misconceptions going in as anyone watching TV a

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Its dynasty time on the opening two days of track and field at the Olympics.As of Friday morning, three athletes will each try to become the first woman to win three straight individual titles at the Summer Games.New Zealand shot putter Valerie Adams stands the best chance, while the odds dont look that great for 10,000-meter great Tirunesh Dibaba and 100-meter sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. And if none of the three succeed, there still is Czech javelin double champion Barbora Spotakova on Aug. 18.Here is a look what opposition and odds they face Friday and Saturday:---VALERIE ADAMS/SHOT PUT -- She knows how to fight back. Two years ago, after being basically untouchable at major championships from 2007 to 2014, with four world and two Olympic gold medals to show for it, she underwent elbow and shoulder surgery. It is tough enough to return, but to come back with another Olympic gold would be outstanding.Recovery didnt come easy as the tall New Zealander struggled until early this year. Slowly though, she found her groove again and has championship experience. My preparations have been going really well, she said as she arrived in Brazil from her training base in Switzerland.Adams is the second-best performer of the season, behind Chinas Gong Lijiao. Christina Schwanitz of Germany, who took over Adams world title last year, could well be her toughest opponent on Friday.Adams knows how elusive Olympic gold can be. The London Games four years ago were already over when gold medalist Nadezhda Ostapchuk was caught for doping and Adams belatedly won her second title. This weekend, she wants to hold her third gold in the Olympic Stadium.---TIRUNESH DIBABA/10,000 -- Dibaba is already considered the greatest female distance runner in history with her five Olympic medals (three gold) and five world championship golds. The 31-year-old has fought back from major injuries several times in her career and just finished a yearlong break after the birth of her son.Dibabas toughest opposition is likely to come from fellow Ethiopian Almaz Ayana, 24, who is doing the long-distance double in Rio after winning the 5,000 meters at the world championship last year and has the top 10,000-meter performance of the year so far.Dibaba is a massive celebrity in Ethiopia and leads a family of runners, including sisters Genzebe, who will compete in the 1,500 meters, and Ejegayehu, who won silver in the 10,000 meters in the 2004 Games.---SHELLY-ANN FRASER-PRYCE/100 -- For years, sprinting was a U.S.-Jamaican duel, but Fraser-Pryce will also have to keep an eye on Dutchwoman Dafne Schippers, who was already breathing down her neck when the Jamaican won her third world title in Beijing last year. And a toe injury has hampered Fraser-Pryce this year.Like Dibaba, she will need to heed her own compatriots. Eileen Thompson leads the charge with a seasons top time of 10.70 seconds. Three Americans have all run faster than Fraser-Pryce this season. None however, has proven it at major championships.Fraser-Pryce carried her nations flag at the opening ceremony, with her long hair dyed yellow and green, colors in both the Jamaican and Brazilian flags.---MEN -- Three men, all American, have won four individual golds in a row: Ray Ewry in the standing high and long jumps between 1900 and 1908; Al Oerter in the discus between 1956 and 1968; and Carl Lewis in the long jump between 1984 and 1996.---Follow Raf Casert on Twitter at http://twitter.com/rcasert Custom Cowboys T-shirts .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Custom Cowboys Jersey China . 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Of all the things U.S. swimmer Tyler Clary was unprepared for in his first Olympic Games, there was the one experience he said he will never forget.Walking that path from the [athletes] village to the opening ceremonies, there were tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people, simply walking or lining the walkway we were taking there, and little kids were stretching their hands out just because they wanted to touch us, Clary said. It blew my mind.I was just another dude who happens to be a little more water-safe than the average person, and there are all these people sitting there starstruck. They had no idea who we were but they were just amazed to see us because we were Olympians, and thats still not something I can wrap my head around.Whether it was tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or 100, no one could have adequately prepared Clary for the chills that ran through him or the inspiration it provided.Blown mind or not, Clary gathered himself quickly enough to win gold in the 200-meter backstroke in his Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Games in London. But it was not without many head-shaking moments for which he and other U.S. Olympians headed to Rio say first-timers should be prepared.And surprise: Its not all parades and medals.Elizabeth Beisel won silver and bronze medals in London, but among her most vivid memories were those not-so-glorious ones during her first Olympics in 2008, when she was the youngest member of the U.S. swim team.I was 15 in Beijing; there was no English whatsoever, and there were problems with the food being contaminated, so we could only eat McDonalds for a certain amount of time, Beisel recalled. The bus schedule was all messed up, and if you miss your bus, the next bus isnt for another hour. Then you miss your final swim and you dont get to swim in the