The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics begins on July 26th and signals the start of the greatest sporting competition on earth. Fast forward to Sunday, August 4th and we’ll all be gathered around our TV screens for what many see as the main event: the men’s 100m final.
Since Usain Bolt bowed out from the sport, nobody has stepped up to claim the crown as the ultimate sprinter. Tokyo’s delayed 2020 Olympics were won by Italian Lamont Marcell Jacobs in one of the biggest shocks in modern times. In truth, there could be another wildcard winner this year as any of the top sprinters stand a genuine chance of winning.
We wanted to see who the experts think will win, so we compared the odds from hundreds of UK and non UK online bookmakers to look at who the favourites are. Without further ado, we present the top five sprinters ready to win the 100m Olympics men’s title this year:
#5 Fred Kerley (USA)
Fred Kerley is the first of three US athletes on this list and will be 29 when the Olympics roll around in France. He was the number-one ranked 100m sprinter for 58 weeks earlier in his career – and the number-one 400m sprinter for 69 weeks. The talent is there – which is reflected in some excellent honours:
- 100m Gold at the World Championships in 2022
- 100m Gold at the Diamond League Final in 2021
- 100m Silver at the Tokyo Olympics
As the runner-up from Tokyo, he’s sure to want revenge and has seemingly gone from strength to strength over the years. In 2023 he secured three 100m first-place finishes in the Diamond League and has won multiple National Championships in the US.
The bookies only have him as the fifth favourite, which is shocking considering all the stats thrown at you above! It’s doubly shocking when you see Andre De Grasse ahead of him as Kerley currently owns the 6th fastest 100m time ever while De Grasse is way down in 44th!
#4 Andre De Grasse (CAN)
Known by many as the guy who celebrated with Usain Bolt on track during one of the great man’s many 200m triumphs, Andre De Grasse is something of an enigma in the running community.
He’s an Olympic champion, winning the 200m in Tokyo – after coming second in 2016 – and has back-to-back bronze medals in the Olympic 100m. Most people still see him as a 200m specialist given that he entered almost double the amount of events for this discipline in 2023 compared to the 100m.
It’s also worth noting he took home three 200m gold medals last year while his best 100m performance was a third place in the 62nd Ostrava Golden Spike. In other words, he’s a serial underperformer in the 100m, yet the bookies still fancy him as the fourth favourite.
Maybe this is down to his history of performing on the big stage. He was far from the third-best sprinter in the world in 2016 and 2020 yet still managed bronze medals each time. Maybe this experience will take him all the way in Paris.
#3 Akani Simbine (RSA)
Akani Simbine is the second-fastest man from Africa ever. His personal best of 9.84 is only bettered by Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, who set a 9.77 back in 2021. The South African is 30 years old now and many believe this is his final shot at securing the Olympic gold he’s so coveted.
Interestingly, he has never scored higher than fourth across any 100-metre event in the Olympics or World Championships. He does have many Diamond League wins to his name though – including two in 2023! These two wins make up his sum of 6 different 100m gold medals across various events in 2023 alone.
This is clearly a man who’s looking to peak at the right time. If he continues on this trajectory, could he take home the gold medal in August? The odds say he’ll be one of the favourites for a podium at least, so let’s wait and see what colour medal he can claim.
#2 Ronnie Baker (USA)
Our second US sprinter on this list is Ronnie Baker. He’ll also be 30 when the Olympics begin and is probably one of the least decorated men out of the five. He holds barely any major honours, though can claim to have won seven different Diamond League 100m finals over the years.
His last Diamond League win was back in 2021 and he’s already kicked off his 2024 season in the US winning a 60m race. His 2023 season saw no wins in the 100m category though he consistently finished around 4th or 5th.
If we’re being honest, there’s not a lot here to justify such a high place on this list. He’s 28th in the world right now too, so there must be something the bookies know that we don’t!
#1 Trayvon Bromell (USA)
Finally, we have the favourite to win it all: Trayvon Bromell.
This man can boldly claim to be the join 6th fastest man alive, according to World Athletics, with a PB of 9.76 in the 100m. He had an impressive 2022, winning multiple events before a 2023 season was hampered by injuries. Bromell only raced a handful of times so nobody really knows what to expect from him going into 2024.
Why is he the bookie’s favourite? It’s probably because he’s technically the fastest sprinter with a chance of winning right now – which sounds obvious when you put it like that! Many in the track and field community believe that a healthy Trayvon Bromell is a tough force to stop.
We’ll see come August if the experts are correct – or maybe there’ll be someone storming from left field to win Olympic 100m gold yet again.
