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The world's fastest man, winner of 8 Olympic gold medals and world record holder in both 100 and 200m, Usain Bolt has retired from the sport, leaving this year’s events wide open and up for grabs. Having dominated the sport since his debut in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Jamaican born sprinter had a target on his back.
Having set the world record in the men´s 100m sprint with the astonishing time of 9.69, Bolt was in a league of his own for the years to come. Experts say that he could have run the event even faster if it hadn’t been for him showboating and beating his chest after about 70 meters into the race. He ended up beating Richard Thompson with two-tenths of a second, with Walter Dix finishing third just two hundred of a second behind Thompson.
If winning the 100m event with a world-record wasn’t enough, Bolt also managed to squeeze out a world-record in the 200m sprint with a time of 19.30s and thus beating the Michael Johnsons previous world record of 19.32s, a record that had stood for 22 years, since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Challengers for gold medals at 100m sprints
We have some interesting names show up when we dig deeper into who exactly is in for a chance to clinch this year’s gold medal, after the gap left by Bolt's retirement. He undoubtedly dominated the 100 and 200m sprints since 2008 but with him gone, there are some great opportunities for both new and old sprinters, to make their mark and clinch one of the most sought-after gold medals in the Summer Olympics.
A surprising name on this list of contenders for the 100m sprint in Tokyo is the 2004 Olympic winner and 2016 runner up, Justin Gatlin from USA. Despite 37 years old, he is still ranked as one of the major contenders for the gold medal, this having been away from the sport for 4 years due to a doping scandal in 2006. He isn’t, however, the top contender as he is currently playing at around 8 times the money. Picking the right one to win here will be like picking NBA long shots.
One of the main contenders as bookies see it, but as we all know, anything can happen on the day of the event, is Noah Lyles from USA. This 22-year old sprinter has a very promising chance to bring home both gold medals, having some really impressive personal bests of 9.86 on 100m and 19.50 on 200m. At the time this piece was written, Lyles was played at 3 times the money, only having one other sprinter ahead of him.
The main favorite according to most bookies, to win both 100 and 200m is the American sprinter Christian Coleman, 23 years old. This American managed to beat Bolt in his final race at the 2017 IAAF World Championships, one of very few that have succeeded in beating the lightning-fast Jamaican.
Having managed to win the World Athletic Championship in 2019, with an astonishing time of 9.76 he is now the sixth-fastest man in the world, and the current fastest active runner making him most bookies top pick for both the sprints.
Other contenders for the crown include the Canadian and 24-year old Andre De Grasse having scored some impressive runs during 2019, finishing behind Coleman and Lyles.
Rounding up the field we have the fifth and final favorite for the gold medal, the British runner Zharnel Hughes. With a personal best of 9.91 over 100m, he is over two-tenths of a second slower than the favorite Coleman, but as we all know, anything can happen when it matters the most so we shouldn’t count him out just because of the current slower time. He is still worth keeping an eye on as things develop and we get closer to the kick-off of the Tokyo Olympics.
Having set the world record in the men´s 100m sprint with the astonishing time of 9.69, Bolt was in a league of his own for the years to come. Experts say that he could have run the event even faster if it hadn’t been for him showboating and beating his chest after about 70 meters into the race. He ended up beating Richard Thompson with two-tenths of a second, with Walter Dix finishing third just two hundred of a second behind Thompson.
If winning the 100m event with a world-record wasn’t enough, Bolt also managed to squeeze out a world-record in the 200m sprint with a time of 19.30s and thus beating the Michael Johnsons previous world record of 19.32s, a record that had stood for 22 years, since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Challengers for gold medals at 100m sprints
We have some interesting names show up when we dig deeper into who exactly is in for a chance to clinch this year’s gold medal, after the gap left by Bolt's retirement. He undoubtedly dominated the 100 and 200m sprints since 2008 but with him gone, there are some great opportunities for both new and old sprinters, to make their mark and clinch one of the most sought-after gold medals in the Summer Olympics.
A surprising name on this list of contenders for the 100m sprint in Tokyo is the 2004 Olympic winner and 2016 runner up, Justin Gatlin from USA. Despite 37 years old, he is still ranked as one of the major contenders for the gold medal, this having been away from the sport for 4 years due to a doping scandal in 2006. He isn’t, however, the top contender as he is currently playing at around 8 times the money. Picking the right one to win here will be like picking NBA long shots.
One of the main contenders as bookies see it, but as we all know, anything can happen on the day of the event, is Noah Lyles from USA. This 22-year old sprinter has a very promising chance to bring home both gold medals, having some really impressive personal bests of 9.86 on 100m and 19.50 on 200m. At the time this piece was written, Lyles was played at 3 times the money, only having one other sprinter ahead of him.
The main favorite according to most bookies, to win both 100 and 200m is the American sprinter Christian Coleman, 23 years old. This American managed to beat Bolt in his final race at the 2017 IAAF World Championships, one of very few that have succeeded in beating the lightning-fast Jamaican.
Having managed to win the World Athletic Championship in 2019, with an astonishing time of 9.76 he is now the sixth-fastest man in the world, and the current fastest active runner making him most bookies top pick for both the sprints.
Other contenders for the crown include the Canadian and 24-year old Andre De Grasse having scored some impressive runs during 2019, finishing behind Coleman and Lyles.
Rounding up the field we have the fifth and final favorite for the gold medal, the British runner Zharnel Hughes. With a personal best of 9.91 over 100m, he is over two-tenths of a second slower than the favorite Coleman, but as we all know, anything can happen when it matters the most so we shouldn’t count him out just because of the current slower time. He is still worth keeping an eye on as things develop and we get closer to the kick-off of the Tokyo Olympics.