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Rio 2016: What to watch, Day 10 (August 15th)

Shawn Barber competes during qualifying in the men's pole vault during the track and field competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Shawn Barber competes during qualifying in the men's pole vault during the track and field competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Thank goodness. Finally, a man wins something for Canada at the 2016 Olympic Games. Appreciate it, Andre De Grasse. Let's keep this rolling, shall we? Looking at you, Shawn Barber. More on that in the Day 10 preview.

Day 10 (August 15th):

The day begins with all sorts of track and field events as well as some paddle dippin'. Beginning at 8:30 am ET on CBC, you've got yer hammer throw, yer hurdles, yer triple jump. And some steeplechase, too. Over the weekend during a women's steeplechase heat, Ethiopia's Etenesh Diro had to finish wearing just one shoe when she ripped the other on off during the race. That's because it got damaged when she got tangled up with some other competitors. She finished seventh but officials granted her a spot in today's final anyway. Some of the other competitors weren't too jazzed about Diro sitting down in the middle of the track to deal with her problem while the race was still on and they made their dismay known. Who knew there was so much drama in steeplechase? Also, who knew there was an Olympic event, other than equestrian, where "throwing a shoe" could be a thing?

There will be more assorted track and field events in the evening, too, like discus and pole vault, beginning at 7:15 ET, on CBC. This is a big one, Canada. Shawn Barber, who was born in New Mexico but holds dual citizenship and competes for Canada, is the current world champion in men's pole vault and he has a shot at gold here.

Meanwhile, at the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, they're up you-know-what creek but, thankfully, with paddles. Canoe and kayak events get underway on one of Rio's controversial waterways. In a test event at the same venue in 2015, some competitors complained that the water made them sick. However, the only problems we've heard about from rowers so far are windy conditions and chop. Well-known Canadians like Adam van Koeverden and Mark Oldershaw are taking part in the men's, while Canadian women's hopefuls include the duo of KC Fraser and Genevieve Orton as well as Andréanne Langlois. 8 am ET, Sportsnet. Bonus info: Know what I just read? That a four-person canoe sprint team can row fast enough to pull a water skier! Which has me wondering when we might actually see some combined event of that sort in the future.

Let's all get mellow and quietly hum Christopher Cross' "Sailing" in our heads now as we get set for those events to get underway on Day 10. Or "I'm on a boat," if you prefer. TSN2, noon ET.

Synchronized swimming is underway and on Day 10 we'll see (if the water's clear enough; do you sense there's a recurring theme at Rio?) the duets technical routines. They'll be good, in fact, they'll be great but you won't ever convince me that Harry Shearer and Martin Short didn't do the best synchro swimming routine in the history of the sport, back in the 80's. 10:30 am ET, Sportsnet.

Got some cycling events going on over at the velodrome, which you can see on TSN beginning at both 9 am ET and 3 pm ET. Included events: sprints and time trials as well as men's and women's omniums. Umm, omnia? Anyway, to me, "omnium" sounds less like an Olympic event and more like a banned substance. What it is, in reality, is a series of challenges (six of them) that make up an entire medal event. One of the challenges is called "The Flying Lap" which sounds like a rejected name for one of Howard Hughes' aviation designs. Point is, this is gruelling test of a cyclist's abilities and Calgary's Allison Beveridge is a medal hopeful.

In diving, Montreal's Philippe Gagné will be among competitors looking to earn a spot in the semi-final round. 2:15 pm ET, Sportsnet. No jokes here about the water in the diving tank. Those will all be over in my "Monday Musings" column.

CBC's complete viewing schedule can be found here.