Decathlon battle, Mo Farah, and Usain Bolt!

Day 2 of the IAAF World Championships begins tonight at 8:00 PM.

The decathlon battle finishes up today, with the USA poised to win gold and silver. Ashton Eaton currently leads, but is it enough to hold off Trey Hardee? It could come down to the 1500 meters for the championship.

The men's 10,000 meters will feature OTC clubmates Mo Farah and Galen Rupp. Usain Bolt leads the Jamaican contingent into the 100 meters semis and finals. And two more final events, the women's long jump and discus, feature American medal chances.

Schedule, start lists and results

How to watch

all times Eastern

8:00 PM tonight
Live webcasts at UniversalSports.com and CBC.ca/sports/olympics

10:00 PM tonight
TV coverage on Universal Sports (tape-delay package)

3:00 AM tomorrow
IAAF Radio live feed (free)

3:30 AM tomorrow
Live webcasts at UniversalSports.com and CBC.ca/sports/olympics

12:30 PM tomorrow
TV coverage on NBC (tape-delay package)

1:00 PM tomorrow
TV coverage on CBC (tape-delay package)

Morning session

8:00 PM – Men's 20 km Race Walk
This looks to be mostly a Russia versus China affair, with Australia's Jared Tallent as a possible interloper. The USA has a rising star in 18-year-old Trevor Barron, who is unlikely to contend for a medal, but anything is possible in championship racing.

8:05 PM – Decathlon 110m Hurdles
Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee are in adjacent lanes. Eaton is by far the best hurdler in the competition; Hardee merely needs to keep it close to give himself a shot at the gold.

8:30 PM – Women's Pole Vault qualifying round
In some events the q-round often seems like a mere formality for the favorites, but not in the pole vault, where nothing is guaranteed. The top 12 will qualify to the final, with 4.60 meters getting there automatically.
Group A includes Jenn Suhr, who suffered through severe (and unexplained) stomach pains last week. Also in this group are top stars Silke Spiegelburg and Martina Strutz (Germany) and Svetlana Feofanova (Russia), as well as the USA's Kylie Hutson and Canada's Kelsie Hendry.
Group B has superstar Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia), along with Anna Rogowska (Poland) and Fabiana Murer (Brazil), as well as America's Lacy Janson.

8:50 PM – Men's 110m Hurdles heats
The trip to the dream final of the three fastest men in history starts here. The first three in each heat plus the next four fastest get through to the semifinals.
Heat 1 – Liu Xiang (Cuba) is the star.
Heat 2 – America's Jason Richardson is the fastest entrant, followed by Jamaican Dwight Thomas.
Heat 3 – While the USA's David Oliver should easily qualify, watch to see if he has mastered his recent troubles.
Heat 4 – Dayron Robles (Cuba), the world record holder, goes up against America's Aries Merritt.

9:00 PM – Decathlon Discus
This is one of the two events that will decide who wins the gold. Trey Hardee's PR in the discus is 5.32 meters better than Ashton Eaton's. If Hardee beats him by that much, it would take a miracle for Eaton to make up for it elsewhere. But if the fast-improving Eaton can hold it close, he gives himself a chance.

9:30 PM – Women's Shot Put qualifying
At most Worlds, it's three and out for the U.S. women's putters, but this year is different, with two expected to make the finals and contend for medals. The top 12 will go to the finals, and a mark of 18.65 meters or better will go automatically.
Group A has American hopeful Jillian Camarena-Williams, plus gold medal co-favorite Valerie Adams (New Zealand), the USA's Sarah Stevens-Walker and Canada's Julie Labonte.
Group B has the other American hopeful, Michelle Carter, and the other gold medal co-favorite, Nadzeya Ostapchuk (Belarus).

9:40 PM – Women's 1500 meters heats
With less than half the entrants facing elimination, all of the favorites should get through to the semis, but strange things can happen. The top six in each heat plus the next six fastest will qualify.
Heat 1 – America's Shannon Rowbury faces off against the likes of Kalkidan Gezahegne (Ethiopia) and Nancy Langat (Kenya).
Heat 2 – The USA's Jenny (Barringer) Simpson does not have to run against any of the real favorites.
Heat 3 – American medal hopeful Morgan Uceny faces the big guns in Maryam Yusuf Jamal (Bahrain), Gelete Burka (Ethiopia) and Anna Mishchenko (Ukraine).

