As the top track and field athletes in the world prepare for Paris 2024, I explore the latest odds and reveal my 2024 Olympic athletics best bets! The leading Olympic betting sites have released a variety of markets, including prices to win gold on the track.
Will Team USA dominate in athletics at Paris 2024? The nation is notorious for winning gold medals on the track, so we’ll see how this highly touted team performs in the Summer Olympics in Paris.
Below, check out my analysis, odds, and my Olympic athletics predictions! I’ve used Bovada’s odds for this article.
Noah Lyles to Win Men’s 100m Gold (+125)
| ATHLETE | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Noah Lyles (USA) | +125 |
| Kishane Thompson (JAM) | +250 |
| Oblique Seville (JAM) | +360 |
| Letsile Tebogo (BOT) | +1400 |
| Lamont Marcell Jacobs (ITA) | +1800 |
American track champ Noah Lyles (+125) is favored to win the 100m race at Paris 2024. Team USA is leaning heavily on Lyles to be one of the stars of their squad this summer and to bolster their medal count. In the crown jewel event of athletics, Lyles has a 44.4% implied probability to win gold in the 100m.
I give Lyles a better chance to win gold than the implied odds suggest, however. He is set to peak at the perfect time in the Summer Games after improving his form leading to the Olympics.
The six-time world champion has won five out of six 100m events he participated in this year. Lyles dominated in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Oregon, peaking with a time of 9.80 in the semifinal race.
In addition to pummeling competitors in the 100m, Lyles has won six out of seven 60m events, and all four 200m assignments. I don’t believe that Lyles was going all out for these outings, either. He has more to offer in the Olympics.
Lyles is saving an extra gear for the Olympics, which has to concern his foes at Paris 2024. The 26-year-old American faces tough competition from Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson and Oblique Seville, but the race is Lyles to lose given his recent form.
As an aside, Letsile Tebogo is a solid sleeper bet to win the 100m at +1400. Nevertheless, Lyles will likely be too much for this field. Consider the US star for your 2024 Olympic athletics betting picks in the 100m!
Rai Benjamin to Win Men’s 400m Hurdles Gold (+180)
| ATHLETE | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Karsten Warholm (NOR) | +130 |
| Rai Benjamin (USA) | +180 |
| Alison Dos Santos (BRA) | +260 |
| Kyron McMaster (IVB) | +2500 |
| Malik James-King (JAM) | +4000 |
The men’s 400m hurdles race is expected to be a duel between rivals Karsten Warholm (+130), Rai Benjamin (+180), and Alison Dos Santos (+260). This is a rematch of an epic 400m hurdles race at Tokyo 2020.
Norway’s Warholm broke the world record en route to beating Benjamin and Dos Santos. Logging a time of 45.94, Warholm was incredible three years ago in Japan. All three runners were terrific, but Warholm had the extra step at the wire.
Is the champion still in that outstanding form? Warholm’s recent results suggest that Benjamin is catching up and even looking stronger than his rival in June. He recently broke the U.S. Olympics Team Trials record with a 46.46 time in the finals.
Benjamin was clocked at 46.64, 49.56, 47.97, and 46.46 in four races in June. Conversely, Warholm was timed at 48.75 and 46.98 in the European Athletics Championships. It was enough to win, but Benjamin has been faster overall this past month.
Dos Santos has never beaten a healthy Warholm or Benjamin, so I think he’ll be happy with a bronze medal. In a nail-biter, the best betting value is on Benjamin to flip the script for his first gold in the 400m hurdles after narrowly missing in Japan.
Sha’Carri Richardson to Win Women’s 100m Gold (-155)
| ATHLETE | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Sha’Carri Richardson (USA) | -155 |
| Shericka Jackson (JAM) | +275 |
| Julien Alfred (LCA) | +650 |
| Melissa Jefferson (USA) | +1200 |
| Tia Clayton (JAM) | +1600 |
Three years after she was prohibited from participating in the U.S. Team Trials for cannabis use, Sha’Carri Richardson (-155) is the odds-on favorite to win gold in the women’s 100m at Paris 2024.
Richardson has a 60.8% implied probability to capture gold in France. Her top rival, Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson (+275), will prove to be a formidable opponent. However, if Richardson maintains her recent form, Jackson will be in trouble in the 100m.
Richardson is on a revenge tour of sorts and is unlikely to stop in France. The four-time Diamond League winner mopped up the competition in the 100m at the U.S. Team Trials. In the final on June 22, Richardson reached her fastest time of the event at 10.71.
Jackson won the Jamaican Championships with a time of 10.84. That was her best time up to this moment, with a slow time of 11.03 four races earlier. Jackson is capable of beating Richardson, but I don’t see the American sprinter being stopped.
She is too determined to let Jackson or any other rival beat her in Paris. Richardson is good value at -155 to win, as she should probably be a -200 favorite, making her one of the best 2024 Olympic athletics picks!
Gabby Thomas to Win Women’s 200m Gold (+120)
| ATHLETE | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Gabby Thomas (USA) | +120 |
| Shericka Jackson (JAM) | +180 |
| McKenzie Long (USA) | +475 |
| Brittany Brown (USA) | +700 |
| Julien Alfred (LCA) | +1600 |
Richardson isn’t the only American that Jackson will have a rivalry with at the Paris Games. 27-year-old Gabby Thomas (+120) is expected to nip Jackson (+180) at the wire in this race.
Although the Jamaican star likely won’t get her desired results, two potential medals are nothing to be disappointed with. However, Thomas should have just enough in the tank to make her part of your Olympic athletics best bets at sports betting sites!
Jackson is coming off a sharp performance in the Jamaican Championships. She booked a time of 22.67 in the first heat, and then improved on that effort to get clocked at 22.29 in the final.
That said, Thomas would have had Jackson easily beaten in all of her recent races. The 27-year-old Atlanta native was lightning quick, with sub-22 seconds in the semifinal and final in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Oregon.
Thomas reached her fastest time of 21.78 in the semifinal on June 28. This is the fastest time recorded in the women’s 200m in 2024. After winning the bronze medal at Tokyo 2020, expect Thomas to outpace this field of beatable opponents in Paris!
Where to Bet on the 2024 Olympic Athletics?
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