Paris Olympics 2024 Athletics: Men's Track Events Preview

As the world's premier athletes converge on the iconic city of Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games, anticipation is building for what promises to be a spectacular showcase of speed, endurance, and sheer willpower in the men's track events. From the lightning-fast sprints to the grueling long-distance races, each competition is set to not only highlight individual prowess but also challenge existing world records.

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• Schedule

Men’s 100 metres: 

Noah Lyles won three world gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100 relay at last year’s World Championships in Budapest and is aiming to win four Olympic gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis were the only two athletes, who achieved the feat of winning four Olympic gold medals in the same edition, respectively in Berlin 1936 and Los Angeles 1984. 

Lyles won the US Olympic Trials Final in Eugene equalling his PB with 9.83 and improved his lifetime best by two hundredths of a second to 9.81 at the London Diamond League meeting on 20 July in front of a sold-out 60000 crowd in his final race before the Olympic Games. 

Lyles will face Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, who won the Jamaican Trials in Kingston in a world leading time of 9.77 and at the Continental Tour meeting in Szekesfehrvar in 9.91 beating Letsile Tebogo and Akani Simbine. Thompson trains at the MVP club under the guidance of Stephen Francis. 

Oblique Seville won the 100 metres in 9.82 at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston beating Lyles on 1 June and finished second to Thompson equalling his seasonal best with 9.82 at the Jamaican Trials. Ackeem Blake qualified for the Olympic Games with his third place at the Jamaican Trials in 9.92. 

Kenneth Bednarek finished second to Lyles at the US Olympic Trials in 9.87 qualifying for a major championship in the 100 metres for the first time in his career three years after winning the Olympic silver medal in the 200 metres in Tokyo 2021. 

Fred Kerley finished second to Italy’s Marcell Jacobs at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and is aiming to upgrade silver to gold in Paris. Kerley finished third at the Olympic Trials in a seasonal best of 9.88.

Jacobs will defend his Olympic title three years after his triumph in Tokyo in a European record of 9.80. The Italian sprinter won his second consecutive European gold medal in Rome in 10.02 beating his compatriot Chituru Ali in front of his home fans and claimed victory at the Continental Tour meeting in Turku in 9.92 clocking his third best performance and the fastest time since the Olympic final in Tokyo 2021. In the Turku race Ali finished second in a lifetime best of 9.96 moving to second in the Italian all-time list. For the first time two Italian sprinters broke the 10 seconds barrier in the same race. 

Simbine, two-time Olympic finalist, improved his seasonal best to 9.86 when he finished second to Lyles at the London Athletics Meet. Simbine’s compatriot Benjamin Richardson improved his PBs to 9.86 in the 100m and 19.99 in the 200m in La Chaux de Fonds.  

Tebogo is chasing another major medal in the 100 metres one year after winning the world silver medal in Budapest in a PB of 9.88. The Botswanan sprinter, two-time world under 20 champion, finished third in the London Diamond League equalling his PB. 

Ferdinand Omanyala won the Kenyan Olympic Trials in Nairobi setting the second fastest time in the world this year with 9.79 at altitude and claimed victory at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo in 10.01. 

André De Grasse won the 100 metres Olympic bronze medal in his PB of 9.89 in Tokyo. This year he won in Ostrava in 10.10 and finished third in Turku in 10.00 and Hengelo in 10.07. 

Zharnel Hughes broke Linford Christie’s British record with 9.83 in New York and won the world bronze medal in the 100 metres in Budapest in 9.88. British sprint rising star Louie Hinchliffe will make his debut at a major championship. Hinchliffe, who Is coached by Olympic sprint and long jump legend Carl Lewis, won the NCAA title in Eugene in 9.95, the British title in 10.08 in rainy conditions in Manchester and dipped again under the 10 seconds barrier with 9.97 in in London in his debut in a Diamond League meeting. The other British sprinter in the entry list is 2022 European bronze medallist Jeremiah Azu, who improved his PB to 9.97 in Leverkusen. 

