Olympic Men's 100m Odds: Kishane Thompson favourite to follow in Usain Bolt’s footsteps

Often described as the Blue Riband event of the Olympic track-and-field schedule, the men’s 100m sees the world’s fastest men battle it out over the shortest distance.

There have been 30 previous finals at the Games, with the United States taking gold on no fewer than 16 occasions.

This year could be different though, with Jamaica seeking a fourth Olympic title, following the Usain Bolt dynasty.

Olympics Men’s 100 metres odds

(Odds will display when market is available)

Kishane Thompson

Thompson has cemented his place as the favourite to take gold, after recording two sub-10 second times at the Jamaica Olympic trials back in June.

He ran 9.82 seconds in the opening round before going even faster in the final, running a new personal best of 9.77.

The 22-year-old made his debut in the Diamond League in Monaco last summer, before finishing second at a Diamond League event in China in September.

Despite developing legendary sprinters in the shape of Yohan Blake and Don Quarrie, Bolt is the only Jamaican to collect the men’s 100m Olympic gold.

Noah Lyles

America’s big hope Noah Lyles will be aiming for a 100m and 200m double in Paris, in what will be his second Olympics.

Injury impacted his attempts to qualify for the 100m in Tokyo, but he did collect a bronze over the longer distance.

Lyles won gold in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, when he clocked a time of 9.83 seconds.

That is the 27-year-old’s quickest time over the shorter distance, but it’s worth noting that Thompson didn’t compete in Hungary.

Oblique Seville

Another Jamaican sprinter with medal hopes, Seville ran 9.88 when finishing fourth in the World Championships final.

The 23-year-old beat Lyles in the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston in June, when he recorded a personal best of 9.82 seconds.

Seville finished second behind Thompson in the Jamaican trials, with a time of 9.82.

Letsile Tebogo

No African athlete has ever won the men’s 100m gold at the Olympics, but Tebogo will hope to end that long run.

The man from Botswana claimed silver at the 2023 World Championships and has a personal best of 9.88 seconds.

The former world U20 record holder is just 21 years of age and is preparing for his first Olympic Games.

Lamont Marcell Jacobs

The defending champion is looking to become only the third athlete to retain the Olympic title, after Carl Lewis (1984 / 1988) and Usain Bolt (2008 / 2012 / 2016).

The US-born Jacobs has been representing Italy since 2016 and also has two European 100m titles to his name.

Jacobs, who is now 29, has a personal best of 9.80 – run in Tokyo three years ago – and his fastest time of this year was 9.92 in Finland in June.

Fred Kerley

The experienced Kerley has an Olympic medal in his collection, having won silver behind Jacobs in Tokyo.

The American won gold at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, which was when he recorded his fastest ever time – 9.76 seconds.

Texan Kerley started his career as a 400m runner, before transitioning to 100m and 200m.

Akani Simbine

Simbrine is the oldest of the top seven in the betting, with the 30-year-old preparing for his third Olympic Games.

The South African finished fifth in Rio in 2016, before claiming fourth spot at Tokyo after a run of 9.93 seconds.

Simbine, the former African record holder, has a personal best of 9.84, but that was recorded three years ago.

All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.