RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Double Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will lead 10 other Jamaicans into action as the much-anticipated track and field section of the Rio Olympics starts at Olympic Stadium at 7:30 am Jamaican time.

Discus thrower Fedrick Dacres will be first Jamaican in action at 7:30 am (Jamaica time) in Group A, where he will have to throw the 65.50m qualifying mark or be in the top 12 in order to make it to the final . There are 35 throwers competing.

Fraser-Pryce, who won the 100m titles at the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, will be chasing history and an unprecedented third crown. Fraser-Pryce will be in action at 8:40 pm.

The women’s 100m actually starts at 7:55 am with three preliminaries heats for athletes who did not achieve the Olympic qualifying mark. The six fastest runners from the preliminary heats advance to the first round later that night.

Fraser-Pryce will be joined in action by her MVP training partners Elaine Thompson, who is seen as one of her main threats, and young Christania Williams.

All eyes will be on Fraser-Pryce, who has been bothered by a niggling toe injury, to see how well she will cope — although her coach Stephen Francis is predicting that all three runners will run personal bests. Both Fraser-Pryce and Thompson have personal bests of 10.70 seconds, while Williams clocked 10.97 seconds in July.

The flying Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers, along with the three Americans, English Gardner, Tori Bowie and Tianna Bartoletta are the main challengers for the title. It has been 20 years since the American last tasted victory in the 100m and they will be eager to end that drought.

National champion Javon Francis, national record holder Rusheen McDonald, and the emerging Fitzroy Dunkley contest the men’s 400m starting at 7:05 pm.

Dunkley, who has a personal best of 45.06 seconds, will run from lane six in Heat One and will be up against Trinidad and Tobago’s Machel Cedino (44.34 seconds), Belgium’s Kevin Borlee (44.56 seconds) and American Gil Roberts (44.53 seconds).

Francis, who is drawn in lane eight in Heat Three, has a personal best of 44.50 seconds and a seasonal best of 44.77 seconds. He will have to run one of his best-ever races as his heat includes World Champion, Wayde Van Niekerk, who has a personal best of 43.48 seconds and is heavily favoured to win his first Olympic title. Belgium’s Jonathan Borlee (44.43) and Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic are seen as Francis’s other main rivals.

National record holder McDonald, who has a personal best of 43.93 seconds, is drawn in lane five from Heat Six alongside defending champion Kirani James (43.74 seconds) of Grenada and David Verburg (44.41 seconds) of the USA.

Following Toni-Ann Williams’ historic gymnastic appearance at the Olympics, Daina Levy will be Jamaica’s first hammer thrower to participate at the Olympics and will be in action at 6:40 pm.

In the morning session, Danniel Thomas will be in the shot put at 9:05 am in Group B where the qualifying mark is 18.40m. Thomas has a personal best of 17.76m and a seasonal best of 17.60m. A top-12 placing will also take her to the final which is set for 8:00 pm (Jamaica time).

On a busy day for Jamaicans, in-form Damar Forbes and Aubrey Smith will be in action in the long jump scheduled for 7:20 pm. Smith will be in Group A, while Forbes will contest Group B. The qualifying mark is 8.15m. Again a top 12 finish gets them into the final.