Men’s 200 metres: 

Lyles will attempt to claim the first Olympic gold medal of his career in the 200 metres three years after winning the bronze medal in his first appearance at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Olympic final in the Japanese Capital is one of only two 200 metres finals that Lyles has lost since his first season as a professional in 2017. He has the chance to become the first US sprinter to win the Olympic 200 metres gold medal since 2004. 

Lyles has won 25 consecutive races over the 200 metres distance since 2021, including two world gold medals and the Diamond League in Zurich 2022. 

Lyles won two 200 metres races in 19.77 into a head-wind of -1.6 m/s at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in New York and at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in a world leading time of 19.53. Lyles won three world gold medals in the 200m in Doha 2019 in 19.83, in Eugene 2022 in a North American record of 19.31 and in Budapest 2023 in 19.52. 

Bednarek won two Diamond League 200 metres races in Doha in 19.67 and Eugene in 19.89 and finished second at the US Trials setting his PB of 19.59. The US sprinter will aim to win his second Olympic medal three years after claiming the silver medal in Tokyo in 19.68 ahead of Lyles. This is the only time that Bednarek has finished ahead of Lyles in eleven finals. 

Erriyon Knighton made his breakthrough in 2021 when he broke Usain Bolt’s world under 20 record with 19.84 at the US Olympic Trials before finishing fourth in the Olympic final in Tokyo at the age of 17. Knighton won bronze at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 in 19.80 becoming the youngest ever individual sprint medallist in the history of these championships. Knighton finished second behind Lyles at the World Championships in Budapest with 19.75. He finished third at this year’s US Olympic Trials in Eugene in 19.77 and won at the Holloway Pro Classic in 19.92. 

Tebogo broke Frankie Fredericks’ 200 metres African record  with 19.50 at the London Diamond League meeting in 2023 one month before winning silver in the 100 metres in 9.88 and bronze in the 200 metres in 19.81 at the World Championships in Budapest 2023. Tebogo set his seasonal best of 19.71 into a headwind of -1.5 m/s (the third fastest time among the entries) in Nairobi and won his second Diamond League 200 metres race of his career in Monaco in 19.87 this year. 

André De Grasse will defend the 200 metres Olympic title he won in Tokyo in a Canadian record of 19.62m. De Grasse won two Continental Tour Gold races in Ostrava in 20.09 and in Szekesfehrvar in his seasonal best of 19.98, just 0.01 off the time he ran to win in the Hungarian meeting in 2021, one month before winning the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. 

Hughes set the British 200 metres record with 19.73 at last year’s edition of the London Diamond League meeting missing Pietro Mennea’s European record by 0.01 and finished fourth in the 200 metres at the World Championships in Budapest in 20.02. 

Tarsis Orogot from Uganda broke the national record clocking 19.75 in Gainesville last May and finished third in Monaco. 

Another athlete to watch is Alexander Ogando, fifth at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 in 19.93 and winner at this year’s Diamond League meeting in Paris in 19.98. another sub-20 seconds sprinter is Bryan Levell, who won the Jamaican title in Kingston in 19.97. 

Ryan Zeze from France leads the French team following his PB of 19.90 set in La Chaux de Fonds. 

The Italian hopes are carried by Olympic 4x100 relay champions Filippo Tortu, European silver medallist in Rome, and Eseosa Desalu, who recently improved his PB to 20.08 becoming the second fastest sprinter from his country in history. 

Switzerland will field a strong team featuring Timothé Mumenthaler and William Reais, who finished first and third at the European Championships in Rome.  

Men’s 400 metres: 

Matthew Hudson Smith broke Iwan Thomas’ long-standing British record with 44.35 in 2022. The British athlete went on to win two World Championships medals (silver in Eugene 2022 and bronze in Budapest 2023). He broke Thomas Schoenlebe’s European record clocking 44.26 in the semifinal of the World Championships in Budapest. 

This year Hudson Smith improved his European record to 44.07 at the Bislett Games in Oslo and became the first European athlete to break the 44 seconds barrier when he clocked 43.74 at the London Diamond League meeting. 

