Tuesday could be a day of comebacks at London 2012.
Up at 9:47 a.m. ET in the individual balance beam competition is U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas, hoping to banish memories of her disappointing performance in the individual uneven bars Monday. Her last place showing was just one blemish on an otherwise perfect run -- she won the prestigous all-around individual competition and was a key member of the gold-medal winning women's team. Yet it was unexpected, and had to hurt. She enters the competition with the second-best qualifying score behind China's Sui Lu.
Team USA's Aly Raisman, whose score tied for bronze in the all-around but got bounced to fourth under a complex tie-breaking rule, will also represent the USA. The event will be livestreamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Raisman will also compete in the floor exercise, along with teammate Jordyn Wieber, at 11:23 a.m. For Wieber, too, this will be a chance at redemption: Wieber was widely considered the best of the American gymnasts entering the Olympics, but a lackluster performance in the qualifying rounds meant that she floor exercise is her only shot at an individual medal.
In the afternoon, hurdler Lolo Jones will take to the track. Her comeback journey has been four years in the making. During the women's 100m hurdles final at the Beijing Games in 2008, Jones famously tripped on the penultimate hurdle resulting in a seventh place finish and destroying what many believed to be a sure shot at a gold medal.
Jones came in first in her qualifying heat for the event Monday, with a time of 12:68. Teammate and defending Olympic champion Dawn Harper also qualified for the semifinals which begin at 2:5 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBC. Australia's Sally Pearson holds the best overall time following the six heats with 12:57 - the fastest first-round time in Olympic history.
The 100m hurdle final will be livestreamed at 4 p.m. on NBCOlympics.com and broadcast from 8 p.m. on NBC.
Other events Tuesday include:
- Two days after defending his title as world's fastest man by winning the 100-meter dash, Usain Bolt easily won his heat in Round 1 of the 200-meter dash, in 20.39 seconds. The semifinals are Wednesday, and the finals are Thursday.
- Live coverage of beach volleyball semifinals from Horse Guards Parade beginning at 1 p.m. ET on NBC. Americans April Ross and Jen Kessy will face stiff competition from the Brazilian team before Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Treanor face off against China at 5 p.m. ET. A U.S. victory in both battles would result in an all-American final, with Walsh-Jennings and May-Treanor attempting to complete a three-peat gold medal win following their dominance at the Athens and Beijing Olympics.
- In the Aquatics Center, former Georgia star Chris Colwill and Texas alum Troy Dumais, the first American since Greg Louganis to compete at four Olympics, take aim at China’s 3m springboard king He Chong. Dumais and Colwill are ranked third and seventh respectively going in the Tuesday's semifinals which begin at 2 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on NBC.
- A duo of American milers aims for the first American medal in the 1,500m since Jim Ryun topped the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Heading that group is Matthew Centrowitz, the surprise bronze medalist at the 2011 World Championships whose father was the former American record holder in the 5000m. Teammate Leo Manzano will join Centrowitz in a field of 12 Tuesday which includes Olympic champion Asbel Kiprop of Kenya. Start time is 4.15 p.m. ET.
- Back in the pool the U.S. women’s water polo team play in a semifinal game against Australia at 10.30 a.m. ET on NBC. Win, and they play for gold. Lose, and the best hope is bronze. The Americans have earned a medal at each of the three Olympics since women’s water polo made its Olympic debut in 2000, but have never won gold.
For a full local listing of events being shown all day on NBC, the NBC Sports Network, Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel, the NBC Basketball Channel and Telemundo, please see NBCOlympics.com, where you can also find listings for all livestreamed events.
