Olympics Day 14: Americans to watch

Tonight marks day 14 of the Olympics. Track and Field will be highlighted by the 4 x 100m Men and Women Finals, the Women’s Pole Vault Final, the Men’s Hammer Throw Final as well as the Women’s 5000m. That said as we enter the 8th day of competition on the Track, you might be having a hard time remembering exactly which American athletes are are competing. And that’s alright, we’ve got you covered so you can focus on maintaining your patriotic spirit.

Men 4 x 100 - The US men will be up against Usain Bolt who has delivered for Jamaica the last two Olympics. The trio of Mike Rodgers, Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay will have to give Trayvon Brommell a big lead going into the anchor to beat out the Jamaican Juggernaut.

Women 4 x 100 - The US women might have been considered a favorite in this event but a snafu in the prelim left them having to run a time-trial extra race last night and they will now have to run out of lane 1. Look out for Tianna Bartoletta handing off to Allyson Felix who will give the baton to English Gardner and Tori Bowie. The US women’s strength is definitely in their middle legs where they will show off their tremendous depth.

Women 5000 - Unfortunately for Abbey D’Agostino, a collision in the prelim left her with a torn ACL and out of the competition. However, the US will still be represented by Shelby Houlihan. A newbie to the 12.5 lap event, Houlihan has run 15:06 outdoors but has some serious wheels in the under distance events. If the pace is slow, Houlihan has a shot to contend for a medal in an all-out mile to the finish type race.

Women’s Pole Vault - US up-comer Sandi Morris and defending Olympic Champ Jenn Suhr look to compete for gold in this event. This is the classic Rookie vs Veteran match up Morris has yet to best Suhr but all good things come to end eventually.

Men’s Hammer Throw - Bad news for American fans here. You would think Americans would be great at the event as it seems to go hand and hand with the skills and physique needed for the American favorite football but that may be the real problem.