Matthew Hudson Smith: “I am in very good shape. This is the first time in a long time that I am coming into a championship healthy. We have got so many 43-44 runners who are now healthy, so it’s a very competitive race and it’s going to be a very hard race, but I am definitely in the hunt for the gold”. 

Great Britain will be also represented by Charles Dobson, who improved his PB three times clocking 44.46 in Savona, 44.38 when he won the European silver medal in Rome and 44-23 at the London Diamond League meeting. 

Former 400 metres hurdler Quincy Hall won the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in 44.17 and the first Diamond League race of his career in Monaco in a PB of 43.80. 

Steven Gardiner will chase his second Olympic gold medal three years after his win in Tokyo 2021 in 43.85. Gardiner also won two world medals (silver in London 2017 and gold in Doha 2019). The Bahamian athlete won three 400 metres races in Doha in 44.76, in Ostrava in 44.39 and Szekesfehrvar in 44.50. 

Kirani James from Grenada will aim to reach his fourth Olympic podium after completing a full set of medals: gold in London 2012 in 43.94, silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016 in 43.76 and bronze in Tokyo 2021 with 44.19. James also won three medals at the World Championships (gold in Daegu 2011 in 44.60, bronze in Beijing 2015 in 43.78 and silver in Eugene 2022 in 44.48). The Grenadan athlete finished second in Oslo in 44.58, first in New York in 44.55 and fifth in London in a seasonal best of 44.38. 

Michael Norman will be aiming to win his first individual Olympic gold medal. Norman finished fifth in 44.31 in the 400 metres and won the gold medal in the 4x400 relay in 2:55.70 in Tokyo 2021 in his debut at the Olympic Games.  Norman won two gold medals in the 400 metres in 44.29 and in the 4x400 relay in 2:56.17. The US athlete finished second at the Olympic Trials in a seasonal best of 44.21.    

Christopher Morales Williams from Canada made his major breakthrough when he ran the fastest ever indoor race with 44.49 at the SEC Indoor Championships and won the NCAA indoor Championships in 44.67. During the 2024 summer season he won the NCAA outdoor title in Eugene in 44.47 and finished sixth in his first two Diamond League races in Monaco in 45.11 and London in 44.90. 

Alexander Doom from Belgium won two world indoor title in the 400 metres in 45.25 and in the 4x400 relay in 3:02.54. Doom achieved another double win by claiming two European gold medals in the 400 metres breaking Jonathan Borlée’s Belgian record with 44.15 and in the 4x400 relay with 2:59.23. the Belgian athlete won his first Diamond League race in Marrakesh in 44.51. 

Bayapo Ndori from Botswana made his breakthrough last April when he took the win at the Continental Tour Gold in Nairobi improving his PB to 44.10. 

Jereem Richards, world bronze medallist in London 2017 in the 200 metres, world indoor champion in the 400m in Belgrade and Commonwealth Games gold medallist in the 200m in Birmingham 2022, recently showed his good form when he won the 200 metres in Lucerne in 20.19 and improved his outdoor PB to 44.19 in the 400m in London. 

Men’s 110 metres hurdles: 

Grant Holloway will aim to win his first Olympic gold medal three years after finishing second to Jamaica’s Hansle Parchment in Tokyo. Holloway set the fastest time in the world this year clocking 12.86 in the final of the US Olympic Trials in Eugene after clocking 12.92 in the heats and 12.96 in the semifinal. This year he also won two Diamond League in Eugene in 13.03 and Monaco in 13.01. The US hurdler won three world gold medals in Doha 2019, Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 and two world indoor titles in Belgrade 2022 and Glasgow 2024.  

Freddie Crittenden finished second at the US Trials in 12.93 qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time in his career. Crittenden finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest. 

Daniel Roberts won the world bronze medal in Budapest in 13.09 and finished third at the US Olympic Trials in 12.96. Roberts won two consecutive Diamond League races on Chinese soil in Xiamen in 13.11 and Suzhou in 13.12. 

Lorenzo Simonelli won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow in the 60 metres hurdles behind Holloway setting the Italian indoor record with 7.43. Simonelli went on to win the European outdoor gold medal in his home city Rome setting the Italian record and the fastest time in Europe this year with 13.05 (the seventh fastest time in history in Europe) and finished second in the Monaco Diamond League meeting in 13.07, just 0.06 behind Holloway. 

