Paris Olympics Day 8 Preview (Aug. 3): Sha'Carri chases Olympic 100m gold, Crouser goes for 3-peat

Sha Sha’Carri Richardson – Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

Each day of the 2024 Paris Olympics, NBC Olympics will run down all sports in action, highlighting major athletes and marquee events. Every event streams live on NBCOlympics.com, Peacock, NBC.com and the NBC Sports app, and many will also air on the TV networks of NBC. Visit the schedule page for full listings.

It’s an absolutely packed day in Paris and a fantastic opportunity to check out Gold Zone. Find the closest croissant and buckle up.

Sha’Carri Richardson and Ryan Crouser headline five event finals in track and field, the USWMT takes the pitch against Japan, and surfing finals surface from Tahiti after multiple weather postponements.

Meanwhile, Katie Ledecky and skeet shooter Vincent Hancock pursue history just hours apart, each seeking a fourth gold in an individual event.

And it doesn’t stop there… Simone Biles on vault, Caeleb Dressel in the mixed relay, and the U.S. men’s basketball in group play vs. Puerto Rico. (A

Below, a full breakdown of the top events and athletes to watch on Day 8.

Track and Field

Two of Team USA’s best in sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and shot putter Ryan Crouser highlight a five-event-final Day 3.

Richardson captured the spotlight in the leadup to the Tokyo Games only to miss them due to testing positive for THC. But the moment didn’t define her. She overcame it, and three years later, enters Paris as the reigning world champion in the 100m. The 24-year-old Texan won her heat Friday, clocking the fourth-best overall time. Ivorian Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith topped the round, followed by five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, competing at her fifth and final Olympics.

Crouser is the man to beat in the shot put. The world record-holder is the two-time defending Olympic gold medalist, the two-time reigning world champion and hasn’t been defeated at a global outdoor championship since the 2019 Doha World Championships. If there’s risk for dethronement, teammate Joe Kovacs is the threat. It was Kovacs who beat Crouser in Doha, and he’s been sitting shotgun since, primed to pounce once again. Crouser treated injuries in April and competed only once at Trials this year.

In the other events, Team USA’s mixed relay squad looks to cruise after breaking its own world record in prelims. Don’t be surprised if the final looks different as top talent is injected; Dutchwoman Femke Bol, Domincan Marileidy Paulino and Pole Natalia Kaczmarek could all be called upon to exchange the baton. The decathlon wraps up as well as German Leo Neugebauer surprisingly leads after Day 1, with his best event discus yet to come; the women’s triple jump is wide open in the absence of world record-holder Yulimar Rojas; and reigning world champion Noah Lyles begins his Olympic 100m gold quest in Paris.