Betting on the Olympic Men’s 100m Race

Olympic Men’s Athletics 100m Participants

While the era of Usain Bolt has ended, there is plenty of exciting up and coming talent and some of them are bound to become household names over the course of the next few weeks. Here we will tell you a bit out some of the more exciting competitors whom you should be keeping an eye on in the coming weeks.

Trayvon Bromell

Trayvon Bromell will be arriving at the Olympic Games determined to make up for last time. In 2016, he finished last in the field with a time of 10.06s. However, he suffered from injuries throughout 2016 and earlier in the year, when he was fully fit, he ran an extremely impressive 9.84s at the US National Trials. Had he produced the same time in the Olympic final, then he would have finished a very close second to Usain Bolt, who ran 9.81s.

Unlike Bolt, Bromell is relatively short, at 5 foot 8 inches. However, his smaller size allows him to achieve incredible speeds and maintain those speeds for longer than taller athletes with longer limbs can. As a result, he runs through the line rather than drop off at the 60m stage of the race, when the taller athletes move up a gear.

Most importantly, Bromell is undefeated this season and he ran 9.77s in June, which is the fastest time this year.

Fred Kerley

Fred Kerley was a silver medallist at the World Championships in the 400m. However, he has abandoned that event this year to focus on the 100m and 200m at the Olympic Trials. Clearly, it has paid off, as he hugely improved upon his personal best in the 100m, from 10.49s to 9.86s, in order to qualify for the Olympics. While this is slower than Bromell’s time, he is certainly capable of putting in a highly competitive performance.

Ronnie Baker 

Ronnie Baker has run the third fastest time in history over 60 metres, so it is likely that he will be leading the pack at the start of the final. However, Baker, who is 27 years old, has never previously made a US team, participated in the World Championships, or the Olympics, which means that he is severely lacking in experience. However, he finished second in the National Trials with a time of 9.85s, so while it may be his first Olympics, he cannot be discounted.

Akani Simbine 

Akani Simbine is a core part of the South African 4x100m team. He recently broke the African record and second fastest time this year in the beginning of July by running 9.84s. Furthermore, he also recently ran an amazing anchor leg of 9.08 in a 4x100m race, which suggests that he is capable of pulling off something special if everything goes right for him on the day.

Andre De Grasse

Andre De Grasse won bronze at the 2016 Olympics, but he has been struggling a bit this season and has produced a best time of 9.99s. While he is one of the more experienced runners, he will need to make sure that his form peaks at the Olympics and he will have to put in a season’s best performance just to make the final.

The Other Contenders

We are used to seeing numerous Jamaicans in the men’s 100m race, but this year will be an exception. The only real contender appears to be Tyquendo Tracey, who had to work very hard to win the Jamaican National Trials with a time of 10:00. While this is a speed most of us will never achieve, it is significantly behind those discussed above.

There is not much hope from Great Britain either. Zharnel Hughes has not managed to run under 10 seconds this year and seems to be devoting most of his energies to the 200m race. Chijindu Ujah will also be representing Great Britain, but with a season best of 10.03 seconds, it is hard to see him making the final.

One runner you may wish to keep an eye on is South African Tlotliso Leotlela. When he was 17 years old, Leotlela ran in the 200m at the 2016 Olympic Games. While he did not make the semi-finals, he will certainly have learnt from the experience. Furthermore, in May, the now 21 year old ran 9.94s in the South African finals, which is currently his personal best. Furthermore, he looked very comfortable in the race, suggesting that he could go faster in Tokyo.

Olympic Men’s Athletics 100m Betting Markets

Given the speed of the 100m race and the nature of the event, it is no surprise that there are not many betting markets. The advantage of this is that it means you do not need to spend much time trying to understand what the markets mean.

The most basic market is the Gold Medal Winner. Simply pick a runner and if they win Olympic gold, then you win the bet. However, you may also be able to bet on the heats and rounds prior to the final. You may also find markets allowing you to bet on athletes to finish in the top three or to qualify for the next round.

More betting markets will become available as the event comes closer, so be sure to keep a careful eye on it to make sure that you don’t miss out.

How to Plan Your Bets

Betting on the 100m sprint is much the same as betting on any other sporting event. It is all about research. While you can never be sure of winning a bet, the more research you are able to do, the better your chances of success.

This means, that to start with you need to look at all of the competitors. You should look at how they have performed over the season and in previous years. You can also look at their progression, try to assess if their form has been improving and if they look set to peak at the Olympics. Sprinters are able to compete for many years, so while you should not put too much faith in historical results, it can’t hurt to look back at the last few years and compare them to the current season.

Beyond the athletes’ results for the previous season, you also need to see if you can find any information about injuries. Even an injury picked up at the start of a season can have an effect many months later. It can be hard to come by this information, but beyond looking in the press, you can also check the athletes’ social media profiles.

In fact, social media is often a mine of information. Beyond injuries, it can often provide you with insights into how training is going, the athletes’ state of mind, and so on. Of course, it is possible to read too much into social media posts, but if you are serious about your research, then it is well worth having a look.

Something that is in nobody’s control is the weather, but it can have a big impact. If possible, when you research a runner see if you can find out what the weather conditions were like for each of their races and make a note of them. You may be able to spot a pattern or it may be evident that some runners perform particularly badly in certain conditions. Then, when it comes to the race in Tokyo, you can take a look at the weather forecast and it may give you some interesting ideas for bets to place.

If you think that there will be an upset, then it may be worth placing your bets further in advance, as the odds are likely to shorten as the race approaches. If, after watching the first heat or two, you think that you have made a mistake, you could always back a second runner to try to hedge your bets. There is no guarantee that this strategy will work, but it is certainly worth considering.

Ultimately, the key to placing a successful bet on the men’s 100m race will be to do as much research as possible. Nothing will ever guarantee a win, but with research, you can certainly improve your chances and give yourself the best possible shot of picking a winner.