10:15 PM – Men's 400 meters heats
Names should look familiar, because virtually every contender ran for a U.S. college. The first four in each heat plus the next four fastest will go to the semifinals.
Heat 1 – American Greg Nixon faces off against Tabarie Henry (Virgin Islands/Texas A&M) and Rondell Bartholomew (Grenada/South Plains JC).
Heat 2 – The USA's Jamaal Torrance goes up against Jermain Gonzales (Jamaica)
Heat 3 – LaShawn Merritt will run only his second race of the year here, with the stiffest competition from Kevin Borlee (Belgium, formerly Florida State).
Heat 4 – 18-year-old Kirani James (Grenada/Alabama) is the fastest here.
Heat 5 – The USA's Tony McQuay (Florida) and Chris Brown (Bahamas) are the best athletes, but the attention will be lavished on lane 8, where Oscar Pistorius (South Africa) will run.

11:10 PM – Women'a 100 meters heats
Heat sheets have yet to be released. The top runners are coming out for this round, led by America's Carmelita Jeter and Marshevet Myers and Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price.

Midnight – Decathlon Pole Vault
Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee are fairly equal in this event, and among the best in the whole competition. The pole vault is an unpredictable event, though—remember, it's where Dan O'Brien famously no-heighted at the 1992 Olympic Trials—and if one falters, the other will gain the upper hand.

Evening Session

3:30 AM – Decathlon Javelin
This is probably Ashton Eaton's weakest event. He can still win if he's behind after throwing the jav, as he's a much better 1500 runner than Trey Hardee, but he cannot let the gap become insurmountable.

5:00 AM – Men's 800 meters semifinals
These are cutthroat races, with only the first two in each heat guaranteed to make the final. There is absolutely no room for error.
Heat 1 – Khadevis Robinson runs against Abubaker Kaki (Sudan), but must also watch for Afred Kirwa Yego (Kenya) and Marcin Lewandowski (Poland).
Heat 2 – Nick Symmonds is the fastest entrant in this heat; danger comes in the form of Yuriy Borzakovskiy (Russia) and Jackson Kivuva (Kenya).
Heat 3 – World record holder David Rudisha attempts to excorcise the demons of 2009, when he did not advance out of the semis.

5:15 AM – Women's Long Jump final
The USA's Brittney Reese is the co-favorite along with Darya Klishina (Russia). Americans Janay DeLoach and Funmi Jimoh both have legitimate chances at a medal.

5:30 AM – Men's 100 meters semifinals
Yesterday was Act I of the Usain Bolt Show. This is Act II. The top two in each heat plus the next two fastest will go to the finals.
Heat 1 – Walter Dix's main competition will be Yohan Blake (Jamaica) and Dwain Chambers (Great Britain).
Heat 2 – This is the toughest heat. It has Bolt, Michael Frater (Jamaica), Christophe Lemaitre (France) and Richard Thompson (Trinidad), making Trell Kimmon's bid for the finals very difficult indeed.
Heat 3 – Justin Gatlin has a good chance to make the final, running against Nesta Carter (Jamaica) and Ngoni Makusha (Zimbabwe/Florida State). A fine run by Canada's Justyn Warner may end here.

5:55 AM – Women's 400 meters semifinals
Start lists are not yet available. There will be three heats; the real running starts here, because only the top two in each heat automatically advance to the finals. American entrants Allyson Felix, Sanya Richards-Ross, Jessica Beard and Francena McCorory are all here.

6:15 AM – Women's Discus Throw
The gold medal battle is likely to be between Nadine Muller (Germany) and Li Yanfeng (China). The USA has defending Olympic champion Stephanie Brown-Trafton, who somehow always does her best at the biggest meets, so a medal is a distinct possibility.

6:30 AM – Men's 10,000 meters
Britain's Mo Farah is undefeated in his last ten races, running against everyone and beating them lots of different ways. He has not run against defending champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, because he hasn't raced this year. If the real Bekele stands up, then this is a race for the ages.
Others to watch are Imane Merga (Ethiopia), Sileshi Sihine (Ethiopia), Zersenay Tadesse (Eritrea) and Galen Rupp. Yes, really, Rupp. Farah, his training mate, says he's as good as any of those others.

7:15 AM – Decathlon 1500 meters
Trey Hardee will almost assuredly be leading going into this race. Equally assured is that Ashton Eaton will beat him in the 1500. The two questions will be a) by how much, and b) will it be enough?

7:45 AM – Men's 100 meters finals
This is the race of the night. There are so many questions: will Usain Bolt show the same brilliance he showed in last night's heats? Is Walter Dix a silent killer? Can Justin Gatlin gain redemption and a medal? What will come from the other Jamaicans, Yohan Blake and Michael Frater? Can Christophe Lemaitre fight his way onto the medal stand? My pulse is racing just from typing this.