The first week of the Rio Olympics will come to a thrilling end Friday.
With Team USA’s biggest swimming stars looking to continue their stunning medal streaks, track-and-field athletes hoping to hit the ground running on the medal front and men’s fencing aiming for a historic medal finish, day seven of the Games will once again electrify the international sporting world.
Here are five things to watch Friday:
1. Ledecky and Phelps Look for More Gold in Their Signature Events
The swimming competition continues as U.S. stars Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps jump back in the pool.
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Michael Phelps couldn't add another gold medal in his last individual race of an illustrious Olympic career.
Going for a 23rd Olympic gold medal, the American swimmer tied for silver in the 100-meter butterfly. The race was won by Singaporean Joseph Schooling; Phelps' sometimes-rival Chad le Clos, of South Africa, and Laszlo Cseh, of Hungary, also took silver, in a three-way tie.
Katie Ledecky blasted past her own world record in the 800-meter freestyle, leaving the rest of the field far back in wake as she's done so often in the Rio Olympics, winning her fourth gold medal of these Games.
She became the first swimmer to match Debbie Meyer's sweep of the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles in the 1968 Mexico Games, 48 years ago.
Ledecky won by nearly a half a pool length, showing her utter dominance at the event.
Ledecky set an Olympic record of eight minutes, 12.86 seconds to lead the 800m freestyle field after the preliminary heats on Thursday afternoon. Ledecky, the defending Olympic champion in the event, set the record on her way to win the gold in London as a 15-year-old.
Leah Smith, who won bronze in the 400m freestyle, will join U.S. teammate Ledecky in the final.
The superstar lineup Friday included Katinka Hosszu of Hungary going in the 200 backstroke, but she couldn't hold off Maya DiRado of the United States, who came back in the final lap to eke out a victory over Hosszu.
How to Watch: Phelps and Ledecky get another opportunity Friday to bring home gold. See it live online at 8 p.m. CT.
2. First Track-and-Field Medal of 2016 Games Awarded Friday
The first track-and-field gold medal of the Rio Games was awarded to Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana, who set a world and Olympic record in the women's 10,000m Friday.
Kenya's Vivian Jepkemoi and Ethopia's Tirunesh Dibaba took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Local runner Molly Huddle came in sixth place in the event.
Huddle, a University of Notre Dame graduate who competed in the 2012 Games, set the American record in the 5,000-meter in 2010 and finished fourth in the 10,000-meter at the 2015 World Championships, just .09 seconds behind fellow American Emily Infeld.
Other local athletes, including Gwen Berry, Deanne Price, Felisha Johnson and Heather Miller-Koch will also compete in track-and-field events Friday.
How to Watch: Watch live track and field coverage beginning at 7:30 a.m. CT.
3. U.S. Men’s Fencing Team Takes Bronze in Foil
The U.S. fencing team won bronze Friday in men's foil, its first medal in the event in 84 years.
The Americans, led by top-ranked Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt, throttled Italy 45-31 for its third medal in fencing so far at the Rio Games.
Massialas and Daryl Homer won silver medals in their respective individual events.
Massialas and Meinhardt, a University of Notre Dame graduate, dominated the Italians with a three-match stretch in which they outscored their opponents 20-1. The win was especially sweet for Massialas, whose poor performance in the semifinals kept his team from fighting for a gold medal.
4. Illinois Tennis Star Madison Keys Advances to Bronze Medal Match
Rock Island's Madison Keys is headed to the bronze medal match in women's singles tennis as the only American remaining in the event.
After winning her third-round match against Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro Tuesday, Keys soared to victory against Russia's Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1 Thursday. On Friday, she lost in a battle against Germany's Angelique Kerber, putting her out of gold medal contention but sending her to the bronze medal match against against Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic.
Keys, a 21-year-old making her Olympic debut, continues to be the only American remaining in the women's singles after Serena Williams was knocked out of the Olympics Tuesday in a shocking upset loss against Ukraine's Elina Svitolina.
Keys debuted in the top 10 world rankings in late June, becoming the first American woman to do so since 1999, when Serena Williams made the ranking. She first went pro in February 2009 at the age of 14. By July 2016, she had become the third-highest ranked American female tennis player, behind only Serena and Venus Williams.
5. Trio of Setters Helps Lead the Way for US Women
Local star Kelsey Robinson lifted Courtney Thompson into a congratulatory embrace when the match finally ended, celebrating the reserve setter's timely ace serve in a hard-fought win against Italy.
It took something from everyone for the United States women's volleyball team to stay unbeaten in Rio.
"It's so special when you see Courtney get an ace," Robinson said. "We're lifting her up. That's something that people don't see she's been working on every single day outside of practice."
Thompson is part of a trio of setters that is playing a key role for the top-ranked Americans in their chase for the first ever U.S. gold in women's volleyball at these Olympics.
