Japan’s women’s basketball team looks to book a spot in the gold medal game, while action at the National Stadium continues with the men’s and women’s 4×100-meter relays as we head into the final three days of competition at the Tokyo Games.
Here are the key events to look out for on Day 14.
If you’re wondering where to watch the action in Japan, check your local TV listings or make use of this handy streaming guide from The Japan Times.
Sport climbing: Hitting the wall
A night after Tomoa Narasaki came agonizingly close to taking one of the first three sport climbing medals at the Olympics, Japan’s Miho Nonaka and Akiyo Noguchi will look to get Japan on the board in one of the debut sports at these Games.
The climbing competition combines speed climbing, bouldering and lead climbing, multiplying each competitor’s final ranks to determine their score.
It’s a format that has received mixed reviews from the athletes, but the men’s final didn’t lack for drama, and viewers can expect more of the same when the women’s competition gets underway at 5:30 p.m.
Basketball: Midnight for Cinderella?
The Akatsuki Five have shocked many with their performance at these Games, with a thrilling quarterfinal win over Belgium putting them a step away from the gold medal game in women’s basketball.
Team Japan may be lacking in size but it has discovered a winning formula with a combination of speed, 3-point shooting and tenacious defense.
And don’t tell head coach Tom Hovasse that Japan’s success comes as a surprise.
“I’ve told all these players and everybody in the locker room to believe,” Hovasse said. “And if you have that belief in each other, if you have that belief in yourself, if you have that belief in the staff, you can do a lot of things.”
Action at Saitama Super Arena starts at 8 p.m. Earlier, the U.S. takes on Serbia in the other women’s semifinal.
Soccer: Japan hungry for bronze
The color of medal that Japan’s men’s soccer team had their eyes on may be off the table, with Spain showing that Japanese soccer still has a way to go when it comes to closing the gap with the world’s best, but there’s little doubt the team is hungry to come away from the Tokyo Games with bronze.
Japan hasn’t won a medal in men’s soccer since 1968, and as the JT’s Dan Orlowitz writes, the team’s young players are keen to make sure overagers like captain Maya Yoshida and Hiroki Sakai reach the podium.
“I’m sure this loss is more frustrating for Maya and Hiroki than it is for any of us,” midfielder Takefusa Kubo said after the loss to Spain. “I want to give them a bronze medal.”
The bronze medal match against Mexico begins at 8 p.m.
Elsewhere, after a schedule and venue change in order to avoid the hottest part of the day, Sweden is scheduled to take on Canada in the gold medal match of the women’s soccer tournament at 9 p.m. in Yokohama.
Athletics: Track heats up
The second-last night of athletics in Tokyo features a juicy lineup of enticing races and field events.
Six sets of medals will be handed out in the evening with the finals of the women’s and men’s 4×100-meter relays starting at 10:30 p.m. and 10:50 p.m., respectively.
Much of Japan will be focused on the men’s event, with Shuhei Tada, Ryota Yamagata, Yoshihide Kiryu and Yuki Koike posting a season-best 38.16 to qualify for the final. The silver medalists in Rio will start from Lane 9.
One men’s team that won’t be passing the baton under the bright lights of the National Stadium is the pre-Olympic favorite U.S., following what sprinting legend Carl Lewis called an “embarrassing” performance in the heats.
On the women’s side, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah has her eyes on a third gold medal of the Games, with a strong U.S. team potentially standing in the way.
Other finals include the men’s 5,000 meters, the women’s javelin, the women’s 400 meters and the women’s 1,500 meters.
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