On 31st July this year, field and track events are set to hit the limelight at the Tokyo Olympics. You can expect to see several familiar faces looking to add medals to their names, while new stars will try to prove themselves worthy at the world’s biggest stage.
What To Know About Track And Field At The Tokyo Olympics
During the last Olympic tournament at Rio in 2016, the US topped the medals table taking home 32 medals, with 13 of them being gold. Kenya came in second place, collecting six golds, one bronze, and six silver medals. Jamaica came in third in Usain Bolt’s last Olympics, taking home two bronze, three silvers, and six golds. Here’s what field and track fans should expect this week as they continue using their betting calculator to look for the best odds in these events.
Friday 30th July
Men 10,000 Meter Final
The 10,000 meter final will feature its first Olympic gold medalist without Mo Farah after the British athlete failed to qualify for the event. Over the last five years since the 2016 Rio Olympics, the world’s record for this event was lowered from Kenenisa Bekele’s 26:17.53 set in 2005 to 26:11.00 set by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei in Spain last year.
Uganda’s Joseph Kiplimo holds the fastest time this year with his 26:33.93 run in May. However, gold from any of these would be a first for Uganda on the tracks since 1972 when John Akii-Bua took the 400m hurdles in the Munich games and first gold since Stephen Kiprotich won the 2012 London Marathon.
Saturday 31st July
Men’s Discus Throw
Sweden’s Daniel Stahl is the current world champion, leading with his 71.40m season-best. Stahl’s personal best of 71.86 sets in 2019 made him the fourth-best athlete in discus throwing and the farthest thrower since 2008.
Women 100 meters
This event came in the spotlight after U.S sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson got a one-month suspension after testing positive for Marijuana. Richardson was among the favorites but lost with the anti-reform in place. As such, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is the reigning champion with two Olympics gold medals.
Mixed 4×400 Meter Relay
Making its debut in the Olympics, the 4×400 meter relay will feature two women and two men in each country’s team. The teams can set their order in any way they desire, whether it’s alternating genders or two women to start followed by men. That means tactics will be the key in this event.
Women Shot Put Finals
During the last Olympics, Michelle Carter became the first American female athlete to win the shot put in the Olympics. Carter won’t be defending her title this year, following surgery to remove her benign tumor.
Sunday 1st August
Men’s High Jump
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim took his second Olympic silver medal in the last event, behind Canada’s Derek Drouin before winning gold at the World Championships in 2017 and 2019. However, the postment of the Olympics has seen new stars soar, including Belarus’s Maskim Nedasekau, US’s JuVaughn Harrison, and Russia’s Ilya Ivanyuk.
Men’s 100 Meters
After Usain Bolt’s retirement in 2017, there won’t be any theatrics from the triple Olympic gold winner. Christian Coleman will also not participate, with Trayvon Bromell filling the void as the fastest athlete this year with a personal best record of 9.77.
Women Triple Jump
Venezuela’s Yulimar Rojas is the bookies favorite for this event, after dominating the event in 2017 and 2019. Rojas registered a world record of 15.50m in May, beating Ukraine’s Inessa Kravets’s personal record of 15.43 set in 1995.
Men’s Long Jump
If America’s JuVaughn Harrison manages to dominate the event, the Olympic gold medal will go back to the US. JuVaughn remains the first American to participate in both long jump and high jump events since Jim Thorpe in 1912, although he’ll need to beat Greece’s Miltadis Tentolou who holds the best record of 8.60m.
Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles
America swept all the medals in this event in Rio, with Brianna Rollins-McNeal taking gold, Nia Ali taking silver, and Kristi Castlin taking bronze. The US team has a strong history in the 100m hurdles, winning eight out of 12 Olympic medals since 2004.
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