Olympics.Beisel said she was as vulnerable to misconceptions going in as anyone watching TV at home.Its just like every little thing, she said. Youd think youre in the Olympics -- youd have like a limo driving you to the pool and youre in a five-star hotel and you have nothing to worry about. But its the complete opposite. Youre totally on your own. Youre in a different country; nobody speaks your language; and you need to learn how to take care of yourself and roll with the punches.And its really, really scary because its the Olympics; it only happens every four years, and you dont want to mess it up. But its almost like only the strong make it, honestly. Its such a dog-eat-dog environment, and its all or nothing.Food is an especially common theme, when athletes who are accustomed to fine-tuning their bodies with only the purest fuel suddenly having to tolerate fast food. And worse than that, unfamiliar food.Ryan Lochte was famous for eating McDonalds in Beijing because it was what he was comfortable with and it was safe for him, swimmer Connor Jaeger said.It should be noted that Lochte, an 11-time Olympic medalist, joked that he gained 10 pounds at the 2008 Games and has since changed his eating habits, focusing on lean protein, fruits and vegetables. But for Jaeger, the main worry is staying consistent and not being caught off-guard.You think here in the States, no matter where you are, you can find an Olive Garden, right? Jaeger said. So in London, the food was good but you just dont know. I always eat pasta before a race. Are they going to have pasta for me that night? If they dont, theres really nothing else I can do.Also, thinking about the walk to the shuttle, the bus ride to the pool and not realizing you were going to have to walk that much, or whatever it is, throws some people off more than me.Jaeger said the fact that London was his first Olympics made it easier to accept whatever potential distractions came his way.At thhat time, I was really happy to be there; I was there to enjoy the ride, he said.dddddddddddd I was taking it seriously, but it helped me take a step back and say, Who cares if I have to walk a half-mile or whatever it is on the way to a race? But if youre convinced its not going to mess you up, its not going to mess you up.Clary said he was prepared for very little in his first Olympics.I was na?ve thinking it was going to be a lot like a world championships, and Id been to two before, he said. But its a whole different ballgame. Theres an energy in and around the village I wasnt expecting, and it really kind of threw me off a little bit. ...I instantly understood there was something completely different going on and that every four years we have the greatest combination of athletic ability that history has ever seen, and we have almost every person on the planet listening and watching, and theres nothing else in the world like that. Its humbling, its exciting, its scary -- a medley of emotions.Clary said he has added confidence in knowing what to expect in Rio, and it is with that knowledge that some veteran Olympians make it a point to reach out to first-timers with the hopes of preparing them for an experience many say is indescribable.Beisel joked that you can spot a rookie from a mile away trying to blend in, as she once did, trying not to throw up as she often did before big races.Especially for the young swimmer, and I was the same way. Its Oh my God, this is the Olympics. Its the biggest thing in my life, she said. And yes, it may be the biggest thing in your life, but there are other moments in life that are going to be just as amazing, and dont let nerves take that away from you because you only have one shot to do this, so have fun doing it. Love the fact that youre here and enjoy that you can actually have this moment and dont take it for granted. Dont ever take it for granted.This Olympics will be the first for Kayla Banwarth, libero on the U.S. womens volleyball team, but she said she is not expecting it to be much different from every other international tournament she has played in -- which is to say not great.We travel together and we play in other countries a lot, she said. And every tournament we go to, theres always something. Our hotel is awful or Oh, were going to eat rice and beans again. Like, Heres my tuna packet. Ugh.Theres always adversity at every tournament we go to, so I dont know that theres going to be anything too different thrown at us in Rio.Water polos Maggie Steffens tells rookies to embrace the chaos, a lesson she learned from veteran teammates in London.Some people say to ignore the distractions, which you should once the competition begins, Steffens said. But you get there, and theres the opening ceremonies, theres the village, and that means theres inspiration everywhere. If you ignore those, youre losing the inspiration and the opportunity to be inspired by even the smallest things, like a [United States] sticker on your door.So my teammates told me, Soak it all in. Get it all in there early so that once the competition begins and your performance needs to happen, youve taken in all that inspiration ... and now you can just perform. You no longer have to worry about the media or the food or all the athletes around because you dealt with it right away. And that would be my biggest advice.Accept it, love it, be inspired from it, and then let it fuel you. Let it be your energy. Let it build and try to have fun through it all. This is your moment to just play the sport you love on the biggest stage against the biggest opponents and represent the best country there is. ' ' '