LONDON: American swimming icon Michael Phelps will bring the curtain down on his glittering Olympic career Saturday as attention turns to track and field and the most eagerly anticipated 100m in history.
Few would bet against Phelps ending his 12-year Olympic career with a golden finish as the swimming competition draws to a close.
“I thought it would hit me harder than it is right now, a lot of those emotions haven’t gone through my brain over the last week,” said Phelps.
“Once I am done and once Saturday is over, I think a lot more emotion will come out.”
In other highlights of the final day of action in the pool, China’s Sun Yang will attempt to complete a long distance double by adding the 1,500m crown to the 400m crown won earlier in the games.
Day two of the track and field competition will see five gold medals on offer, with British golden girl Jessica Ennis bidding to provide the host nation with a fairytale victory in the heptathlon.
“I’m going to have a really strong day and make sure everything is really solid. There’s a lot more work,” Ennis said.
While six athletics medals will be decided on Saturday, all eyes will be on the opening rounds of the men’s 100m.
Defending champion Usain Bolt and Jamaican teammates Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell will make their entrance alongside US rivals Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, with the semi-finals and final scheduled for Sunday.
The 100m remains the premier track and field event, and arguably of the whole Olympics, with the London final being hyped as potentially the fastest ever run.
“Everyone’s been waiting for this for four years. It’s going to live up to expectations,” said Blake, who edged Bolt in the Jamaican trials and has been tipped as a genuine title contender.
History will also be made when South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius becomes the first double amputee athlete to compete in the Olympics when he takes to the track in the 400m.
Britain’s cyclists will meanwhile attempt to extend their crushing dominance in the Velodrome, where the hosts have so far won three out of four golds on offer and are on course to match their Beijing haul of seven.
The British team will expect to bag another gold in the women’s team pursuit after a world-record breaking performance to reach the final.
Elsewhere, the first medals of the tennis tournament at Wimbledon will be decided with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova hunting a first Olympic singles gold medal.
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