What to watch in Olympic sports this weekend

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Olympic entries are on the line in track and 3-on-3 basketball, while top Canadian athletes compete in global tennis and beach volleyball events this weekend. Here's your guide.

Track and field: World Athletics Relays

Fourteen of the 16 Olympics spots in each track relay event — men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m and mixed 4x400m — are up for grabs this weekend in the Bahamas.

The opening round on Saturday night is big. The top two finishers in each of the four heats for every relay clinch an Olympic berth and advance to Sunday night's final to compete for prize money and preferred lane assignments in Paris. All other teams go to a second-chance qualifying round on Sunday, where the top two in each of the three heats earn a trip to the Olympics. Canada has a team in all five events this weekend.

Andre De Grasse is leading the Canadian men's 4x100 team's quest for a third consecutive Olympic medal. He anchored the squad to bronze in 2016 and silver in 2021 before a stunning gold-medal victory at the 2022 world championships in Oregon. At last year's worlds in Budapest, Canada failed to qualify for the final as De Grasse sat out the preliminary round to rest for his 200m final a couple of hours later.

WATCH | Canadian relay teams target Olympic qualification at worlds:

Also keep an eye on Canada's underrated women's 4x400 team. It's been on the cusp of the podium at the past three major competitions, placing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 and '23 world championships.

Read more about Canada's goals for the World Athletics Relays in this story by CBC