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Tuesday’s best bets at the Rio Olympics

Gymnast Simone Biles and her U.S. teammates begin the assault on the medal count Tuesday.
(Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images)
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A look at the top events at the Summer Olympics in Rio on Tuesday:

Gymnastics

The Olympics are a lot about dreams and few can dream better than a teenager. Tuesday, the end-of-the-rainbow wish of a gold medal will likely come true for the members of the U.S. women’s team. The defending Olympic gold medalists, the U.S. squad is filled with so much talent that some very gifted gymnasts will be left off the starting list. The U.S. cruised through qualifying and should do likewise in the team final. Anything less than a gold for the U.S. would be a crushing disappointment.

Swimming

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This should be the day Michael Phelps picks up his second medal of the Games. Will it be gold? He’ll be swimming in the 200 butterfly. His first medal of the Games — a gold — came Sunday night in the 400-meter relay. Katie Ledecky will be back to try to pick up her second of three individual golds in the 200 freestyle. This should be her toughest race, only because it’s the shortest. She won the 400 freestyle on Sunday.

Women’s soccer

The U.S. women continue their road tour, this time going to the edge of the Amazon to play Colombia. It shouldn’t be much of a game as the U.S. is undefeated in two matches and Colombia is winless. The U.S. clinched a quarterfinal match Saturday with a 1-0 win over France. If things go as expected, the U.S. will play Sweden in the quarters and then Brazil in the semifinals.

Water polo

This is a story of the strength of the human spirit. U.S. women’s Coach Adam Krikorian came to Rio with his mind only on winning a medal, hopefully gold. But he got the call you never want. His brother Blake, the inventor of Slingbox, had died. Adam hustled back to the states to attend the funeral and then rushed back to be with his team. Tuesday will be the team’s first game. It’s a rematch of the London gold-medal game against Spain. Emotions will be high; the tears will flow.

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