Sports
EXPECT dramatic storylines, thrilling competition, fierce rivalries and even world-record performances when the athletics takes place at Paris 2024.
The world’s greatest athletes will attempt to run, jump and throw themselves into the history books at Stade de France on 1-11 August in the French capital.
With the opening ceremony a matter of days away, here are 10 things to watch out for.
Can anyone deny Lyles?
Can anyone deny Noah Lyles in his bid for an unprecedented four track golds?
The American, winner of Olympic bronze three years ago, claimed 100m, 200m and 4x100m gold at last year’s World Championships and wants to add the 4x400m relay to his targets in Paris.
Great Britain’s world bronze medallist Zharnel Hughes will hope to be among his rivals, while team-mate Louie Hinchliffe, coached by American great Carl Lewis, could provide one of the stories of the Games as the British 100m champion, 22, makes his Olympic debut following a breakout year.
Jamaicans Kishane Thompson – the fastest man this year with a 100m best of 9.77 seconds – and Oblique Seville have shown good form in 2024, while Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala has gone faster than Lyles over 100m and Italy’s Marcell Lamont Jacobs will be determined to defend his crown.
Key dates: Men’s 100m final – 4 August; men’s 200m final – 8 August; men’s 4x100m relay final – 9 August; men’s 4x400m relay final – 10 August
Fraser-Pryce’s Olympic farewell
Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce contests her final Olympics and aims to end her illustrious career by making the 100m podium at a fifth successive Games.
The 37-year-old five-time world 100m champion is the third-fastest woman in history, but faces stern competition from the likes of reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson and world 200m champion Shericka Jackson.
However, fellow Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah will not defend her 100m and 200m titles because of injury.
British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita contest both sprint events in pursuit of first individual Olympic medals, before targeting the 4x100m relay podium for a third consecutive Games.
Key dates: Women’s 100m final – 3 August; women’s 200m final – 6 August; women’s 4x100m relay final – 9 August
Kerr & Ingebrigtsen renew rivalry
In one of the most eagerly anticipated showdowns of the Games, Britain’s world champion Josh Kerr and Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen renew their fierce rivalry in the men’s 1500m.
The pair have exchanged words since Kerr, Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo, beat the Norwegian in the world final last year, but Ingebrigtsen said the rivalry is ultimately “good for the sport” before their most recent meeting in May.
Kerr again got the better of Ingebrigtsen in the mile at the Diamond League in Eugene, breaking Steve Cram’s 39-year-old British record in the process.
That came after Kerr won world indoor 3,000m gold in Glasgow, however Ingebrigtsen has claimed European gold and broken the European record this season.
Key dates: Men’s 1500m semi-finals – 4 August; men’s 1500m final – 6 August
Hodgkinson looks to end wait for gold
Keely Hodgkinson has already suffered three near-misses in her pursuit of a first global 800m title at the age of 22 – and is determined to end that wait in Paris.
In the absence of Olympic champion Athing Mu, who fell during the US trials, world champion Mary Moraa represents Hodgkinson’s main obstacle to gold.
However, the Briton beat Moraa convincingly in Eugene two months ago and, after defending her European title despite illness in June, improved her world-leading time in 2024 to one minute 54.61 seconds in a stunning London performance on 20 July.
Teenager Phoebe Gill, GB’s youngest track athlete for 40 years, could emulate Hodgkinson by winning a medal on her Olympic debut, while Jemma Reekie – the second-fastest woman this year – missed out on the Tokyo podium by just 0.09secs.
Key dates: Women’s 800m semi-finals – 4 August; women’s 800m final – 5 August
Another world record for Duplantis?
In the era of Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis, gold in the men’s pole vault appears a formality.
The focus is instead on the world record – and when, not if, the Swedish star will next break it.
The 24-year-old, who has already won everything on Olympic, world and European stages, improved that mark for the eighth time in April by clearing 6.24m.
In the women’s event, Britain’s Molly Caudery eyes gold on her Olympic debut after winning world indoor gold in March, and her British record of 4.92m is unmatched this year, but has joint world champions Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon for competition.
