Community Corner
Olympics 2012: Here's the Weekend Schedule
Cal is the most represented American public university in London.
The University of California at Berkeley has sent 45 Bears to the Summer Games. Athletic officials tallied 38 Berkeley athletes, five coaches, one chief medical officer and one event manager in London for the 19 days of competition, making the East Bay campus the most represented American public university at the games.
Nineteen of those athletes will be in the water, such as Olympian swimmer Natalie Coughlin, and water polo Olympic medalist Heather Petri.
Other sports the Bears will represent include basketball, rowing, soccer and track and field.
Saturday, July 28
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5 a.m. -
11 a.m
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CYCLING: Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins are strong contenders to bring home the host country’s first gold medal, but watch for for Americans Taylor Phinney and Tyler Farrar to challenge.
11 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. SWIMMING: Seventeen races over six events in the first day of qualifying, including Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in their latest showdown during the men’s 400m individual medley, and teen phenom Missy Franklin in the women’s 4x100 free relay. Other races include the women’s 400m individual medley and men’s 400m freestyle. 11:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL — USA vs. CRO: Coached by UConn’s Geno Auriemma, Team USA heads into London looking to become the third team ever to win five consecutive gold medals. Croatia finished second in the Olympic qualifying tournament to reach the Games for the first time. 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. SWIMMING: More qualifying heats from Day 1 of Swimming. 2:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.ROWING: The first day of rowing features 29 races over nine events, including the women’s pair, single and quadruple sculls, and the men’s pair, eight, lightweight four, single, double and quadruple sculls.
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5 p.m. WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL — USA vs. KOR: Team USA, the world’s top-ranked team led by five-time Olympian Danielle Scott-Arruda and guided by former men’s team coach Hugh McCutcheon, seeks gold in this event after falling to Brazil in the 2008 championship game. 5 p.m. -
6 p.m. MEN'S BEACH VOLLEYBALL: Team USA's Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal, the No, 4 seed, meet South Africa's Freedom Chiya and Grant Goldschmit in a qualifying-round Beach Volleyball match.
8 p.m. -
12 a.m. NBC PRIMETIME: The first night of Swimming finals includes the men's and women's 400m IM events. Primetime coverage also includes Men's team Gymnastics qualification and early-round Beach Volleyball match featuring two-time gold medal winners Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of Team USA.
Sunday, July 29
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12:30 a.m. - 1:30 a.m.
11 a.m.
CYCLING: No country has dominated this event as cyclists from four countries have won gold since 1996. No U.S. rider has been among them, but Evie Stevens – a 39-year-old former NYC investment banker who didn’t start competitive cycling until 2008 – may reach the podium.
11 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.SWIMMING: Seventeen more qualifying races in six events include Michael Phelps and Jason Lezak leading Team USA in the men’s 4x100 freestyle relay – won by the American in 2008 in dramatic fashion behind Lezak’s heroic anchor leg to keep Phelps’ quest for eight golds going. Other races include the 100m men’s breaststroke, featuring Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima.
6 p.m. BEACH VOLLEYBALL: A pair of Beach Volleyball qualifying matches. First, Team USA's Jennifer Kessy and April Ross make their 2012 Olympic debuts before the No. 2 seeded men's team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser take to the sand. 7 p.m. -
12 a.m. NBC PRIMETIME: Jordyn Wieber and the U.S. women's gymnasts make their London debuts in qualification-round competition. Swimming finals include the men's 4x100m free relay, won dramatically in 2008 by the United States behind Jason Lezak's heroic surge. Plus, Diving's first gold medal is awarded in the women's synchronized springboard event.
Which Olympic events will you be watching? Let us know in the comments.
-Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
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