Event: Women’s 72kg Freestyle Wrestling
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 11:00 a.m.
Local to Watch: Ali Bernard
Buzz: Ali Bernard of Minnesota competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she took fifth place. For the last two Olympic trials Bernard has ranked first in the women's freestyle wrestling, earning her spot on the 2012 Olympic team.
Event: Women’s Middleweight Boxing
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 10:30 a.m.
Local to Watch: Claressa Shields
Buzz: Michigan-native Clarissa Shields is a pioneer to the women's boxing Olympic event. She was announced as the first woman boxer at 165 pounds and the youngest fighter on the 2012 team. Shields beat out Laurell Anna of Sweden and Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan to advance into the gold medal match. She faces Russian boxer Nadezda Torlopova Thursday.
Event: Women’s 800m Race
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 1:05 p.m.
Local to Watch: Geena Gall
Buzz: Michigan runner Geena Gall (green) finished second in the women's 800-meter at the track and field Olympic trials, coming up from sixth place in the final 100-meters of the race. The Nike racer's second-place finish earned her Olympic berth to London and her fourth place finish in the qualifying event of the Games advanced her to Thursday's semifinals.
Event: Men’s 200m Race
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 1:05 p.m.
Local to Watch: Wallace Spearmon
Buzz: Chicago’s Wallace Spearmon ran 20.47 seconds in the men's 200-meter sprint to qualify him for Wednesday's semi-finals. From there he finished second with a time of 20.02 seconds right behind Jamaica’s Yohan Blake. Qualifying in the second heat was Usain Bolt at 20.18 seconds, a time beaten by Spearmon in his own heat. Spearmon finished third in the 2008 Olympics but was later disqualified for stepping out of his lane. Ranked as one of the fastest runners ever, he hits his chance for redemption Thursday in the medal event.
Event: Water Polo
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 12:40 p.m.
Locals to Watch: Melissa Seidemann and Betsey Armstrong
Buzz: The women’s team has yet to lose a match in the Olympic Games. Seidemann of Hoffman Estates and Armstrong have proven to be top players on the team, bringing them to near gold medal status. The ladies won their last match against Australia 11-9 after over time, bringing them into the gold medal match against Spain. The two played earlier in the preliminaries but ended on a 9-9 tie, the only non-winning match either team has played in the Games so far.
Event: Women’s Basketball
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 11:00 a.m.
Locals to Watch: Seimone Augustus, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, Candace Parker, Lindsay Whalen
Buzz: The U.S. ladies won their last match against Canada by 43 points. The win in their first bracket match, not including preliminaries, sends them into the semifinal round against Australia. The faceoff is a historic rivalry after the last three gold medal matches came down to the two teams, only this match isn’t for a gold. If the U.S. ladies come out on top, they will head to the gold medal match Saturday against either France or Russia.
Event: Women’s Soccer
Live Stream: Online coverage begins at 1:05 p.m.
Locals to Watch: Amy LePeilbet, Lauren Cheney, Shannon Boxx
Buzz: The Women’s National Team has won all their games in the Olympics so far with a 5-0-0 status. A win in an overtime match against Canada leaves the team headed for gold medal status as they compete against Japan Thursday for their final match-up. Japan was the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion team, but the women are still hoping to take home the team’s fourth gold medal.
