While the first swimming events will wrap in the next few days, track and field events will begin dominating the sportsbooks throughout the next week. Thursday night will see the first major track and field events available for betting. Bettors won’t have the same wager variety that the other mainstream sports have enjoyed. But as Stephen Colbert is fond of pointing out, you don’t need a judge to tell you who won the track and field events. They’re accessible, easy to understand, and they’re some of the most exciting and spellbinding events to watch.
The Limited Wagers Available On Olympic Track And Field Events
Whether it’s the pole jump or the marathon, bettors will find few types of wagers on track and field events. The only wagers are two types of futures. The first is futures wagers on who’ll win the gold. The second is futures on who will win any medal. That gives bettors few betting options, but track and field have events almost every starting tonight.
Tonight, bettors will be able to wager on the:
- Men’s High Jump
- Men’s 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
- Men’s Discus
- Men’s 400-Meter Hurdles
- Men’s 10,000-Meter Dash
- Women’s 800-Meter Dash
- Women’s 100-Meter Dash
- Women’s 5,000-Meter Dash
- Women’s Triple Jump
- Women’s Shot Put
- Women’s Pole Vault
These track and field events will make up the big opening night of track and field betting. Some of them run late in the afternoon and early in the evening. So, some of them will be early enough for live betting. However, the rest are in the early hours of Friday morning when lucky and reasonable people will still be asleep. But the many track and field events make up for the limited wager selection.
How Futures Bets Work On Track And Field
Bettors will be either picking the gold medal winner or one of the medal winners. That narrows down the strategies bettors can use in track and field betting. They’ll have to know the athletes’ stats well, and they’ll have to know how their choices perform under pressure. Performance and consistency are the two most important variables bettors should understand before placing an informed wager on a track and fielder.
Once bettors have their picks, they can select the athletes they’d like to wager on. The upside of the risk involved in a futures bet is the higher odds that bettors get as a result. So, bettors who know their athletes well could be well rewarded.
Featured Track And Field Picks
Not every track and field event has an exciting storyline or challenging bets. But there are a few standout picks that bettors should know about before diving in.
First, the 10,000-meter final will come down to two athletes: Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo. The former set a new world record in this event and the latter beat him in the world half-marathon championships. Even though Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha is favored to win this event, Chaptegei and Kiplimo have a good chance at taking the gold. Of course, all three athletes have the best chances of medaling, so bettors should eye these three.
In women’s track and field, the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan is someone bettors will have to watch over a few days. She’s favored to win the women’s 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, and 10,000 meters. She’ll compete in the 5,000 meters in the early hours of Friday morning. So, bettors can place their wagers on her or one of her competitors. However, she’s a favorite to win it all, and if she doesn’t win gold, she’ll certainly medal.
But for bettors looking for a particularly safe bet, China’s Gong Lijiao is a good track and fielder to bet on. Her shot put throw is just shy of 20.4 meters, giving her a standout chance at winning the gold. She’s already won a silver and bronze medal. Bettors who think she can win the gold should consider choosing her to win it all this year.
Summary Of Track And Field Betting
There are many events to choose to bet on in track and field. But there are only one or two bet types to go with those events. Bettors will have their choice of futures on the gold medal winner or one of the medal winners. Some events are tossups, but others, like the women’s shot put, have a clear favorite. Regardless of the limited types of wagers, there should still be plenty of interesting betting for a sport that’s particularly ripe for upsets this year.
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