Sprinter Usain Bolt
Two finals will be contested, the Men's Shot Put and Women's 10000 meters, and then there's the opening day of the Heptathlon and the speedsters in the Men's 100m heats.
The USA could start to claw China back in the medals table and will be confident of claiming all three medals in the first field event on the Athletics roster – the Men's Shot Put.
Reese Hoffa is the 2007 world champion, Adam Nelson took silver at Athens 2004, and World 2003 champion Christian Cantwell completes the trio. Defending title holder Yuriy Bbilonog of Ukraine could also contend the medals.
The Women's 10000m Final is a traditionally difficult race to predict but could be fought out between Ethiopian sisters Ejegayehu and Tirunesh Dibaba.
The elder, Ejegayehu, won silver at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, while Tirunesh is the 2005 and 2007 world champion, and set a world record of 14:11.15 in the 5000m in June. A first gold medal for the 2008 African champion over 10000m would add to the bronze she won in the same event in 2004.
It could even be an Ethopian one, two, three as Mestawet Tufa ran 2008's fastest time, 30:38.33 in May. However, Shalane Flanagan of the United States has gone quicker since, running 30.34.49. Kimberly Smith of New Zealand, 2007 World Championship silver medalist Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey, and half-marathon world record holder Lornah Kiplagat of The Netherlands could also feature.
The absence of Athens 2004 gold medalist, Carolina Kluft of Sweden, who has opted to compete solely in the Long Jump, leaves the Heptathlon wide open.
Britain's Kelly Sotherton has the best pedigree in the field. The 30-year-old won bronze in Athens and at the 2007 World Championships and started 2008 well with silver in the Pentathlon at the World Indoor Championships.
GB athlete Kelly Sotherton
Hyleas Fountain of the United States has the best score for 2008 with 6,667 points gained at the World Combined Events Challenge in Eugene, Oregon, but she failed to finish at last year's World Championships. Russia's Tatiana Chernova will be hoping for double Beijing success having won the 2006 World Junior Championships gold medal here.
All eyes will also be on the opening two rounds of the Men's 100m (the first in the morning, the second round is in the evening) which will feature the fastest men in the world - Jamaican duo, Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell, and United States sprinter, Tyson Gay.Twenty-one-year-old Bolt is the fastest man ever over the distance, slicing 0.02 seconds off Powell's previous record in May this year and has defeated both Gay and Powell this summer.
Powell, 25, is the only sprinter in history to have five legal sub 9.80 second runs, but has struggled with injury this year. Gay is the reigning world champion and recorded a wind-assisted 9.68 at the USA Olympic Trials in June - the fastest time ever. However the 26-year-old's Olympic preparations have been disrupted by a hamstring injury. All three sprinters have been kept apart in the first round heats.
Other challengers could include 2007 World Championship sliver medalist Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, Portugal's Francis Obikwelu, silver medalist from Athens 2004, and American Darvis Patton, who clocked 9.89 seconds at the USA Olympic Trials.
Other track heats tomorrow include the Women's 800m, Men's 1500m, Women's 3000 Steeplechase, and Men's 400m Hurdles, while the field qualification rounds include Men's Hamme, Women's Discus and Women's Triple Jump.
Another day, another four more swimming medals at stake in the Water Cube, and yep, that Michael Phelps fellah after dusting down those five new glistening gold medals of his, and a finals day off yesterday, will look to add number six in the final of the Men's 200m Individual Medley, although teammate Ryan Lochte might have something to say about that and could end Phelps' quest to be the first athlete to win eight gold medals at a single Games.
Lochte, fellow American, Aaron Peirsol, and Austrian Markus Rogan are also the main favorites for the Men's 200m Backstroke final scheduled ahead of the Lochte-Phelps showdown, which could be to Phelps' advantage.
The Women's 100m Freestyle final should also be a fascinating battle. Natalie Coughlin of the United States qualified fastest, but Marleen Veldhuis of the Netherlands and China's Zhu Yingwen are also in the hunt.
In the Women's 200m Breaststroke final, world champion and world record holder Leisel Jones of Australia will go for her second Olympic title, after winning the 100m Breaststroke. Rebecca Soni of the United States was the fastest qualifier.