Parchment won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 13.04. The 34-year-old Jamaican hurdler improved his PB to 12.93 at the Diamond League Final in Eugene and finished third at the Jamaican Trials this year with 13.19. 

Japanese hopes will be carried by Rashid Muratake and Shunsuke Izumiya. Muratake won the national title in 13.05 and clocked 13.15 in the heat race at the Paris Diamond League meeting. Izumiya holds the Japanese record with 13.04 and finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023. This year he placed third in the Diamond League meeting in Paris in 13.16. 

Sasha Zhoya will make his first appearance at the Olympic Games in front of his home fans. The young Frenchman won the European under 23 gold medal in Espoo 2023 ahead of his friend Simonelli and went on to claim his first Diamond League race in Paris in 13.15. 

The Spanish team is represented by Enrique Llopis, who won the European silver medal in Rome in 13.16 and won the national title in his PB of 13.09, and Asler Martinez, European champion in Munich 2022. 

Jason Joseph from Switzerland won the European Indoor gold medal in Istanbul in the 60 metres hurdles in 7.41 and finished third at the European Championships in Rome 2024. The Swiss hurdler set the national record with 13.08 at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich last year. 

Men’s 400 metres hurdles: 

Karsten Warholm will defend his Olympic title three years after winning the greatest 400 metres hurdles race in history in a world record of 45.94 ahead of Raj Benjamin and Alison Do Santos.

Warholm won three world titles in London in 48.35, in Doha 2019 in 47.42 and in Budapest 2023 in 46.89. This year the Norwegian star won his third consecutive European gold medal in Rome last June in 46.98 and finished second in Oslo in 46.70 and in Monaco in 46.73. 

Benjamin won the Olympic silver medal in 46.72 in Tokyo and three world medals (double silver in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022 and bronze in Budapest 2023). The US hurdler won three races this year breaking the 47 seconds barrier in Los Angeles (46.64), at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene (46.46) and Monaco (46.67).

Dos Santos won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in 46.72 and the world title in Eugene 2022 in a South American record of 46.29. The Brazilian hurdler won five Diamond League races in Doha (46.86), Oslo (46.63), Stockolm (47.01), Paris (47.78) and London (47.18). 

Warholm, Benjamin and Dos Santos hold 28 of the 30 fastest times in history. 

Malik James King won the Jamaican title improving his PB to 47.42 and finished fourth in Monaco in 47.73. 

Alessandro Sibilio won the European silver medal in Rome improving Fabrizio Mori’s Italian record by 0.04 to 47.50 last June. The Italian hurdler broke the 48 seconds barrier for the first time in his career, when he clocked 47.93 in the semifinal of the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 before finishing eighth in the final. 

Kyron McMaster from the British Virgin Islands broke the 48 seconds barrier for the first time this season with 47.81 in London. McMaster finished fourth at the Olympic Games in 47.08 and won the world silver medal in Budapest 2023 in 47.34. 

The other sub-48 seconds performers are CJ Allen and Trevor Bassit, second  and third at the US Trials in 47.81 and 47.82, Carl Bengstrom from Sweden, European bronze medallist in Rome 2024, two-time Olympic finalist Rasmus Magi from Estonia,  who finished fourth at the European Championships in Rome 2024 in 48.13 and second at the Paris Diamond League in 47.95. 

Men’s 800 metres: 

Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati is undefeated this year and has set two of the ten fastest times in history in the past month. Sedjati won at the Paris Diamond League meeting in 1:41.56 beating Emmanuel Wanyonyi by 0.02, while Frenchman Gabriel Tual improved Pierre Ambroise Bosse’s French record with 1:41.61. For the first time in history three men dipped under the 1:42 barrier and six men ran under 1:43. 

