All eyes are going to be on Justin Gatlin and Usain Bolt during the IAAF World Championships afternoon session on Thursday for the 200m finals, but the men's triple jump final is also expected to produce excitement with some high-profile athletes in action at the Bird's Nest in Beijing.
Men's Triple Jump Final
Cuba's Perdo Pichardo, who won the silver medal in the 2013 Moscow Championships, is a strong favourite to go one better at the Bird's Nest in Beijing, while Christian Taylor from the USA will also be eyeing the gold medal, which makes the competition even more interesting.
Pichardo and Taylor, who is the Olympic champion, have been impressive in the field event this season as they have crossed the 18m mark during the season. The gold medal fight is expected to be a close one with these two champions in the fray as Pichardo leaped 17.43m, while Taylor jumped 17.28 to qualify for the finals.
Expect the gold medal contenders to hover around the 18m mark in the finals.
Nelson Evora from Portugal and Omar Craddock from the US are expected to fight it out for the bronze medal, after London Olympics silver medallist Will Cayle failed to qualify for the finals.
Men's Triple Jump Final schedule
Time: 7:10pm local time (4:40pm IST, 12:10pm BST, 7:10am ET)
Venue – Bird's Nest, Beijing
Men's 200m Final
Like the 100m finals, the 200m final is expected to be a gold medal clash between Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, who has had an impressive season so far. But Gatlin is aware of the threat Bolt brings to the table as the Jamaican is at his best in the 200m race. The Jamaican is looking for his fourth consecutive gold medal at the 200m event in the world championships.
Gatlin might have run an incredible 19.57s this season compared to Bolt's 19.95s, but the 100m world record holder always turns up the heat at such competitions like the world championships. Form or no form, Bolt comes to his own in such big events, which was witnessed during the 100m race a few days back when critics had put Gatlin as favourite.
Gatlin was the quickest in the 200m semifinals with a timing of 19.87s, followed by Bolt's 19.95s.
If either of the sprinters make any error, Panama's Alonso Edward should be quick to pounce on the mistake as the 2009 Berlin World Championships silver medallist is a threat.
Amongst the nine finalists in the 200m, Edward has the second best timing this season with 19.90s.
Men's 200m Final schedule
Time: 8:55pm local time (6:25pm IST, 1:55pm BST, 8:55am ET)
Venue – Bird's Nest, Beijing
Where to Watch - Men's Triple Jump and 200m Finals Live
Get the 200m Report HERE
Viewers in India can watch the Men's Triple Jump and 200m Finals Live on Star Sports 4/HD, with the live streaming option on Starsports.com.
Viewers in the US can watch Men's Triple Jump and 200m Finals Live on NBC Sports and Universal Sports with live streaming on NBC Sports Live Extra and Universal Sports.com.
UK viewers can watch Men's Triple Jump and 200m Finals Live on BBC andBritish Eurosport with an option of going online on BBCiPlayer and British Eurosport player.
International viewers can stream it live here.
Live updates of the entire event can be followed on the IAFF official website.
