Nine highlights not to miss at Rio 2016 on Saturday 6 August
Saturday will see gold medals in shooting, road cycling and judo – plus beach volleyball in Copacabana
The Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana is set to be one of the Games' most iconic venues (Photo: Getty Images/Quinn Rooney)
It’s the first full day at Rio 2016 with action taking place across a slew of sports and arenas in the four regions of the Games. Here are some highlights to look out for.
The first medals of the Games
The first medals won at Rio 2016 will be in shooting. The first gold will be won at the Olympic Shooting Centre in the final of the women’s 10m air rifle (scheduled for 10:30). In contention are Serbian Andrea Arsovic and China's Yi Siling.
Arsovic is targeting the first gold of Rio 2016 (Photo: Getty Images/Matthias Hangst)
Buy tickets for the Olympic Games
Olympic Boulevard will be buzzing
The renovated port district, in the heart of Rio's historic centre, has become ‘Olympic Boulevard’, a major party zone during the Rio 2016 Games. It will feature three stages with live music, big screens showing the sporting action, more than 230 street art performances, a record-breaking street art mural and a nightly firework display.
Get to the Boulevard early to catch the best of the sporting and cultural action (Getty Images/ Mario Tama)
Cyclists contest the men’s road race
The unique 241.5-kilometre road race course, which starts at Fort Copacabana at 09:30 and finishes there at around 16:00, provides a gruelling test for a number of stars who have just completed the Tour de France. Overall winner Chris Froome (Great Britain), runner-up Romain Bardet (France) and Best Young Rider Adam Yates (Great Britain) will race against Giro d'Italia winner and gold medal favourite Vincenzo Nibali (Italy).
Great Britain cyclist Chris Froome trains in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw)
Beach volleyball comes home
The competition gets under way at the Mecca of beach volleyball, the iconic Copacabana Beach. Australia and Costa Rica will both make history when they open the women's competition in a pool F match at the Beach Volleyball Arena. Taliqua Clancy, 24, is Australia's first indigenous Olympian in beach volley, while Natalia Alafaro and Cope Charles will be the shortest team to play at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at 1.65 metres and 1.73m respectively.
The Olympic Beach Volleyball Arena on Copacabana beach (Photo: Getty Images/Michael Heiman)
Home advantage for Sarah Menezes?
Olympic judo champion at London 2012, Sarah Menezes can win the championship in Rio 2016 in front of her home crowd. The 48kg category begins at 10:00 at Carioca Arena 2 with finals scheduled for the late afternoon. Her biggest rivals on the mat should be Urantsetseg Munkhbat of Mongolia, and Ami Kondo of Japan, who are ranked first and second in the world.
Check out the full schedule on Saturday
Swimming begins
At the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, competition starts in the one of the blue riband competitions of the Olympic Games: men's and women's swimming. A Japanese duel to find the winner of what Michael Phelps called “swimming’s decathlon”, the 400 metres individual medley, will illuminate the first day of action. World champion Daiyo Seto and the world’s fastest man this year, Kosuke Hagino, will be competing in the four-stroke event.
Daiya Seto (L) and Kosuke Hagino (R) smile during the Japan Swim 2016 championship (Photo: Getty Images/Atsushi Tomura)
Rugby sevens makes its debut at the Games
On the first day of competition, the women will be in action at Deodoro Stadium from 11:00 to 19:00. New Zealand will take on the minnows from Kenya, with hosts Brazil up against a strong Great Britain side. In keeping with the sport, the atmosphere at the games will be fun, so come prepared!
The atmosphere of Copacabana beach
Rio is abuzz in anticipation of two weeks of glorious sport and culture. After last night's spectacular opening ceremony, it might be an idea to relax a little. Where better than Copa? Watch or even play a little beach volleyball, drink a fresh cocnut juice, or if shopping is your bag, there's the giant megastore selling official Rio 2016 products. Or just sit back and watch the world go by.
The megastore is alongside Rio's iconic Copacabana promenade (Photo: Rio 2016/Alexandre Loureiro)
US basketball stars begin quest for gold
The US men's basketball team, one of the main attractions of the Rio 2016 Games, begins its campaign to win gold on Saturday. Winner of 14 golds in 17 Olympic Games, the team that has stars like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Klay Thompson plays China at 19:00, in the Carioca Arena 1.
