Athletics is the “Queen of all Sports”. It’s the most popular and among the basic sports of the Olympic games. It became part of the Olympic games back in 1896. It’s the ultimate test of one’s physical capabilities. There are 24 disciplines in the men’s category and 23 in the women’s. Athletics is the sport which provides the most medals, that’s 141 in total, 47 of each. Sprinting, running, jumping, combination of these, with hurdles, without hurdles, javelin throw and many, many more.
All competitions that fall under the category of Athletics will take place between the 12th and the 21st of August. They will be held at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The only exceptions are the two marathons which will be held on the streets of Rio.
The full list of athletics disciplines is as follows:
Races
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100 meters
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200 meters
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400 meters
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800 meters
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1500 meters
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5000 meters
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100 meter hurdles (women’s category) and 110 meters (men’s category)
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400 meter steeplechase
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Relay (4×100 meters)
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Relay (4×400 meters)
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10,000 meters
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Marathon
March
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20 km (women’s category) and 50km (men’s category)
Throwing
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Shot Put
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Javelin Throw
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Discus Throw
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Hammer Throw
Jumping
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Long Jump
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Triple Jump
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High Jump
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Pole Vault
Combinations
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Decathlon (men’s category) and Hepthathlon (women’s category)
Medals by Country
Considering the long history of athletics as an Olympic sport and the high number of disciplines, it’s absolutely reasonable to have a lot of Olympic medals. Yet again, the USA is the absolute leader with 767 medals in total (320 gold, 251 silver and 196 bronze). The former USSR has 193 medals (64 gold, 55 silver and 70 bronze). Last among the top 3 is the UK with 114 podiums (53 gold, 79 silver and 62 bronze).
All time individual record holders are Paavo Nurmi with 12 medals (9 gold, 3 silver), Carl Lewis 10 podiums (9 gold, 1 silver) and Ray Ewry with 8 Olympic medals (8 gold, 1 silver).
The women’s category is led by the Jamaican Merlene Ottey-Page with a total of 9 medals, yet no golds so far (3 silver, 6 bronze). Veronica Campbell-Brown, also from Jamaica shares the 2nd place with the Polish Irena Szewinska with 3 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals.
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Odds and Predictions – Athletics Rio 2016
There are several reasons why you should bet on athletics. One of the main reasons why you should bet at this very moment are the generous bonuses online bookmakers have prepared for the Olympic games in Rio 2016. Furthermore, the outcome in athletics is easier to predict since it depends solely on one individual for the most part. There are online sportsbooks which have special promotions underway, such as if you place a bet on athletics you receive a raffle ticket in which you can win free bonus money.
Without further a due, let’s check out the favorites in both men’s and women’s category.
Athletics Rio 2016 – Men’s Category
The most popular discipline in the men’s category is the 100 meter dash, where Usain Bolt has been the absolute favorite. He has the potential become the crowned leader yet again. The odds may not be overwhelming, but a 1.50 can certainly bring you a considerable prize if the bet’s hefty. On top of this, Usain Bolt is 99% going to scoop another golden medal. This is by far the safest bet you can place.
If you doubt his ability, consider betting on Justin Gatlin at odds of 2.75 or Trayvon Bromell at generous 12.50.
Usain Bolt is the favorite for the 200m race as well. The race is longer, therefore more room for loss of concentration. For your information, the odds are rather similar. You better have a closer look at more online sportsbook, see if you can find the most favorable ones. Bet365 offers odds for Usain Bolt to win the 200m dash at 1.40, Justin Gatlin at 4.50 and LaShawn Merrit at staggering 9.00.
Moving on in the 1500m race, we have a totally different set of top-notch athletes like Asbel Kipror who is the favorite in this discipline. The 2nd contender for the 1st place is Ronald Kwemoi and the 3rd is Elijah Manangoi. Bet365 offers odds at 1.57, 7.00 and 8.00 respectively. It’s going to be an exciting race to watch, nevertheless. Spice it up with a bet on on some of these if you want to have the highest chances of actually winning.
Although not as exciting as the 100m dash or the 200m, we’d like to mention a word or two about the marathon. Bookmakers favor Eliud Kipchonge from Kenya at odds of 1.10, followed by Feyisa Lilesa and Stanley Kipleting at 6.75. You might also want to consider betting on Abera Tesfaye and Berhanu Lemi at odds of 7.25.
Athletics Rio 2016 – Women’s Category
In recent years, the women’s category has started to attract a lot of attention.Bookmakers are valuing the women’s disciplines at the same level as the men’s. The favorite in the women’s 100m dash race is Dafne Schippers, followed by Elaine Thompson and Torie Bowie at odds of 2.87, 3.50 and 6.00. These odds can be found at Bet365, if you look elsewhere you might notice some discrepancies.
Same goes for the 200m dash. Dafne is the favorite here as well with odds at 1.53. Elaine Thompson is right behind her back with 3.50 and Tori Bowie is the 3rd in line with 5.50.
Predicting the outcome of a marathon is tricky, that’s why the odds are significantly lower. Take for instance Betmotion’s view on the marathon. The favorite is Mare Diababa at odds of 1.70 with Helena Kirop Loshanyang behind her feet at 1.95. Jemima Sumgong can be a threat to these two at odds of 2.10.
