With just over 6 months to the greatest spectacle in the world the Olympic Games the schedule has been released with times and dates of the events.
The games themselves will take place from the 24th of July to the 9th of August. In total 33 sports and 339 events will take place over that 17 day period.
The games themselves will begin two days before the opening ceremony on July 22nd. Softball and women’s football will kick off proceedings. Rowing and archery will take centre stage on the 24th which is also the day of the opening ceremony. The ceremony will begin 12 midday Irish time and finish at 3pm. We will now take you through the remaining 16 days and pick out the events which you may be interested in watching.
Day 1: Saturday 25th of July 2020
Women’s 10 metres air rifle will have the honour of receiving the first gold medal of the games. Other events that take place will include cycling, archery, fencing, judo, taekwondo and weightlifting. The men’s cycling road race also takes places, as well 22 different across table tennis, shooting, judo, badminton, gymnastics and tennis. It promises to be a thrilling day.
Day 2: Sunday 26th of July 2020
History will be made on Sunday the 26th of July as skateboarding makes it’s debut in the Olympics. The action gets underway at the Ariake Urban Sports Park from 1am Irish time, Judo all takes place with the reigning champions from Kosovo Majilinda Kelmendi hoping to retain her crown she won in Rio in 2016. Action gets underway 02.30am Irish time. Swimming also takes centre stage with the 400 metres and 100 metres breaststroke up for grabs. Action gets underway 02.30 Irish time.
Day 3: Monday 27th of July 2020
Swimming takes place on Monday with Kate Ledecky in the Women’s 400m freestyle final . Action commences at 02.30am Irish time.
Day 4: Tuesday 28h of July 2020
Softball and baseball take centre stage on Tuesday as it makes it’s return to the Olympics. United States have won all three previous gold medals. The softball final takes place at the Yokohoma Baseball Stadium at 12 midday. Dressage is another event many will want to watch, Isabel Worth is the one to watch here, she has 6 gold medals and 4 silver the most in dressage Olympic history, The event gets underway at 9.30 am Irish time at Equestrian Park.
Day 5: Wednesday 29th of July 2020
Surfing will make its Olympic debut on the Wednesday. Olympic medals will be up for grabs for the world’s best surfers. The competition will take place over 4 days, the top two in each go through to the next round. Action commences at the Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach. Also on day 5 Basketball takes centre stage. Again it’s the first time to be played in the Olympics and it will be a 3 X 3 event. Action takes place at the Aomi Urban Sportspark.
Day 6: Thursday 30th of July
More swimming is down for decision on Thursday with the men’s 100 metre freestyle final. Action gets underway 02.30am Irish time at the Tokyo Aquatics centre. Gymnastics also takes centre stage with Simone Biles looking to win another gold medal.
Day 7: Friday 31st of July
Friday starts with swimming and the women’s 100 metres freesytle. Two defending champions will battle it out just like they did in Rio when they couldn’t be separated. They both recorded times of 52.70 second an Olympic record. Action gets underway 02.30am Friday. Mo Farah also runs in the 10,000 metres in what is likley to be his last Olympic Games. He is going for the treble having won gold at the last two Olympic games. Action gets underway 11am Irish time. Judo also takes centre stage. Teddy Riner a legend in this event, a gold medal will take him to 3 gold medals. It begins at 9am Irish time at the Nippon Budokan.
Day 8: Saturday 1st of August
No fewer than 21 gold medals up for grabs on Super Saturday. Swimming takes centre stage with the men’s 100 metre butterfly final. This begins at 02.30am Irish time. Also down for decision is the women’s 100 metres sprint final. This is a race everyone watches. The Jamaican’s have a strong hand with Elaine Thompson and Shelly Ann Pryce. Action gets underway at 11am on Saturday.
Day 9: Sunday 2nd of August
Usain Bolt has departed the scene which leaves for a new champion for the first time in 16 years in the 100 metres men’s sprint event. Christian Coleman and Noel Lyles are the two many think can claim the gold. Action gets underway on Sunday at 11am.
Day 10: Monday 3rd of August
Badminton is down for decision on Monday. Malaysian Lee Chong Wei is surely a contender and is great to see him returning after a battle with cancer. Lin Dan from China could also have a big say. The singles final takes place 12 midday on Monday at the Musashino Forest Sport Plaza. Gymnastics also takes place at this venue with the men’s rings finals and women’s floor exercises final. Action commences at 12 midday also.
Day 11: Tuesday 4th of August
Jason Kenny looks to add to his personal haul of Olympic medals in the men’s team sprint final. He has won 6 Olympic gold as well as a silver medal. The final of the team sprint final takes places at 12 midday. The women’s 200 metres final also takes place with the impressive Allyson Felix. She has 6 gold medals and will be looking to beat Usain Bolts medal haul of 8. The 200 metre final takes place at 11am at the Olympic Stadium.
Day 12: Wednesday 5th of August
Plenty of action on the Wednesday, with sailing, men’s 200 metres final, men’s weightlifting, women’s 10 k marathon, swimming, equestrian jumping, artisitic swimming duets finals, women’s heptathlon and skateboarding.
Day 13: Thursday 6th of August
Women’s diving takes place, with the 10 metres platform semi-finals as well the final that evening. The men’s 10 k marathon swim also happens, as well at the 110m men’s hurdles. This is due to start 6am Irish time. The women’s football bronze medal match kicks off at 9am Thursday morning, while the men’s hockey final begins at 11am. Karate and Sport Climbing will also take place. Karate will make it’s debut at the Olympics on home soil in Japan. There are 3 weight categories for each gender, for the men 67kg, 75kg and 75kg +, for the women 55kg, 61kg and 61+ kg. Sport Climbing also makes it debut at the Olympics. Jakob Schubert is the name in terms of men’s Sport Climbing you may know he has 3 world titles as well as 20 World Cup medal. In ladies Sport Climbing Slovenian Janja Garnbert is a name you will be hearing about at the games she won World Championship in Bouldering and Combined in 2018. The men’s Sport Climbing final begins at 9.30am,
Day 14: Friday 7th of August
Friday looks like a superb day, if you have plans cancel them now ! The women’s 400m and 4 x 100 m relay is down for decision, while the gold medal is up for grabs in the women’s football competition. Germany won the competition in RIO. The women’s football final kicks off a 3am Irish time. The women’s hockey final also takes place. Netherlands once again look the team to beat having won the World Cup final in London 6-0 beating our very own Ireland. The final takes places on Friday morning at 11am. Women’s beach volleyball also takes place. Action commences on Friday at 2am.
Day 15: Saturday 8th of August
The men’s gold medal is up for grabs in the men’s basketball event. USA will once again be the team to beat. Le Bron James has said he would like to play at the games. USA have won the title at the last three games in Beijing, London and RIO. The final gets underway at 3.30 am at the Saitama Super Arena. The baseball final takes places in the men’s’ category also on Satuday at the Yokohoma Stadium. Cuba have been in the last five finals and look sure to be there again, USA, South Korea and Japan also all look to challenge. The gold medal match begins at 11am.
Day 16: Sunday 9th of August
The final day of the games will see the Closing Ceremony at 12 midday Irish time. However, there is plenty of action before that. The men’s marathon will take place, with RIO 2016 gold medalist Eliud Kipchoge looking to make it back to back. Mo Farah could challenge him though.
