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London Live: Day 1

Day 1 of competition gets underway at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Day 1 of competition gets underway at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Karl Stefanovic will host us through the first events of The Games live from Nine’s studios at International Broadcast at Olympic Park, Stratford.

Nineteen sports get underway on Day 1 with 12 gold medals to be decided on the first day of competition in swimming, cycling, rowing, archery, fencing, judo, shooting, and weightlifting. Australia is among the favourites on the road and in the pool.

This session may include:

Rowing – from 6.40pm*
The rowing program starts with heats in nine disciplines at Eton Dorney.

Kate Hornsey and Sarah Tait begin their campaign in the women’s pairs. The women’s quad sculls see Kerry Hore, Amy Clay, Pauline Frasca and Dana Faletic in action.

In the men’s eights, Australia faces the might of the reigning world champions from Germany. The men’s double sculls introduce defending Olympic champions David Crawshay and Scott Brennan. They will face fierce opposition from New Zealand’s pair who has won the last two world championships.

Australia is the world champion in the lightweight men’s fours. Todd Skipworth, Ben Cureton, Sam Beltz and Anthony Edwards carry our hopes. The men’s quad scull team is one of Australia’s best chances of gold on the water. The crew of Dan Noonan, Chris Morgan, James McRae and Karsten Forsterling won gold at the world championships last year.

In the men’s pairs Brodie Buckland and James Marburg will be in the thick of things.

Kim Crow was magnificent in the single sculls at the recent Olympic qualifying regatta at Lucerne, finishing second and qualifying for London.

Cycling – from 7.00pm*
Team to team, sprinter to sprinter, Tour de France champion v Tour de France champion: will the men’s cycling road race prove the first great Australia v Great Britain battle of the Games? More than one million spectators will line the streets as the five-strong Aussies including Cadel Evans, Matt Goss and Staurt O’Grady stare down the red-hot Brits, with sprint king Mark Cavendish and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins the leading lights. Or will the Germans or a bolter spoil the party?

Swimming – from 7.15pm*
The swimming heats begin at the Aquatics Centre. Ray Warren is joined by Olympic champions Grant Hackett and Giaan Rooney.

– Women’s 400m individual medley: The defending champion and world record holder from Beijing, Stephanie Rice, blitzed the field in the trials and is getting back to her best after shoulder surgery. Australia’s other representative is Blair Evans.

– Men’s 400m individual medley: Australia’s Thomas Fraser-Holmes and Daniel Tranter will be in action. Fourteen-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps is the defending champion in this event but he will be challenged all the way by his US team-mate Ryan Lochte, who beat Phelps in the event at the US trials.

– Women’s 100m butterfly: Alicia Coutts and Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Jessicah Schipper will fly the flag for Australia.

– Men’s 400m freestyle: David McKeon follows in the footsteps of his parents Ron and Susie (Woodhouse) who both represented Australia in the pool. McKeon and Ryan Napoleon, silver medallist at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, will make their Olympic debuts for Australia.

– Men’s 100m breaststroke: Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima won the 100 and 200 breaststroke double at last two Olympic Games and with team-mate Ryo Tateishi will be prominent again. Look out for Aussies Christian Sprenger and Brenton Rickard.

– Women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay: The Dutch, reigning Olympic and world champs, will start favourites in the first of the six relays. Australia won the bronze in 2008. The Aussie team includes triple Olympic Games gold medallist Libby Trickett.

Shooting
Beijing Olympian Robyn Van Nus returns for Australia alongside teenage star Alethea Sedgman. Daniel Repacholi makes his third appearance for Australia at the Olympics in the 10m air pistol.

Equestrian
At the Greenwich Park equestrian arena the dressage begins for the teams and individuals in the eventing.

Boxing
Australia has won a place in all ten divisions in the men’s boxing tournament and continues to seek a first Olympic gold medal.

Tennis
At Wimbledon there will be first-round matches in the tennis featuring Bernard Tomic, wildcard Lleyton Hewitt and US Open champion Samantha Stosur.

Beach Volleyball

Sydney 2000 Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook and her partner, triple Olympian Tamsin Hinchley, take on American titans Misty May-Trenoar and Kerri Walsh Jennings, Olympic champions in 2004 and 2008.

London Live
Saturday, July 28
From 6.30pm on Nine and GEM

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