history books, the anticipation is high to see whether Usain Bolt can reach his next great achievement – a ‘triple-triple,’ as he calls it. He powered through the field to win the 100m on Sunday, and with his main rival Justin Gatlin knocked out of the 200m semi-finals, claiming 200m gold in last night’s final became a formality. If he can claim the gold for the 4x100m relay, Bolt will be able to stake a claim as potentially the greatest Olympian of our times – the atmosphere on the track will be palpable.

Can cycling success continue off the track?

Saturday and Sunday, from 16:30, BBC

Just days after the venue seemed under threat thanks to a forest fire (because, as with seemingly everything in this Olympics, we needed a little bit of controversy), the last cycling events of the tournament will take place in the Deodoro Cluster (the same place that was home to the BMX events). Great Britain has truly dominated the cycling at Rio (to the extent that other countries have been crying foul grapes), so the nation will be waiting to see if Grant Ferguson can add another medal to the already-considerable cycling haul.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/The Rambling Man

Daley dives for third Olympic medal

Saturday, from 20:30, BBC

One diving event is left in the Rio Olympics – the 10m platform diving. If Great Britain passes the preliminaries, the nation’s eyes will be on Tom Daley to see if he can beat his bronze medal at London 2012, picking up his second at Rio and adding a fourth to the nation’s tally. He is likely to face stiff competition from China’s diver (or divers – both Chen Aisen and Qiu Bo are trying to qualify) – China have dominated the diving at Rio, claiming seven medals. No matter who takes the medals, however, they’ll be pleased to finally have a blue pool to dive into!

Female triathletes seek to overshadow Brownlee brothers

Saturday, 15:00, BBC

As expected, the Brownlee brothers absolutely dominated the men’s triathlon, winning both the gold and silver medal for Team GB. The women’s triathlon is just around the corner, and the nation is hopeful for some more medals. There are certainly some strong contenders in the mix – Helen Jenkins and Non Stanford are both former ITU World Champions (the latter came in fifth at London 2012 and is eager to win this time round), and Vicky Holland is a two-time World Mixed Team Champion. Even amongst our own athletes, the competition will be tough.

A grand finale

Sunday, from 23:15, BBC

And so, we reach the end. This has been an Olympics as marred by controversy – concerns over Rio’s readiness for the event, the Zika virus and the revelations about Russia’s state-sponsored doping – as is has by success and history-making – look at Laura Trott, Max Whitlock and Sir Bradley Wiggins, to name but a few. Now, with the events concluding and all the medals handed out, the world will watch as the games come to a close with a creative ceremony inside the Maracanã Stadium. The Olympic flame will be extinguished, and the Olympic flag taken to Tokyo – it’ll be a long four years waiting for the next time round.