5 Rio 2016 Olympic events to watch today: Sunday, August 21

Aug 20 2016, 7:16 am

It’s the last day of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Rio 2016 started with so much bad publicity, but has since turned into a great display of athletic achievement, as the Olympics always do. Sure, there have been problems: the empty seats, the green water, etc. But in the end, the Olympics should be about the athletes.

Canada has had many great moments in Rio. They’ve tied the national record for most medals at a single non-boycotted Summer Games.

Penny Oleksiak reached new levels that we have never seen before from a Canadian in swimming. And she’s only 16.

Andre De Grasse looks like the heir-apparent in sprinting. He’s only 21.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for 2020.

Top events of the day:

  • Basketball gold medal game: USA vs Serbia
  • Volleyball gold medal game: Brazil vs Italy

Coverage of the closing ceremony will begin at 3 pm PT (6 pm ET) on CBC.

Here’s what else you need to watch on the last day of competition, in chronological order.

1. Track and Field

  • 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET): Men’s marathon

There’s just one event left in athletics, the men’s marathon. Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis are the only Canadians in the field, but are not expected to challenge for a medal.

Also in the race is Yonas Kinde, an athlete originally from Ethiopia who is racing for the Refugee team. Kinde now works as a taxi driver in Luxembourg.

2. Men’s Volleyball

  • 5:30 am PT (8:30 am ET): Bronze medal match – USA vs Russia
  • 9:15 am PT (12:15 pm ET): Gold medal match – Italy vs Brazil

The whole country stopped for Brazil’s gold medal match in men’s soccer. Will volleyball be similar? It should be a great atmosphere for the gold medal match with hosts Brazil in the final.

3. Men’s Basketball

  • 7:30 am PT (10:30 am ET): Bronze medal game – Australia vs Spain
  • 11:45 am PT (2:45 pm ET): Gold medal game – Serbia vs USA

Can Team USA be beat? The Americans have a star-studded lineup full of NBA talent. Serbia has one NBA player, Nikola Jokic, from the Denver Nuggets.

Serbia went 2-3 during the round robin, but only lost to the US by three points. The Serbs also handled Australia with ease in the semi-final, winning by 26 points.

4. Mountain Biking

  • 8:30 am PT (11:30 am ET): Men’s mountain bike cross-country final

Raphael Gagne and Leandre Bouchard are the lone Canadians in the 50-person field, but aren’t expected to challenge for a medal.

5. Boxing

  • 10 am PT (1 pm ET): Women’s middleweight final – Shields (USA) vs Fontijn (NED)
  • 10:15 am PT (1:15 pm ET): Men’s flyweight final – Zoirov (UZB) vs Aloian (RUS)
  • 11 am PT (2 pm ET): Men’s light welterweight final – Gaibnazarov (UZB) vs Sotomayor (AZE)
  • 11:15 am PT (2:15 pm ET): Men’s super heavyweight final – Yoka (FRA) vs Joyce (GBR)

Four gold medals are on the line in boxing today, and Uzbekistan has a chance to get two of them.

See also

Rob WilliamsRob Williams

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