The 2024 Olympic Games are fast approaching, as Paris hosts the quadrennial competition for the first time in 100 years.
There is nothing quite like the Olympics, when thousands of athletes are brought together with one aim; win a gold medal and stand atop the podium with their national anthem ringing out.
That said, Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic games, is known to have said that ‘[…] the important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win, but to take part; the important thing in life is not triumph, but the struggle; the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.’
Hopefully, this motive alone should encourage plenty of athletes to embrace the Olympic spirit this summer.
The Men’s 100m is one of the most coveted events at the summer games. Will there be a new champion in 2024?
Noah Lyles won both the 100m and 200m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last year, establishing himself as the man to beat in Paris.
Despite having won six gold medals at the World Championships, including the previous three 200m events, the American has just one Olympic medal to his name – a bronze from the Tokyo games three years ago.
With regards to Olympics odds, Lyles is currently the second favourite to win the 100m title in just a few weeks, currently standing at 15/8.
Defending champion Lamon Marcell Jacobs is way down the betting field at 13/1 in terms of Olympic Games 2024 odds, indicating that he won’t be a factor this year.
Will it be Lyle’s time to shine? Or will the pressure be too great? Only time will tell.
The 26-year-old is swiftly emerging as the poster boy for athletics, something which has been required ever since Usain Bolt retired back in 2017.
Lyles stormed to a stunning success in Budapest last year, registering a personal best of 9.83 seconds as he claimed his first ever 100m title at the World Championships, laying down a marker ahead of Paris in the process.
He had to settle for silver at the World Indoor Championships in the 60m earlier this year in Glasgow but it didn’t take long to get over this disappointment.
At the US Olympic trials in June, Lyles equalled his personal best set in Budapest, storming to another run of 9.83 seconds, despite slowing down slightly toward the finishing line.
The 200m specialist is certainly turning heads in the shorter distance, and heads to Paris with just one goal in mind – winning the most coveted of Olympic events for the first time.
Not since Justin Gatlin at the 2004 games has an American won the Men’s 100m gold medal at the Olympics, a record which Lyles will be hoping to put straight this year.
If he does, superstardom awaits the sprinter.
Top New Bookmakers
Top Offers
Top Rated Bookmakers
Best Football Bookies