Five days later Sedjati improved his national record to 1:41.46 at the Monaco Diamond League meeting. Sedjati is third in the world all-time list behind David Rudisha and Wilson Kipketer. Mohamed Attaoui finished second improving the Spanish record to 1:42.04. Tual finished third in 1:42.10. Tual and Attaoui finished first and second at the European Championships in Rome. 

Wanyonyi won the Kenyan Trials in 1:41.70 at altitude in Nairobi. The Kenyan athlete won the world silver medal in Budapest and the Diamond League final In Eugene in 2023. 

Marco Arop won the world gold medal and finished second at the Diamond League Final in a personal best of 1:42.85. The Canadian athlete of Sudanese origin won his first four races in Xiamen in 1:43.61, in Edmonton in 1:44.58 and in the heats in 1:43.53 and in the final in 1:43.71 at the Canadian Championships, but he finished sixth in the super fast Monaco race in 1:42.93. 

Bryce Hoppel won the world indoor title in Glasgow 2024 and the US Trials Final in 1:42.77. The US athlete won ten of his eleven races this year and finished second to Sedjati at the Stockolm Diamond League in 1:44.29. 

Ben Pattison from Great Britain, world bronze medallist in Budapest 2023, improved his PB to 1:42.27 in Monaco. Jake Wightman, world champion in the 1500 metres, will run the 800 metres, the distance where he won the European bronze medal in Munich 2022. 

Elliot Crestan from Belgium and world indoor silver medallist Andreas Kramer from Sweden set national records clocking 1:42.43 in Paris and 1:43.13 in Monaco respectively. 

Catalin Tecuceanu improved Giuseppe D’Urso’s Italian indoor record with 1:45.00 at the Madrid World Indoor meeting and finished fourth at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow. During the outdoor season Tecuceanu won the European bronze medal in Rome and came very close to Marcello Fiasconaro’s Italian outdoor record with 1:43.75 at the Monaco Diamond League in Monaco. 

Men’s 1500 metres: 

Jakob Ingebrigtsen will chase his back-to back Olympic gold medal three years after his win in Tokyo. Ingebrigtsen recently won the 1500 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Monaco improving his own European record to 3:26.73. With this time the Norwegian athlete strengthened his position as the fourth fastest athlete on the all-time list. 

Ingebrigtsen also won at the Bislett Games in 3:29.74 in Oslo, his third consecutive European gold medal in 3:31.98 in Rome and the Norwegian title in his native town Sandness. 

With a win in the 1500 metres in the French capital Ingebrigtsen would become the second athlete after Sebastian Coe in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles 1984 to win two consecutive Olympic titles in the 1500 metres. 

Timothy Cheruyiot won the world gold medal in the 1500 metres and two silver medals at the World Championships in London 2017 and at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Cheruiyot finished second behind Ingebrigtsen in Oslo in 3:29.77 and Monaco in 3:28.71 (the fourth fastest time of his career). Cheruiyot set a PB of 3:28.28 in Monaco in 2021. 

Jakob Ingebrigtsen: “It’s a good fight. Some of my competitors have clearly taken a step in the right direction but not a big step, not as big of a step that maybe is needed to be the favourite in Paris, but I think anything, this is going to be an exciting summer”.   

Josh Kerr from Great Britain beat Ingebrigtsen twice in the world championships final in Budapest 2023 in 3:29.83 and in the Bowerman Mile in Eugene in 3:45.34, moving up to sixth on the world all-time list. Kerr went on to win the world indoor title in the 3000 metres in Glasgow in front of his home fans. Kerr will be joined by his compatriot Neil Gourley, who finished fifth in 3:30.80 in the Monaco Diamond League. 

Yared Nuguse finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest and won the world indoor silver medal in the 3000 metres in Glasgow 2024. Nuguse set a North American record in the 1500 metres clocking 3:29.02 in Oslo. Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler finished second and third at the US Trials clocking 3:30.59 and 3:31.53 respectively and will join Nuguse in the Olympic team in Paris. 

Kenya’s Brian Komen improved his PB by three seconds and a half to 3:28.80 in Monaco. 

Oliver Hoare from Australia showed his good form recently by winning the Emsley Carr Mile in London and could fight for a spot on the podium. 

