Men's 100M Olympic Odds: Kishane Thompson Favored Over Noah Lyles

Iain MacMillan | Jul 24, 2024

Noah Lyles wins the men’s 100 meters during day three of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials Sunday, June 23, 2024, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

The most electric event at the summer Olympics is the 100 meter dash. The fastest sprinters in the world will compete for the Olympic gold and now that Usain Bolt is no longer around, the gold medal is up in the air and there are a number of runners who can claim it.

Many people expected Noah Lyles, the top sprinter from the United States to be the betting favorite, but he finds himself second on the list behind Kishane Thompson from Jamaica.

Let's take a look at the latest odds list, just days before the Opening Ceremony.

Men's 100m Gold Medal odds

Odds below are via FanDuel Sportsbook

• Kishane Thompson (JAM) +130
• Noah Lyles (USA) +165
• Oblique Seville (JAM) +750
• Fred Kerley (USA) +1500
• Letsile Tebogo (BOT) +1900
• Akani Simbine (RSA) +1900
• Lamon Marcell Jacobs (ITA) +2300
• Kenny Bednarek (USA) +2700
• Ferdinand Omanyala (KEN) +3400
• Zharnel Hughes (GBR) +5000
• Ackeem Blake (JAM) +5500
• Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (JPN) +6500
• Favour Ashe (NGR) +6500
• Isaac Botsio (GHA) +8000
• Hiroki Yanagita (JPN) +8000
• Pablo Mateo (FRA) +12000
• Emmenual Matadi (LBR) +12000
• Raphael Bouju (FRA) +19000
• Henrik Larsson (SWE) +19000
• Rikkoi Brathwaite (IVB) +19000
• Rohan Browning (AUS) +32000
• Malachi Murray (CAN) +32000

Thompson is set as the betting favorite at +130 odds, which translates to an implied probability of 43.48%.

The Jamaica vs. USA 100m Rivalry Continues

Jamaica vs. the United States have long had a rivalry in the sprinting events at the Olympics. Prior to the 2020 Games, an Jamaican or an American had won the men's 100m sprint in five straight editions of the Games.

Now, instead of the rivalry being Justin Gatlin vs. Usain Bolt, it's Thompson vs. Lyles.

At the 2023 World Championships, Lyles won the gold medal with a time of 9.83. At that point in time, Lyles seemed like a shoo in to win the Olympic gold this year, but Thompson has gained significant ground on him since. The Jamaican opted to not compete at the World Championships, citing the need for a reduced schedule to heal from injuries in order to prepare for this year's Olympics.

Just last month at the Jamaican Olympic trials, Thompson ran a time of 9.82 in the opening round and then ran a blistering 9.77 in the final to win the Jamaican national title. Both those times The latter was 0.04 seconds faster than Lyles' personal best, which was a 9.81 in London last month.

The only other true contender for the Gold medal is another Jamaican, Oblique Seville. He set a new personal best with a time of 9.82 in June at the Racers Grand Prix, beating Lyles who finished second.

It's going to be fascinating to see how these sprinters look in the heats, leading up to the final on Sunday, August 4.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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