Key dates: men’s pole vault final – 5 August; women’s pole vault final – 7 August
Johnson-Thompson up against Thiam & Hall
Katarina Johnson-Thompson declared her second heptathlon world title win in Budapest last summer as “the best day of my life”, after completing a remarkable turnaround in her career.
Following her 2019 triumph the Briton, 31, overcame a career-threatening Achilles rupture before suffering injury heartbreak at the Tokyo Olympics – and now seeks redemption in the form of a first Olympic medal in Paris.
Two-time reigning Olympic champion Nafi Thiam, 29, missed last year’s Worlds with injury but demonstrated a return to her best to take a dominant gold at the European Championships, where Johnson-Thompson withdrew with a minor injury.
World silver medallist Anna Hall, 23, has also overcome injuries and seeks to emulate mentor Jackie Joyner-Kersee by winning gold for Team USA.
Key dates: Heptathlon 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m – 8 August; heptathlon long jump, javelin, 800m – 9 August
McLaughlin-Levrone & Bol’s epic showdown
There is potential for a world-record showdown when Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol go head-to-head in the 400m hurdles.
American McLaughlin-Levrone and Dutch athlete Bol have together run 17 of the 20 fastest times in history.
Defending champion and world record holder McLaughlin-Levrone is favourite after improving her best time to 50.65secs in June – but Bol set an indoor 400m world record this year and a new European record of 50.95 in July.
The men’s event also promises rapid times should Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm, American Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison dos Santos – the three men to run under 47 seconds in 2024 – all make the final.
Key dates: Women’s 400m hurdles final – 8 August; men’s 400m hurdles final – 9 August
Kipyegon aims for three in a row
Faith Kipyegon has won six of the seven global track finals she has contested since winning her first Olympic 1500m gold in 2016, the only exception being world silver in 2019.
That includes defending her Olympic title in 2021 and achieving double world gold over 1500m and 5,000m last year – a feat the 30-year-old mother aims to replicate in Paris.
With Kipyegon improving her 1500m world record in July, Tokyo silver medallist Laura Muir and British champion Georgia Bell will need to beat Ethiopia’s 5,000m record holder Gudaf Tsegay and in-form Australian Jessica Hull to make the podium.
Tsegay, like Kipyegon, is also entered in the 5,000m but has the 10,000m on her radar too. Not to be outdone, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan could attempt adding the marathon to that treble bid after winning 5,000m and 10,000m golds and 1500m bronze in Tokyo.
Rudisha’s 800m record under threat
Might David Rudisha’s men’s 800m world record finally be beaten after 12 years?
The Kenyan’s gold medal-winning time of one minute 40.91 seconds has stood since London 2012, but in 2024 one man in particular has been in hot pursuit.
Algerian 25-year-old Djamel Sedjati moved to third in the all-time list by clocking 1:41.56 at the Paris Diamond League in early July, and after improving to 1:41.46 in Monaco five days later, stated he will aim for Rudisha’s mark.
World bronze medallist Ben Pattison, 22, ran the second-fastest time ever by a British athlete – behind only Sebastian Coe – in 1:42.27 for fifth place in Monaco, beating world champion Marco Arop in the process, and is joined by former world 1500m champion Jake Wightman.
Key dates: Men’s 800m semi-finals – 9 August; men’s 800m final – 10 August
Hudson-Smith’s golden mission
Matthew Hudson-Smith announced he had “big plans” for 2024 after being pipped to world 400m gold by Jamaica’s Antonio Watson, despite struggling all year with Achilles tendonitis.
The 29-year-old has made no secret of his golden ambitions, in Budapest and Paris, and improved his European record to 43.74secs in a sensational performance at the London Diamond League in July as he built towards his target.
That is the fastest time in the world this year, while British team-mate Charlie Dobson is another name to watch out for in Paris after the 24-year-old Olympic debutant became the second-fastest British athlete in history in the same race.
Hudson-Smith missed Tokyo with injury, and away from the track he has overcome severe mental health issues, enduring “three years of hell” before returning to win world bronze in 2022. “Next time, gold,” he declared after upgrading that in 2023.
