Athletics, Cycling for Weekend Olympics Action

Two of the big Olympic sports - athletics and cycling - will dominate weekend Olympic action, while another - swimming - draws to an end.

Athletics
The men's 100m sprint - traditionally one of the headline events at the Olympics - gets started with the heats on Friday, with the eight fastest runners in the world to compete in the final on Saturday night, at 2230 Beijing time.

Current world record holder Usain Bolt, of Jamaica (9.72 seconds), leads the odds for the event, listed as 11/8 at Ladbrokes. Compatriot Asafa Powell, who previously held the record with a time of 9.74 seconds, is second in line at 7/4. American Tyson Gay is third at 5/2. Gay once ran a time of 9.68 seconds for the 100m, but it was not officially recognized because the windspeed of 4.1 m/s exceeded the International Association of Athletics Federation's legal limit.

There is lots more action in both men's and women's athletics over the weekend, with such events as the hammer throw, shot put and discus getting underway, as well as heats beginning on Friday in the men's 1500m and the women's 800m.

Cycling
Team sprint events get underway Friday in men's cycling. While the fortunes of former Olympic powerhouses Great Britain and France have waned in the medal tally with the rise of non-European countries in recent years, the cycling team sprint events are still something they can count on for success.

France, 4/6, leads Britain, 9/4 in odds for the team sprint, while Britain 4/11, is favorite to win the team pursuit, ahead of Denmark 7/2.

The team pursuit is a particularly interesting event to place bets, in that it involves two teams starting on opposite sides of the velodrome, with the objective to overtake the other team or finish faster over 4000m.

In women's cycling BMX bikes are the order of the day on Friday, with Britain's Shanaze Reade 2/5 favorite ahead of New Zealand's Sarah Walker, 5/1.

Swimming
Michael Phelps' chase after eight gold medals continues Friday in the 200m individual medley, where he is a 1/20 favorite to take the event. Phelps is now odds-on in betting to win all three of his remaining races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and achieve the amazing feat.

The men's 1500m freestyle, considered the title of long distance champion, also gets underway with heats on Friday. Australian Grant Hackett is going after his third straight Olympic gold in the event, with Ladbrokes offering 11/10 odds on the treble, and 3/1 on his only realistic challenger , American Peter Vanderkaay.