French hopes will be carried by last year’s European Indoor bronze medallist Azeddine Habz, who won his first Diamond League race in Marrakesh and improved his PB to 3:30.80 in Oslo beating Isaac Nader by 0.04. 

The other contenders for a spot in the final are Narve Gilje Nordas from Norway, world bronze medal in Budapest 2023 and second in the Emsley Carr Mile, Pietro Arese from Italy, European bronze medallist in Rome and national record holder with 3:32.13 in Oslo, and Niels Laros from the Netherlands, European under 20 champion in the 1500 and 5000 metres in Jerusalem in 2023 and world under 20  record holder in the 1000 metres with 2:14.37 in Hengelo last July. 

Men’s 5000 metres:

Jakob Ingebrigtsen will run the 5000 metres for the first time in his career at the Olympic Games. Ingebrigtsen won two consecutive world gold medals in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 and the European Championships in Rome 2024 over this distance. 

Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda is aiming to become the third athlete in Olympic history to win back-to-back titles in the 5000 metres following in the footsteps of Lasse Viren (Munich 1972-Montreal 1976) and Mo Farah (London 2012- Rio de Janeiro 2016). Cheptegei won three world titles in the 10000m and holds world records in the 5000 and 10000 metres. 

Cheptegei will be joined in the Ugandan team by Jacob Kiplimo, who won the bronze medal in the 10000 metres and finished fifth in the 5000 metres at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021. Cheptegei and Kiplimo have drawn to 1-1 in their head-to-head clashes this year. 

Cheptegei finished third in 12:52.38 ahead of Kiplimo at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. A few weeks later  Kiplimo set a a PB of 12:40.96 to finish third in Oslo ahead of Cheptegei, who crossed the finish-line in ninth place in 12:51.94. Kiplimo and Cheptegei will double running both the 5000 and the 10000 metres. Oscar Chelimo, world bronze medallist in Eugene in the 5000 metres, will only run the shorter distance. 

The Ethiopian team is led by Hagos Gebrhiwet, who won in Oslo in 12:36.73 setting the second fastest time in history. Gebrhiwt is aiming to become the fourth Ethiopian athlete to win the 5000 metres Olympic title following in the footsteps of Miruts Yifter (Moscow 1980), Million Wolde (Sydney 2000) and Kenenisa Bekele (Beijing 2008). 

Biniam Mehary will compete in his second major championship of the season this year after reaching the 1500m final at the World Indoor Championships. Mehary improved his PB to 12:54.10 in the 5000 metres in Los Angeles and 26:37.93 in the 10000 metres in Nerja. 

The Kenyan team will be formed by Jacob Krop, double world medallist (silver in Eugene 2022 and in Budapest 2023), Kenyan Trials winner Ronald Kwemoi and Edwin Kurgat. 

The other athletes to watch are Mohamed Ahmed, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo 2021, Thierry Ndikumwenayo from Spain, European bronze medallist in the 10000m in Rome and national record holder with 7:25.93 in the 3000 metres, Dominic Lobalu, European champion in the 10000m in Rome 2024 and winner in the 3000m in London with 7:27.68, Luis Grijalva from Guatemala, fourth in the 5000m at the past two editions of the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 and national record holder with 12:50.58 in Oslo 2024, Andreas Almgren, Swedish record holder in the 5000m with 12:50.94 in Oslo and in the 10000m with 26:52.87 in San Juan Capistrano and fourth in the 5000m and in the 10000m at the European Championships in Rome 2024, and Birhanu Balew from Barhein, sixth in the 5000 metres in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Men’s 10000 metres: 

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha leads the world seasonal list with his PB of 26:31.01 set at the Ethiopian Trials in Nerja ahead of his compatriots Berihu Aregawi (26:31.13) and Selemon Barega (26:34.93). Ethiopian runners have run the six fastest times his year. 

Kejelcha won two world indoor gold medals in the 3000m in Portland 2016 and Birmingham 2018 and the world silver medal in the 10000m in Doha 2019. He finished second in a superfast 5000 metres race this year in his PB of 12:38.95 at the Bislett Games in Oslo. 

