3 months ago
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- Athletics at the 2024 Paris Olympics will kick off this week with the 20 kilometre walk race on August 1
- Kenya and Ethiopia will be battling for medals in the long and middle distances later this week
- The men's and women's marathons, women's 100m, and women's 400m hurdles are some of the most anticipated track events
The 2024 Paris Olympics is underway, but athletics fans will have to be patient to see their favourite athletes.
Track and field kicks off on Thursday, August 1, with the men's and women's 20-kilometre walks.
Many world-class athletes like Eliud Kipchoge, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, and others, will be in action.
Source: UGC
Some events will be more anticipated than others at the Olympics. Legit.ng looks at some track events expected to deliver drama and entertainment.
Must-watch athletics events at the Olympics
Men's 100m
Americans and Jamaicans have dominated this event since 2000. After Usain Bolt's retirement, Italy's Marcell Jacobs was the surprise winner at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Jamaica's Kishane Thompson is the fastest man this year, with a time of 9.77 seconds.
He'll come up against world champion, Noah Lyles, Africa's finest, Ferdinand Omanyala, Letsile Tebogo, and Akani Simbine. Oblique Seville and silver medalist Fred Kerley are also in the field. Therefore, this will be a difficult race to predict.
Women's 100m
We will see a new Olympic champion in Paris after reigning champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah pulled out. Two-time champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will be looking to retire with a gold medal. World champion, Sh'Carri Richardson is the favourite to win gold.
Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith, Shericka Jackson, Ewa Swoboda, Twanisha Terry, and Julien Alfred will make things interesting.
Women's 400m hurdles
This event will be about defending champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and world champion Femke Bol. One of these athletes will surely win a gold medal.
The American set the world record on June 30, while Bol recorded the second-fastest time on July 14. These two will battle for the gold medal. However, Anna Cockrell (52.64) and Jasmine Jones (52.77) could spoil the party.
Women's marathon
Peres Jepchirchir will face an uphill battle defending the title she won in Tokyo. However, she is looking good following her world record performance at the London Marathon, per World Athletics. World record holder Tigist Assefa and New York City Marathon Champion Hellen Obiri are serious contenders for the gold medal.
2017 world champion Rose Chelimo, 2022 New York City Marathon champion Sharon Lokedi, and Megertu Alemu will also be looking to make a mark. The women's marathon will be the last athletics event at the Olympics.
Men's marathon
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge is seeking to become the first man to win the marathon at the Olympics three times in a row. He has shown signs of slowing down, and winning gold won't be easy. His compatriots, Benson Kipruto and Alexander Munyao, are a serious threat.
Ethiopia has also sent a star-studded team spearheaded by Kipchoge's arch-rival Kenenisa Bekele, who is competing at 42. Tamirat Tola and Deresa Geleta are also on Ethiopia's team.
Tokyo medalists Abdi Nageeye Bashir and Abdi of Belgium are also on the field alongside 2023 world champion Victor Kiplangat.
Honourable mentions: Men's 800m, Men's 200m, Women's 5000m
D'Tigress suffer loss to France
In another report, Legit.ng disclosed that Nigeria's Women's national basketball team D'Tigress suffered a heavy defeat in their second game at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Having caused an upset in their opening group game after defeating world No.3 Australia Opals 75-62, the Nigerian ladies were billed to be a good match for France in their second game.
The Nigerians struggled badly with the 3-point shoots and they eventually succumbed to the 7th ranked team who were playing in front of their home fans.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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