There are 19 gold medals up for grabs on day four in Beijing - and hosts China expect to add to their tally.
China's male gymnasts are favourites in the team event, while world champions Guo Jingjing and Wu Minxia should win the women's 10m synchronised diving.
American Michael Phelps goes for his third gold in the 200m freestyle.
British canoeist Campbell Walsh has a chance to go one better than the silver he won in Athens four years ago in the men's slalom K1 final at 1017 BST.
Walsh will face stiff competition from Frenchman Fabien Lefevre and German Erik Pfannmoller.
Team GB's Euan Burton is also being tipped for glory, having won world and European judo bronze last year.
Burton starts his Olympic campaign in the -81kg category at 0500 BST.
The 29-year-old faces Argentina's Emmanuel Lucenti in his opening contest in Beijing.
After the disappointment of narrowly missing out on a team archery medal on Sunday, Britain's women get a chance to make up for it in the individual event at 0300 BST.
But South Korea's women's gold medal winning team of Park Sung-hyun, Yun Ok-hee and Joo Hyun-jung are the top three favourites for the individual archery.
Joe Murray becomes the latest British fighter to get his Olympic boxing campaign underway.
But the young bantamweight faces a stiff test when he comes up against home favourite Yu Gu in front of what is expected to be a sell-out 13,000 crowd.
In the Water Cube, Phelps will try to add the 200m freestyle title to his collection at 0313 BST.
The American only qualified fourth fastest for the final though behind team-mate Peter Vanderkaay.
Robbie Renwick flies the flag for Britain after qualifying eighth fastest for the final.
But it is in the 100m backstroke where Britain could win their third swimming medal, with Liam Tancock tipped after finishing sixth fastest in his semi-final.
Tancock is the European record holder and world champion and competes in the final at 0328 BST.
Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry is the one to beat in the women's 100m backstroke after she set a new world record in the semi-final.
Britain's Gemma Spofforth qualified for the final fifth fastest and will be in action at 0345 BST.
And Australian world record holder Leisel Jones is favourite for gold in the women's 100m breastroke.
After Tom Daley and Blake Aldridge's exertions on day three, GB pair Stacie Powell and Tonia Couch get their chance in the final of the women's 10m synchro final at 0730 BST.
The first medals won outside mainland China will be settled when the team eventing comes to a conclusion in Hong Kong.
Britain go into the final show jumping section in third place behind Germany and Australia.
In shooting, British pair Richard Faulds and Steve Scott are both considered to be medal contenders in the men's double trap, 0800 BST.
Faulds won gold in Sydney at the 2000 Olympics but suffered disappointment in Athens 13-years-ago when he only came 13th.
But Faulds has recovered from that disappointment and is determined to use his past Olympic experience to help him return home with a medal.
He said: "I've gained a lot from each of the Games I've been to before, so hopefully I can take little bits from each one and use them on this occasion."
Fellow Brit, Scott is European champion and could also challenge but the pair will face stiff opposition from China's Binyuan Hu and India's Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore.
In tennis, the men's singles continues with Spain's Rafael Nadal and Switzerland's Roger Federer in action.
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