The Republic of Korea archers will be among the favorites to take Men's Individual Olympic gold medalist. The trio of Im Dong-hyun, Park Kyung-mo and Lee Chang-hwan advanced and will be among the contenders, alongside Jacek Proc of Poland, Juan Rene Serrano of Mexico and Victor Wunderle of the United States, the Individual silver medalist at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Track Cycling also enters the Games on Day 7 at the Laoshan Velodrome with the first medal at stake in the Men's Team Sprint – in which France is favored to win gold after winning three consecutive world championships, although Germany and Japan finished ahead of them at Athens in 2004.
Great Britain will also be in contention and has the favorites for both Men's and Women's Individual Pursuits in Bradley Wiggins and Rebecca Romero. Qualification starts tomorrow.
US duo Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, the top two qualifiers, will try to end China's dominance of Artistic Gymnastics in the Women's All-Around Final, but will need to get ahead of China's Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan, who were both crucial members of China's triumphant gold Team.
US gymnast Shawn Johnson
Tsukada Maki of Japan is the reigning gold medalist in the Women's Heavyweight competition, but China's heavyweight hope, Tong Wen, will be highly fancied on home soil.
In the men's event, Tamerlan Tmenov of Russia has a bronze medal from Sydney, a silver medal from Athens, and now hopes to go one better in Beijing to complete the Olympic set. Nineteen-year-old Teddy Riner of France was the youngest ever world champion in Men's Judo when he beat Tmenov in the 2007 World Championship finals. Ishii Satoshi of Japan will also challenge.
After one day's rest, the Weightlifting competition resumes with a gold medal each in the Women's 75 kilogram and Men's 85 kilogram categories.
China's Cao Lei looks likely to continue her country's success in the sport. Her fiercest rival is Nadezda Evstyukhina of Russia who out-lifted Cao in the Snatch at the 2006 World Championships. Athens silver medalist Andrei Rybakou of Belarus has won the 2006 and 2007 World Championships and will be fancied in the Men's 85kg class. He will have to beat this year's European Champion, Tigran Varban Martirosyan of Armenia, with other possible medalists including Vladimir Sedov of Kazakhstan, Mansurbek Chashemov of Uzbekistan and Edgar Gevorgyan of Armenia.
Hungary, France and Italy are expected to be the main contenders for the Men's Team Epee, while Matthew Emmons of the United States looks a good bet to win his second gold medal in the Men's 50m Rifle Prone final. For inspiration, Emmons need to look no further than his wife Katerina, who has already won two medals at Beijing 2008 -- a gold medal in the Women's 10m Air Rifle and a silver medal in the Women's 50m Rifle Three Positions.
The first Badminton gold will be up for grabs in the Women's Doubles competition with The Women's Singles, Men's Singles and Men's Doubles semifinals also being contested.
Second seeds Du Jing and Yu Yang of China will battle fight it out with No. 4 seeds Lee Hyo-jung and Lee Kyung-won of the Republic of Korea, while in the Men's Singles, World No. 1 "Super" Lin Dan of China plays compatriot fourth seed Chen Jin for a place in the finals. Malaysia's gold hopeful Lee Chong Wei will take on Lee Hyu-nil of the ROK in the other semi.
Lin Dan of China
The Men's Doubles will see two seeded pairs taking on two unseeded duos. World No. 1 Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan will compete with Danish pair Lars Paaske and Jonas Rasmussen, and China's second seeds Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng play Lee Jae-jin and Hwang Ji-man of the ROK.
Having lost out to poor weather yesterday, the Men's Slalom Canoe Double (C2) and Women's Slalom Kayak Single (K1) final will be fought out too. Slovakian twins Pavol and Peter Hochschorner are ranked World No. 1 in Slalom Canoe Doubles and will be favorites for gold. In the Women's K1 Slalom, defending world champion Elena Kaliska of Slovakia and World No. 4 Li Jingjing of China are fancied for the Women's K2 contest.
It is also quarterfinals day in Women's Football, with defending champion the United States facing Canada. Athens 2004 runner-up Brazil will encounter Norway, world champion Germany will meet Sweden, and host China will go head-to-head with Japan.
It is the latest round of group games in Women's Basketball, and quarterfinals places are at stake in the group stages of the Handball tournament.
The action continues in many more sports -- but the Birds' Nest is the place to be tomorrow as Beijing 2008 completes its first week of action.
