The first action of the Olympics took place today, with Team GB’s women footballers beating Chile 2-0 in their opening group game.

With the opening ceremony due to be staged in Tokyo on Friday, and the first full day of action scheduled for Saturday, here are some of the highlights to look out for over the course of the next two weeks.


FRI JULY 23

An opening ceremony like no other will get the Games under way at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, with only a very small number of athletes expected to attend. The first individual British athletes will compete in archery and rowing preliminary rounds.


SAT JULY 24

Shooter Seonaid McIntosh could win Britain’s first medal in the women’s 10m air rifle. Double Olympic rowing champion Helen Glover returns in the lightweight double sculls, while the GB women’s football team face hosts Japan in Sapporo, having beaten Chile in their opening game. Star swimmer Adam Peaty starts his 100m breaststroke campaign, while Middlesbrough’s Aimee Willmott also competes in the heats of the 400m individual medley.


SUN JUL 25

Taekwondo takes centre-stage with Jade Jones, bidding for her third straight Olympic title, and fellow world champion Bradly Sinden both in action. Peaty is back in his 100m semi-final, while Willmott will compete in the 400m medley final if she makes it through the heats. Britain’s defending women’s hockey champions kick off their campaign against Germany.


MON JUL 26

Peaty will look to wrap up another 100m breaststroke gold in the pool, while diver Tom Daley partners Matty Lee in the men’s 10m synchro. Yorkshire’s Jonny Brownlee will look to emulate his absent brother Ali in the men’s triathlon, while there should also be a medal chance for Tom Pidcock in mountain biking.


TUE JUL 27

Reigning world champion Bianca Walkden bids for an elusive Olympic taekwondo gold, while Mahama Cho is also in action. Jess Learmonth leads a three-strong British contingent in the women’s triathlon, while Charlotte Dujardin will target the podium as part of the GB dressage team.


WED JUL 28

Ripon’s Jack Laugher will attempt to follow up his Rio gold with another Olympic title when he partners Dan Goodfellow in the men’s 3m synchro, while GB will hope to figure as the men’s rugby sevens competition concludes. Dujardin ought to be in the frame for another medal in the individual dressage.


THU JUL 29

Glover is set to go for her third Olympic gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls. World number one Matt Coward-Holley starts as favourite in the men’s trap. British stars aside, it is set to be the Simone Biles show as the US superstar bids to retain her women’s all-around gymnastics crown.


FRI JUL 30

Athletics starts with Dina Asher-Smith in her 100m heats, and a men’s 10,000m involving Northallerton’s Marc Scott. Women’s rugby reaches the quarter-final stage, while there may also be British involvement in the men’s tennis semi-finals and the women’s trampoline, where Bryony Page bids to go one better than her Rio silver.


SAT JUL 31

Asher-Smith should get her first crack at gold in the women’s 100m final. McIntosh starts favourite in the women’s 3x50m rifle, and Peaty will target a return to the podium as part of the men’s 100m medley relay squad. Meanwhile, GB women face Ireland in the women’s hockey.


SUN AUG 1

Usain Bolt may be missing but all eyes will be on the men’s 100m final with American Trayvon Bromell starting as favourite. British attention will shift to the gymnastics where Max Whitlock bids to retain his pommel title. The tennis programme brings gold medal matches in men’s singles, and women’s and mixed doubles.


MON AUG 2

Sisters Tiffany Porter and Cindy Sember challenge in the women’s 100m hurdles. Track cycling commences with the women’s team sprint, while Britain stands strong medal chances in both team and individual eventing. New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard, the first transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics, is in action in the women’s 87kg weightlifting.


TUE AUG 3

‘Super Tuesday’ is on the cards with Asher-Smith set to line up in the women’s 200m final and rising star Keely Hodgkinson in the 800m final. Northallerton’s Scott Lincoln competes in the qualifying for the men’s shot. Birtley boxer Pat McCormack could be involved in the men’s welterweight final, both Jason and Laura Kenny have the chance to add to their respective medal hauls, while North Yorkshire’s Laugher should also be in the medal mix in the individual 3m springboard.


WED AUG 4

Thirteen-year-old Sky Brown is set to steal the show in the women’s skateboard park competition, in which she stands a genuine medal chance. Ben Maher (showjumping) and Hannah Mills and Eilidh McIntyre (sailing) also boast outstanding podium hopes. The men’s 800m and 200m finals provide the highlights on the track, while Middleham’s Jodi Ewart-Shadoff tees it up in the opening round of the women’s golf.


THU AUG 5

Katarina Johnson-Thompson will hope her injury-hit year does not deny her a medal in the heptathlon. In the velodrome, the women’s keirin and men’s omnium provide the highlights, while GB will hope to figure in the men’s hockey final.


FRI AUG 6

A busy night on the track brings the women’s 400m and 1,500m finals, with Laura Muir aiming to bid for glory in the latter, as well as another medal chance for Asher-Smith in the women’s 4x100m relay. Middlesbrough’s Richard Kilty will hope to win a medal as part of the men’s 4x100m relay squad. Laura Kenny is set to go in the women’s madison, GB will hope to be involved in the women’s hockey and football finals, while Shauna Coxsey bids for Britain’s first Olympic medal in sport-climbing.


SAT AUG 7

More boxing finals ought to yield more British medals, including for reigning world champion Lauren Price. Both high jumps and 4x400m relays provide the highlights in the stadium, while there are also medal hopes for Ethan Hayer in the men’s madison.


SUN AUG 8

The Games conclude with the closing ceremony, prior to which Frazer Clarke will hope to be in a position to emulate Anthony Joshua in the men’s boxing super-heavyweight division. There are more medal opportunities in the velodrome in the women’s omnium and men’s keirin.