Joshua Cheptegei will run his first race since 30 May when he finished ninth in Oslo in his seasonal best of 12:51.94 in the 5000 metres. He clocked 26:53 on the road in Laredo (Spain) last March. 

The Kenyan team will be formed by Daniel Mateiko and world road 5 km bronze medallist Nicholas Kipkorir, who finished first and second at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene clocking 26:50.81 and 26:50.94 respectively. Mateiko won the Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon in 58:45. Kipkorir finished fourth in the 5000 metres at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and set a PB of 12:46.33 over this distance at the Golden Gala meeting in Rome. 

The US team will be represented by Grant Fisher and Nico Young. Fisher finished fifth at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo and fourth at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. He won the 5000m and the 10000 metres at the US Trials and finished second in the 3000m in London with 7.27.99. Young won two NCAA indoor titles in the 3000 and 5000 metres in 2024. 

Men’s 3000 metres steeplechase:  

Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali is aiming to become the first 3000 metres steeplechaser to win two consecutive Olympic gold medals since Finland’s Volmari Iso-Hollo achieved this double in 1928 and 1932. 

El Bakkali won two world gold medals in a row in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023. His season has been plagued by injury and he has competed only once this season at the Marrakesh Diamond League meeting, where he won the 3000 metres steeplechase in 8:09.40 in front of his home fans. 

El Bakkali will go head-to-head against world record holder Lamecha Girma, who will chase his first global gold medal. Girma has a fond memory of Paris, as he broke the world record with 7.52.11 in the Diamond League meeting in the Charlety Stadium in the French capital last year. The Ethiopian athlete won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and finished second in the past three editions of the World Championships in Doha 2019, Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023. Girma set the fastest time in the world this year with 8:01.63 at the Diamond League meeting in Stockolm. 

Girma will be joined by his compatriots Samuel Firewu and Getnet Wale. Firewu won the gold medal at African Games and won the first Diamond League race in Doha in 8:07.25. He went on to finish fourth in Marrakesh in 8:11.73 and second in Stockolm with his PB of 8:05.78. 

Wale is aiming to win his first global medal after finishing fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022. 

The hopes of the Kenyan team will be carried by Amos Serem, world under 20 champion in Nairobi 2021 and African Games silver medallist in 2024, Abraham Kibiwot, world bronze medallist in Budapest 2023 and third at the Diamond League meeting in Paris this year, and Simon Kiprop Koech, second at the Kenyan Trials this year and winner at the Diamond League meetings in Monaco and Eugene in 2023. 

A potential final candidate is 22-year-old Japanese specialist Ryuji Miura, who finished seventh at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and sixth at the World Championships in Budapest. Miura broke the Japanese record with 8:09.91 in the Paris Diamond League in 2023. 

Geordie Beamish from New Zealand will make his debut at the Olympic Games at the age of 27. Beamish started the season with a world indoor gold medal in the 1500 metres in Glasgow last March. He finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest and improved his Oceanian record to 8:09.64 at the Paris Diamond League meeting this year. 

The other athletes to watch are Mohamed Amin Jhinaoui, who finished eighth in Marrakesh in 8:13.86, third in Stockolm in 8:10.41 and fourth in a national record of 8:09.41 in Paris, and India’s Avinash Sable, Asian Games champion and national record holder with 8:09.91 in Paris.

Men’s 4x100 relay: 

The USA has not won a gold medal in the men’s 4x100 relay at the Olympic Games since 2000 and collected just a silver medal in Athens 2004. The US team formed by Courtney Lindsey, Kenny Bednarek, Kyree King and Noah Lyles won the 4x100 relay at the World Athletics Relays with the fastest time in the world this year of 37.40 in Nassau. These four sprinters all qualified either individually or for the relay. 

Italy won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 in a national record of 37.50 with a quartet formed by Lorenzo Patta, Marcell Jacobs, Eseosa Desalu and Filippo Tortu. The Italian team initially finished third at World Relays but they were later disqualified for a changeover that occurred outside of the zone, but the team formed by Matteo Melluzzo, Marcell Jacobs, Lorenzo Patta and Filippo Tortu bounced back at last June’s European Championships in Rome, when they won their first gold medal in the history of this event setting the third fastest time in the world this year with 37.82. 

