Athing Mu, of Trenton, wins a heat in the women’s 800-meter run at the Tokyo Olympics. Mu attended Trenton Central High School.
Four gold medals are up for grabs on Day 5 of track and field action at the Tokyo Olympics and there are plenty of Americans who could end up a winner.
Athing Mu returns to the track and a gold medal favorite in the women's 800m, while Gabby Thomas will try to dethrone two of the fastest women in the world, Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in the Women's 200m.
American's Christopher Nilsen and KC Lightfoot will attempt to medal in the men's pole vault final and three American women will compete in the women's hammer throw final.
Here's everything you need to know on Day 5 of track and field.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Women's 800m Final
Can anyone compete with Athing Mu? That question will be answered in the women's 800m final as medals are up for grabs. The 19-year-old Mu is one of America's brightest stars and has her sights set on gold. Mu has dominated the competition so far posting times of 2:01.10 in Round 1 and 1:58.07 in the semifinals. She finished first in both heats, which could be a sign of what is to come in the final.
Watch the women's 800m final at 8:25 a.m. ET here
Tokyo Olympics
Watch all the action from the Tokyo Games Live on NBC
Women's 200m Final
American Gabby Thomas has a tall task in front of her as she competes for a medal in the Women's 200m final. Thomas will face off against two of the fastest women in the world in Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Thompson-Herah earned the title of fastest woman alive, winning gold in the women's 100m with an Olympic record time of 10.61. Fraser-Pryce earned silver finishing shortly behind her with a time of 10.74.
Both Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce easily finished first in both of their Round 1 and semifinal heats. Thomas was the fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers with a time of 22.01 in the semifinals.
Watch the women's 200m final at 8:50 a.m. ET here.
Kenny Bednarek, Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton fly into men's 200m final
A trio of Americans will race in the men's 200m final after advancing in Tuesday's semifinals. Erriyon Knighton, 17, dominated the first semifinal heat.
He posted a 20.02 time even after looking over to his competitors four times over the final 100m.
https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1422527729090666496?s=20
Noah Lyles, the owner of the fourth-fastest time ever in the event, was third in his heat after taking his foot off the gas ahead of the finish line.
His 19.99 result was nearly half a second slower than his personal best of 19.50.
Kenny Bednarek posted the best time of the three Americans who advanced with a 19.83 result.
He finished second in his heat behind Canada's Andre de Grasse, who turned on the burners for a 19.73.
The final for the event takes place at 8:55 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Three Americans qualify for men's 110m hurdles semifinals
Team USA’s Grant Holloway, Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts all qualified for the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals.
The three Americans will face off on Tuesday night for a chance to compete for gold in the finals.
Grant Holloway, Devon Allen and Daniel Roberts will all advance to the men’s 110m hurdles semifinals after a round of impressive heats on Tuesday morning.
Allen, who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, also finished first in his heat, crossing the finish line at 13.21 seconds
Both Holloway and Allen passed up possible careers in the NFL to pursue their Olympic dreams.
Roberts finished second in the second heat with a time of 13.41 seconds, earning an automatic qualifying spot in the semifinals
Roberts, who tore his ACL, MCL and PCL in 2015, won bronze in the U.S. Olympic team trials ahead of the Tokyo Games.
Men's 200m Semifinals
Erriyon Knighton channels to men's 100m final
Three Americans will attempt to make the men's 200m final.
Reigning 200m world champion Noah Lyles crossed the finish line first in his Round 1 heat with a time of 20.18 seconds.
17-year-old Erriyon Knighton also finished first with a time of 20.55 seconds.
Kenny Bednarek ran the fast time of all the Americans competing, finishing first in 20.01 seconds.
Watch the men's 200m semifinals starting at 7:50 a.m. here
Men's Pole Vault Final
American's Christopher Nilsen and KC Lightfoot will compete for a medal in the men's pole vault final. Nilsen is a two-time NCAA champion in the outdoor pole vault (2018, 2019) and a 2017 NCAA champion in the indoor pole vault.
Lightfoot replaced Sam Kendricks who was forced to withdraw from the competition after testing positive for COVID-19.
Watch the men's pole vault final at 6:20 a.m. ET.
Two Americans advance to men's 5000m final
American's Paul Chelimo and Woody Kincade both qualified for the men's 5000m final on Tuesday.
Chelimo finished second in Heat 2 of Round 1 with a time of 13:30.15.
Kincade crossed the finish line third in the first heat, good enough to qualify with a time of 13.39.04.
Chelimo won the 5000m silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and won bronze at the 2017 world championships. Kincade is participating in his first Olympic games. He won gold in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000 at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials.
