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Monday, August 18, 2008

Day 11 PREVIEW: The Olympics Go On Without Liu Xiang...

While China is still reeling from yesterday's shocking withdrawal by Liu Xiang, China remains on the gold medal hunt as they compete on the final day of individual finals in artistic gymnastics as well as the 3m springboard final in diving. Meanwhile, action on the track at the Bird's Nest heats up as the United States looks to follow up on their recently found success with finals in the women's 400 meters and 100m hurdles.

EVENTS TO WATCH...
- Track and Field: Men's 1500m (10:50AM ET) and Women's 400m (10:10AM ET) Finals, Same Day Tape on NBC Primetime
The classic middle distance event on the men's athletics program will be wide open in the absence of world champion Bernard Lagat from the United States, eliminated from the semifinals. Expected to contend for medals are Kenya's Asbel Kipruto Kiprop and Augustine Kiprono Choge. In the women's 400m final, Sanya Richards of the United States is expected to add another gold medal to the American tally while Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu, the defending world champion, will run for Olympic glory with the games in London just four years away.

- Gymnastics: Men's High Bar and Women's Balance Beam Final
It's the final day of individual event finals and the explosive men's high bar routines will be in the spotlight at National Indoor Stadium. American Jonathon Horton competes for his first indivdual medal of these games while China will look to continue their men's gymnastics dominance. Japan, meanwhile, looks to turn the tide on what has been a disappointing Olympics so far.

In the women's balance beam final, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin are back for the United States in their last competition in Beijing. Johnson hopes that her first Olympic gold will come here, after finishing in silver medal position in the team and individual all-around and the floor exercise final. The men's parallel bars final will take place tonight as well.

- Track Cycling: Men's and Women's Sprint Finals
Final day of track cycling at the Laoshan Velodrome features the men's and women's sprint finals where Great Britain seeks to capitalize on their success that they have had so far at the velodrome. Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy are British favorites in the women's sprint and men's sprint finals respectively. Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish will compete in the men's madison final.

- Men's Soccer: Argentina vs. Brazil, Semifinals (9AM ET), LIVE ON MSNBC
It's a classic South American showdown in Beijing as Lionel Messi and Argentina will face off against Ronaldinho and Brazil in the semifinals of men's soccer. The two national sides have faced off countless times before, including championship games in Copa America and most recently, a scoreless tie in World Cup qualifying. Argentina seeks to defend their Olympic gold medal won in Athens while Brazil searches for their first ever gold in men's soccer. Nigeria and Belgium meet in the other semifinal.

- Women's Water Polo: Semifinal - USA vs. Australia (2:20AM)
In a rematch of the 2007 world championship final, when the U.S. beat Australia 6-5, the two sides meet again for a spot in the gold medal final.

GOLD MEDAL FINALS...
Stay with NOW Sports for continuing updates on the competition in Day 11 of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, including a complete recap at the end of the day's competition.

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