Pamela Jelimo of Kenya (Photo credit: Getty)

(BEIJING, August 17) — For all the Olympics fans who went into a medal frenzy after day nine gave out a Games-high 37 golds, everyone can take a deep breath and enjoy the more relaxed pace of an 18-medal day on Monday, August 18.

Of course, the action does not slow down at the National Stadium, where six Athletics events will give out gold medals.

Kenya’s Ezekiel Kemboi defends his Olympic title in the Men’s 3000 meter Steeplechase, while two of his countrymen will also compete against him. Russia’s Elena Isinbaeva is well on her way to defending her Athens 2004 Olympic Games Pole Vault title.

Vanessa Fernandes (Photo credit: Getty)

The Women’s 800m final is primed for World No. 2 Pamela Jelimo of Kenya to win, especially considering World No. 1 Russian Yelena Soboleva is not competing. Jelimo set a junior world record and African record this year, and if she takes gold she will become Kenya’s first female Olympic champion.

History could also be made in the Men’s Long Jump final, with Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda a likely candidate for Panama’s first Athletics gold medal. Saladino Aranda is the world champion, winning the 2007 title in Osaka by jumping 8.57m.

Stephanie Brown Trafton of the United States qualified in first place for the Women’s Discus Throw Final, but defending Olympic champion Russian Natalia Sadova is also returning, as is Athens bronze winner Iryna Yatchenko of Belarus, who qualified second behind the US athlete.

The Women’s 100m Hurdles and the Women’s 400m will also hold semifinals, and other events begin round one competition, including the much-anticipated Men’s 110m Hurdles, with former world record-holder Liu Xiang of China meeting the man who shattered his time this summer, Cuban Dayron Robles.

Moving out of the Bird’s Nest, there are still other multiple-medal events to keep fans busy. At the National Indoor Stadium, the second to last day of Artistic Gymnastics will hold three apparatus finals, in the Women’s Uneven Bars, Men’s Rings and Men’s Vault.

In two of these events, Chinese gymnasts enter the final with the highest qualification score. In Men’s Rings, the Chinese gymnast with the coolest nickname, “Lord of the Rings” Chen Yibing, is the 2006 and 2007 world champion, and he will be challenged by 2004 Athens silver winner Bulgarian Iordan Iovtchev. In the Women’s Uneven Bars, China’s Yang Yilin was the highest qualifier with a 16.650, but 2007 world champion Ksenia Semenova of Russia will want to un-even the score and tip this event in her favor.

Chen Yibing (Photo credit: Getty)

Romanian Marian Dragulescu will be leading the charge for gold in the Men’s Vault. The veteran gymnast finished first in qualification with a score of 16.762 points.

In Track Cycling, the Women’s Points Race and Men’s Team Pursuit will both hand out medals at the Laoshan Velodrome tomorrow, and Men’s and Women’s Spring quarterfinals will also be held. Great Britain is favored to win its first Olympic gold medal in Team Pursuit since the London 1908 Olympic Games.

Over in Qingdao, Sailing medal races in the Men’s and Women’s 470 (Two Person Dinghy) both look on course for Australian wins. Nathan Wilmot and Malcolm Page are a gold lock, and Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson have a solid 18-point lead and only need a top nine finish to get the Women’s gold.

For the women who can’t decide if they want to be on foot, on bikes or in the water, the Triathlon begins tomorrow with the Women’s event. World No. 1 Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal and Emma Snowsill of Australia are gold favorites after finishing first and second in last September’s Good Luck Beijing event.Current world champion Helen Tucker of Great Britain and defending gold medalist 38-year-old Kate Allen of Austria will be there to lead the way in an event that includes 37 first-time Olympians, ranging in ages from 18 to 40, who will all swim 1500m, bike 40km and run 10000m in hopes of achieving Olympic glory.

Perhaps the one thing triathletes don’t do is fly through the air, but that’s where tomorrow’s Women’s Trampoline final has got it covered. China’s He Wenna comes bouncing into the final with a 67.20 score from the qualifications and hopes to become China’s first Trampoline gold medalist. Hot on her heels are Sydney gold medalist Irina Karavaeva of Russia and Athens defending champion Anna Dogonadze of Germany.

Some athletes who might actually break the trampoline are the lifters from the Men’s over-105 kilogram weight class who will close out 10 days of Weightlifting at the BUAA Gymnasium. While five golds and one silver in this event belong to China, the host country has no competitors in this heavyweight category. With an entry total of 420kg, 2005 world champion Dmitriy Klokov of Russia is favored to win, but he could be challenged by 2006 world champion and Snatch record-holder Marcin Dołęga from Poland.

In Table Tennis, Men’s Team will hold a bronze match and final, and the Women’s Singles preliminary round will commence in the morning. In Men’s Team, China boasts a triple-threat, with World No. 1 Wang Hao, World No. 2 Ma Lin and world champion Wang Liqin. They will play the German team of World No. 6 Timo Boll, Christian Suss and Dimitrij Ovtcharov.

For medal number 18, Switzerland and the United States are in the lead going into the medal round of the Equestrian Jumping Team competition at the HK Equestrian Venue (Shatin).

Besides the 18 medals of August 18, there are plenty more exciting competitions to watch. Tomorrow’s Women’s Football semifinals in the Shanghai Stadium pit the United States against Japan, and Germany against Brazil. While Japan is a rising star who defeated China in the quarterfinals, the other three are powerhouses in the sport who finished in the top three of last year’s World Cup.

Also, many team sports see their preliminary rounds end tomorrow, Canoe/Kayak Flatwater competition opens and a lot more on the first double-digit day of the Beijing Games.