What to watch: Olympics opening weekend

Need a quick guide to this weekend's Olympics events? Look no further than this rundown of the must-see events during the first weekend of competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Day 2 - Saturday, July 28, 2012
Olympic competition kicks off with 12 gold medals up for grabs, including a possible Michael Phelps-Ryan Lochte swimming showdown at the Aquatic Centre in the 400-meter individual medley. Qualification heats begin at 6 a.m. ET with the final scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. The events will not be shown live but can be live-streamed on NBC's Olympic website. Local NBC affiliates will air pre-recorded swimming coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET.

[ Photos: Live updates from Opening Ceremony ]

On the women's side, Australian swimmer and Twitter sensation Stephanie Rice will be looking to win her fourth gold medal and, perhaps, break her own world record of 4:29.45 in the 400-meter individual medley. Rice will face off against USA's Caitlin Leverenz in Heat 4 of qualifiers, but USA's Elizabeth Beisel, who beat Leverenz at the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials last month, is the favorite to win the gold. Qualification heats begin at 6:17 a.m. ET with the final scheduled for 3:09 p.m. ET. Again, NBC will not be airing live coverage of Saturday's swimming events.

[ Related: Photos: Most-searched Olympians of 2012 ]

Sure to be trending across the pond is the men's road race final in cycling beginning at 5 a.m. ET broadcasting live on local NBC affiliates except on the West Coast. Though there will be a total of 145 participants — including Timmy Duggan, Tyler Farrar, Chris Horner, Taylor Phinney and Tejay van Garderen representing the U.S. — all eyes will be on Britain's Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour de France winner. The 250-kilometer (155.3-mile) road race begins and ends at The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace with officials expecting millions of fans to pack the streets of London and Surrey to witness the free event.

Also going for gold on Saturday will be 29-year-old shooter Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi of Malaysia. Not only will Suryani be in the spotlight, but her belly will be too. At eight-months pregnant, Suryani will be "shooting for two." If Suryani can get past the qualifying round, catch her in the Women's 10-meter air rifle finals airing live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 6 a.m. ET.

Other gold-medal events on Saturday will take place in archery, fencing, judo, and weightlifting.

[ Related: Live updates from the Opening Ceremony ]

In non-medal action, live-stream beach volleyball qualifiers at 6 p.m. ET to watch Team USA's Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings take on Australia's Natalie Cook and Tamsin Hinchley. With a medal in the women's 4x100-meter freestyle relay, Natalie Coughlin will tie Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres for the all-time medal mark for U.S. female swimmers with 12. Catch the live-stream of Coughlin and the rest of Team USA in the 4x100m freestyle relay final beginning at 3:40 p.m. ET. Team USA will look to continue its dominance in women's soccer when they take on Colombia at 12 p.m. ET in a match televised on NBC's Specialty Soccer channel. Serena Williams will begin her quest for a gold medal at 9 a.m. ET on Bravo in a single's match against Serbia's Jelena Jankovic live from Wimbledon's Centre Court.

Here is a full schedule of Saturday's events.

Day 3 — Sunday, July 29, 2012
On Sunday morning, basketball fans on the East Coast will undoubtedly be waking up in time to watch Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and the rest of star-studded Team USA take on a France squad that includes NBA champion Tony Parker. The game tips off at 9:30 a.m. ET so West Coast hoops fans won't get to sleep in if they want to see the game live on NBC Sports Network.

[ Related: Best U.S. Hoops Squad Ever Isn't Dream Team ]

USA hasn't won an Olympic diving medal since the 2000 Sydney Games, but that won't stop 2008 Olympian Kelci Bryant and new teammate Abby Johnston, a pre-med student at Duke, from trying to make a splash in London. The two will battle China's Wu Minxia and He Zi among others for the gold medal in the women's synchronized 3-meter springboard final. Catch the live-stream at 10 a.m. ET or watch a full recap of the day's events during NBC Primetime.

In other gold medal action, Ryan Lochte will be in it to win it in the men's 200-meter freestyle as will Missy Frankin in the women's 100-meter backstroke. And, in the women's 100-meter butterfly, USA's Dana Vollmer is the favorite to bring home the gold. Swimming events will not be broadcast live in the States so check out NBC live stream or let Bob Costas tell you all about them during NBC Primetime.

Gold-medal events will also take place in archery, cycling, fencing, judo, shooting and weightlifting.

In other non-medal action, Spain, led by Rudy Fernandez and Pau Gasol, will take on China in men's basketball airing live on NBC Sports Network at 11:45 a.m. ET. A women's beach volleyball match will also be airing live at 3 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network between Talita and Antonelli of Brazil versus Madelein Meppelink and Sophie Van Gestel of the Netherlands.

Here is a full schedule of Sunday's events.

Yahoo! Sports will be providing 24/7 coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. Check out our Olympics homepage for up-to-the-minute results.

More London Olympics content on Yahoo! Sports:
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