Thursday night’s events in Rio may not be able to keep up with the 16 gold medals awarded before prime time, but Copacabana Beach will be rocking as a men’s beach volleyball champion is crowned at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
2016 Olympics live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch NBC’s primetime coverage online
Brazil can bring the beach volleyball gold medal back home by defending its sand at Copacabana Beach.
Brazil’s top-ranked duo of Alison Cerutti and Bruno Schmidt carved up America’s best hope on the sand when they beat the U.S. duo of Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena. Alison/Bruno’s shocking preliminary loss to Austria bumped them into a difficult bracket course to the gold, but they were able to scratch past the Americans in a showdown that would have determined a champion most years.
Now, they stand at the precipice of a championship that would cement their status as volleyball’s best pair. A win on Thursday night wouldn’t just cause the hometown crowd to erupt, but would deliver the country’s first gold on the sand since 2004.
Track and field is also on display, with Usain Bolt going for his second gold medal of these games in the 200-meter sprint finals. The first-ever three-time 100-meter gold medalist is going for his third straight 200-meter gold medal on Thursday night, and he’ll likely be smiling along the way.
Key prime time events for Thursday, Aug. 18
All times Eastern, click for streaming link
Men’s beach volleyball:
9 p.m. - Bronze medal match, Russia vs. Netherlands (NBCSN, NBC Sports Stream)
11 p.m. - Gold medal match, Brazil vs. Italy (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
Women’s volleyball:
9:15 p.m. - Semifinal, Netherland vs. China (NBCSN, NBC Sports Stream)
Track and Field:
7:30 p.m. - Men's shot put (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
7:45 p.m. - Men's 1,500 meters (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
8:15 p.m. - Women's 800 meters (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
9:15 p.m. - Women's 400-meter hurdles (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
9:30 p.m. - Men's 200 meters (NBC, NBC Sports Stream)
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