by Darren Moore
The men’s 100m is a blue riband event of the Olympic Games and is always a hugely popular betting market. The 2020 Olympic Games will see a new name emerge as the sprinting champion following the retirement of three-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt in 2016.
When is it?
The men’s 100m prelims will be on Saturday, July 31 during the morning session, round 1 will be later in the day, with the semifinals and final both in the evening session of Sunday, August 1.
With the reigning world champion, Christian Coleman, banned for two years for missing three drug tests in a 12-month period, the sportsbooks odds-on favorite at -115 is the 25-year-old American Trayvon Bromell.
Olympic 100m Betting Odds
Trayvon Bromell featured in the Olympic final in 2016, but in what was an injury ravaged season he finished last in the field behind Usain Bolt in a time of 10.06.
He will expect to be in contention for the gold medal on this occasion, having run the fastest time in the world this year at 9.77 in June, won the US National Trials in 9.84 and coming to Tokyo having been undefeated this season.
It’s easy to see why Bromell leads the 100 metres betting market at odds of -115 to be crowned the new Olympic champion.
- Trayvon Bromell -115
- Ronnie Baker +400
- Andre De Grasse +550
- Fred Kerley +1500
- Akani Simbine +850
- Zharnel Hughes +3500
- Reece Prescod +4500
- Su Bingtian +4500
- Marcell Jacobs +5000
- Yohan Blake +4000
- Jimmy Vicaut +8000
- Tlotliso Leotlela +8000
- Divine Oduduru +8000
- Ryota Yamagata +10000
Baker the Danger
According to the most popular sportsbook in the USA, the leading challenger to Bromell is set to be fellow American Ronnie Baker (+400).
Baker finished second to Bromell in the US National Trials in 9.85, but lacks experience in big sporting events, having never been to a world championships or Olympics previously. He has been in fine form this season though, including notable wins in Stockholm and Monaco.
Other Runners
Akani Simbine
The leading contender from outside the USA based on the odds at Bovada is the South African Akani Simbine at +850. Simbine, who finished fifth in Rio five years ago, ran the second fastest time in the world this year when recording 9.84 in Hungary in early July (breaking the African record in the process) and recently ran the anchor leg in a 4 x 100m race in a staggering 9.08.
Fred Kerley
The third American athlete in the 100m is Fred Kerley (+1500), a former silver medalist in the 400m at the world championships who has opted to focus on the shorter sprints. Kerley finished third in the US National Trials in a time of 9.86 which, like Baker, was a personal best.
Andre de Graase
Canada’s Andre de Graase (+550) won bronze in the 100m at Rio in 2016, where he also took silver in the 200m and another bronze in the 4 x 100m. He was also a bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships in Doha. (Single event sportsbetting is now legal in Canada).
However, this year he has a season’s best of just 9.99. That previous experience could be significant, but current form doesn’t suggest that De Graase will be taking home a medal on this occasion.
Zharnel Hughes
The leading challenger from Great Britain is Zharnel Hughes (+3500), but he’s not gone below 10 seconds this year and looks to have his sights more focused on the 200m.
Yohan Blake
Yohan Blake (+4000) is the second fastest man in history in both the 100m and 200m, with a personal best of 9.69 in the 100m. There’s little to suggest that he can come close to replicating that sort of time now though and a place in the final might be the best that the 31-year-old Jamaican can achieve on this occasion.
Tlotliso Leotlela
If looking for an outsider at big betting odds, then South Africa’s Tlotliso Leotlela could be the pick at +8000. Leotlela was a competitor in the 200m at Rio 2016 at the age of 17, although he didn’t progress to the latter heats. He ran 9.94 in the South African 100m finals this year.
Olympics Betting Pick:
2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Men’s 100m – Ronnie Baker @ +400
* Olympic 100m betting odds correct at the time of publication. All Olympic odds are subject to changes.
Darren lives & breathes sports betting and is always sniffing out his next value bet. His favourite sports to bet on are the NFL, horse racing and UFC but he will bet on anything if he thinks the odds are favourable.
