Women sprinters take center stage
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BEIJING (Reuters) - After the breathless excitement of Usain Bolt's brilliance in the men's 100 meters the women take center stage on Sunday and it could be a classic U.S.-Jamaica showdown.
The women's 100 meters is one of six medals up for grabs on a day that opens with the women's marathon and ends with another eagerly-awaited clash in the men's 10,000 meters.
In between, the men's hammer, women's triple jump and, making its debut in the Olympics, the women's 3,000 meters steeplechase, complete a busy night's action in the Bird's Nest.
In the women's 100, Jamaicans Kerron Stewart, Shelly-Ann Fraser and Sherone Simpson qualified as the three fastest to throw down the gauntlet to American trio Muna Lee, Torri Edwards and Lauryn Williams.
World record holder and Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele begins his bid to be the first man to win the distance double since 1980 when he starts as hot favorite in the 10,000 meters.
Haile Gebrselassie would love to complete a hat-trick after his 1996 and 2000 successes but it looks a long shot. He could still feature in an Ethiopian clean sweep, however, as Sileshi Sihine is another of the highest pedigree.
In the women's marathon, Kenya's Catherine Ndereba appears to be the one to beat as Britain's Paula Radcliffe is in questionable shape after a major injury and defending champion Mizuki Noguchi pulled out.
Japan will now count on Reiko Tosa to deliver their third straight women's Olympic marathon title while home favorites Zhou Chunxiu, last year's world championship silver medalist and Zhu Xiaolin should also challenge for a podium spot.
In the women's triple jump, Cuba's Yargelis Savigne will look to add a gold to her collection after winning last year's world championship and taking a medal from every major championship since 2005 but Greece's Hrysopiyi Devetzi, who leads the world rankings, should push her.
In contrast to the men's event, Kenya is unlikely to dominate the women's 3000 meters steeplechase and Russia's Yekaterina Volkova and Gulnara Samitova-Galkina are favored to make the event an in-house affair.
World champion Ivan Tsikhan of Belarus starts favorite in the hammer although Hungary's Krisztian Pars had the best throw in qualifying.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
