The 2024 Paris Olympics officially begin with the Opening Ceremony in Paris on Friday, and the United States is presenting a plethora of star athletes with the hope of once again finishing with the largest amount of medals. Competitors such as gymnasts Simone Biles and Suni Lee, swimmers Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel, and sprinter/hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be attempting to add to their personal totals, while LeBron James and Kevin Durant look to again win gold with the men’s basketball team. Meanwhile, soccer forward Sophia Smith, tennis player Coco Gauff and sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson are vying to stand on the Olympic podium for the first time. The first medals will be handed out on Saturday.
The Americans are -2000 favorites (risk $2,000 to win $100) to win the most medals and -550 to bring home the most golds in the latest 2024 Olympics odds. China is +1300 for the most overall medals and +350 for most golds, while Great Britain is tied for third with Japan for most total medals at +6000 and third for most golds at +4200. Before locking in any 2024 Summer Olympics medal futures or predictions, you need to see what SportsLine Olympic insider Dan O’Brien has to say.
O’Brien is a highly decorated decathlete who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, becoming the first American to accomplish the feat since Bruce Jenner 20 years earlier. O’Brien also is a five-time U.S. champion and three-time world champion in the event, and he held the decathlon world record from 1992-99 and the heptathlon world record from 1993-2010. As a result of his achievements, O’Brien is a member of the USATF, USOC and IAAF Halls of Fame.
Now, O’Brien has broken down the 2024 Olympics from every possible angle and revealed which countries you should back on the medal table and which ones you should completely avoid. You can visit SportsLine now to see his 2024 Summer Olympics medal picks.
O’Brien is predicting that the United States once again will capture the most medals at the 2024 Olympics. Since boycotting the 1980 Games in Moscow, Team USA has hit triple digits in medals eight of the last 10 Summer Olympics. It has captured the most gold medals in six of the last seven Summer Games after winning 39 in Tokyo — one more than China. Of their 113 overall medals in the 2020 Olympics, the Americans amassed 30 in swimming and 26 in track & field.
There’s a good chance the U.S. will clean up in those sports again this time around, as a number of its top competitors in those sports are back to add to their personal totals. In the pool, Ledecky (seven gold, 10 overall) and Dressel (seven overall — all gold) look to continue their domination. The 27-year-old Dressel became just the fifth swimmer in history to win five gold medals at a single Olympic Games when he accomplished the feat in Tokyo. Lee and Biles, the last two gold medalists in the women’s all-around gymnastics event, will be in action, as will sprinter/hurdler McLaughlin-Levrone, who won a pair of golds in the 2020 Games. See more predictions from O’Brien at SportsLine.
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