Olympic track and field 2016 schedule: Competition starts in Rio with the women’s 10,000-meter run

Track and field competition gets underway at the 2016 Olympics on Friday. The first medal to be handed out will be for the women’s 10,000-meter long run, which is set to start at 8:30 a.m. ET. NBC Sports will have coverage throughout the day as many events begin running through heats and qualifying while a few medals get handed out.

With the different track and field events spread over 10 days, much of the action happening Friday won’t involve medals. Other than the women’s 10,000-meter, the only medal events on Day 1 are the men’s 20-kilometer walk and women’s shot put. The likes of Usain Bolt will have to wait until Saturday to begin competing in Rio.

In the women’s 10,000-meter, the favorite will be Ethiopian runner Tirunesh Dibaba, who has won back-to-back Olympic gold medals in this race. She’s won five Olympic medals in all, including three golds, and will be tough to beat for Rio’s first track and field medal.

The other big name to watch will be New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams. Like Dibaba, she’s going for a third consecutive Olympic gold. At the 2012 Olympics, Adams initially won silver, but got bumped up to the gold medal when winner Nadzeya Ostapchuk was disqualified for doping.

Whether or not Dibaba and Adams can defend their respective gold medals will be worth watching Friday. Here’s the full track and field schedule for the day in Rio and how to watch it live via NBC Sports:

Men’s discus: Qualifying
Women’s heptathlon: 100-meter hurdles, high jump
Women’s shot put: Qualifying
Men’s 800-meter race: Round 1
Women’s 10,000-meter long run: Final
Women’s 100-meter: Preliminary

Men’s 20-kilometer walking race: Final

Women’s 1,500-meter race: Round 1
Women’s heptathlon: shot put, 200-meter race
Women’s hammer throw: Qualifying
Men’s 400-meter sprint: Round 1
Men’s long jump: Qualifying
Women’s shot put: Final
Women’s 100-meter sprint: Round 1