Olympic evening: What to watch for on Day 6 of Athletics in Rio

Nine medals are up for grabs Wednesday evening and two Canadians are still in contention to win them. In non-finals action, De Grasse again faces off against Bolt in the 200m semi-finals and Warner aims to maintain his silver-place position in the decathlon. Here’s what to watch on day six of athletics in Rio.

4:45 p.m. EDT – Men’s decathlon

London, Ont.’s Damian Warner currently sits in second place after three events–the 100m dash, long jump and shot put–were completed in the morning session. American Ashton Eaton is in first place and already on pace to set an Olympic Record (which stands at 8893). He is already the World Record holder with a total of 9045.

The fourth event to be contested will be the high jump starting at 4:45 p.m. Warner has a personal best of 2.09m and a seasonal best of 2.00m, meaning it is not his strongest or most dominant event. However, if he jumps well, he should still maintain his spot near the top of the standings.

The other event to be competed today is the 400m which starts at 8:20 p.m. Warner and Eaton are running heat 4 which is scheduled for 8:35. Both men are dominant in this event with personal bests–46.54 for Warner; 45.62 for Eaton–faster than everyone else in the field. Expect both men to rack up top points and further increase their leads in the standings after day one of the two-day event.

The final five events–110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and the 1500m–will take place tomorrow, split across the morning and afternoon sessions.

7:45 p.m. EDT – Women’s 100m hurdles – Semi-finals

Two Canadians–Phylicia George and Nikkita Holder–have advanced to the semis and will be running for a place in the final. George is in heat 2–at 7:51 p.m.–while Holder is in the third and final heat–7:57 p.m. The top two in each heat advance plus the two fastest time qualifiers. The eight women who advance will run for the medals later in the evening with the final scheduled for 9:55 p.m.

9:00 p.m. EDT – Men’s 200m – Semi-finals

If you didn’t already know (and how could you not?), Canada’s Andre De Grasse won bronze in the men’s 100m and is looking for more hardware in the 200m, which is arguably his better event.

RELATED: Can Andre De Grasse double his medal count with an upgrade in the 200m?

De Grasse was the fastest qualifier from the heats running a seasonal best of 20.09 and making it look easy.

#CAN Andre De Grasse (20.09) posts the fastest time in the 200m heats. #Rio2016 https://t.co/Xj60LHWnyJ https://t.co/HfqfGeaU0W

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 16, 2016

For the semi-finals, De Grasse has once again been placed in a heat with sprinting superstar and three-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100m, Usian Bolt. In fact, he will run in the lane right next to him just as he did in the semis of the 100m. Bolt is the world record holder in the 200m with an incredible time of 19.19. De Grasse holds the Canadian record of 19.88, a mark he may need to better if he hopes to medal here in Rio. Their heat–the second of three–runs at 9:05 p.m.

Another Canadian in contention is Toronto’s Aaron Brown who squeezed into the semi-finals with a time qualifier. He is running in heat one which appears to be the weakest of the three. As such, a great race by Brown–he already has a seasonal best time of 20.00 flat–could see him through to the final.

Two other medal contenders Justin Gatlin of the United States and Yohan Blake of Jamaica square off in the third and final heat. The top two from each heat are guaranteed a spot in Thursday’s final and are joined by the two fastest time qualifiers to make eight.

9:30 p.m. EDT – Women’s 200m – Final

The stage has been set and eight women are set to compete for the medals in the 200m final. The favourite has to be Dutch heptathete-turned-sprinter Dafne Schippers who was the 2015 World Champion and is also the fastest women at the distance this year (21.93). She won her semi-final in a time of 21.96 which is faster than the personal bests of all the other women in the field. Jamaican Elaine Thompson–who won gold in the 100m here in Rio–and American Tori Bowie–who finish second for silver–should offer the greatest competition and are also most likely to go home with medals.

START LIST

ORDER / LANE	BIB	ATHLETE	COUNTRY	SB 2016	PB
1	1374	Deajah STEVENS	USA	22.25	22.25
2	695	Dina ASHER-SMITH	GBR	22.37	22.07
3	540	Marie-Josee TA LOU	CIV	22.28	22.28
4	1039	Dafne SCHIPPERS	NED	21.93	21.63
5	1326	Tori BOWIE	USA	21.99	21.99
6	903	Elaine THOMPSON	JAM	22.13	21.66
7	1245	Michelle-Lee AHYE	TTO	22.25	22.25
8	458	Ivet LALOVA-COLLIO	BUL	22.42	22.32

9:55 p.m. EDT – Women’s 100m hurdles – Final

Depending on the outcome of the semi-finals which take place earlier in the evening, eight women–including two Canadians still in contention–will line up and run for medals in this final event of the evening.