Canada won the world gold medal in Eugene in 2022 in 37.48. The Canadian quartet formed by Brendon Rodney, André De Grasse, Aaron Brown and Jerome Blake set the fourth fastest time in the world this year with 37.89. 

Jamaica finished third at last year’s edition of the World Championships in Budapest and seventh at the World Relays in Nassau. The Jamaican team features Kishane Thompson, the fastest sprinter in the world this year with 9.77, Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake, who finished second and third at the National Trials with 9.82 and 9.92. 

Japan won at the Diamond League meeting in London setting the fifth fastest time in the world this year with 38.07. The other teams who have a good chance to qualify for the final are South Africa, who clocked 38.08 at the World Relays, France (seasonal best 38:32 at the World Relays in Nassau) and Great Britain (third at the Diamond League meeting in London with 38.32). 

Men’s 4x400 relay: 

The US team will start as the favourites to win their 19th gold medal in the history of the Olympic Games. They were defeated only by the Bahamas in London 2012. 

The US team pool features Quincy Hall, winner at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene in 44.17 and improved his PB to 43.80 at the Diamond League in Monaco, Vernon Norwood, who improved his PB to 44.10 at the London Diamond League meeting and gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 and at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, 16-year-old rising star Quincy Wilson, who finished  sixth at the US Trials in Eugene and recently broke the world under 18 record with 44.20 in Gainesville, and Michael Norman, world champion in Eugene 2022 and Olympic gold medallist in Tokyo 2021. 

The Botswanan team formed by Busang Collen Kebinatshipi, Letsile Tebogo, Leungo Scotch and Bayapo Ndori won at the World Relays in Nassau in 2:59.11. Botswana ran faster only twice in the past two editions of the Olympic Games. The African team won the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo in 2:57.27. 

South Africa finished second to Botswana at the World Relays in Nassau in 3:00.75 after clocking 2:59.76 in the first round. The South African team features 2022 world under 20 champion Lythe Pillay, who won the South African title in 44.31, and Wayde Van Niekerk, who won the Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro 2016 in a world record of 43.03. 

Individual world indoor and European outdoor champion Alexander Doom anchored the Belgian team to the world indoor gold medal in Glasgow 2024 ahead of the United States and at the European Championships in Rome. Belgium is aiming to win their first Olympic medal after finishing fourth in Beijing 2008, Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021. 

Matthew Hudson Smith will lead a strong British team, who won the world bronze medal in Budapest. Hudson Smith improved his European record in the 400 metres to 43.74 in the London Diamond League meeting. The British team will also feature Charles Dobson, who finished third at the European Championships in Rome in 44.38 and improved his PB to 44.23 in London. 

The Netherlands won the Olympic silver medal setting a national record of 2:57.18 and the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow last March. 

Italy finished seventh in the Olympic final in Tokyo with a national record of 2:58.81. The Italian team formed by Luca Sito, Vladimir Aceti, Riccardo Meli and Edoardo Scotti won the European silver medal in Rome in 3:00.81. 

France won their only medal at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 by finishing second with a national record of 2:58.45.

Men’s decathlon: 

Germany’s Leo Neugebauer made a major breakthrough last year when he won the NCAA outdoor title in Austin improving Jurgen Hingsen’s German record with 8836 points. He went on to finish fifth at the World Championships in Budapest. The German athlete continued his great of form during the 2024 season, when he won the NCAA indoor title in the heptathlon with a German record of 6347 points and the NCAA outdoor title in Eugene with a German record and a world leading mark of 8961 points, moving to sixth in the world all-time list. Neugebauer set individual PBs of 8.00m in the long jump, 17.46m in the shot put, 58.70m in the discus throw, 47.08 in the 400 metres and 5.30m in the pole vault. 

Defending champion Damian Warner won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 setting the Canadian record of 9018 points. Warner was forced to withdraw from the World Championships in Eugene 2022 due to an injury. He made his come-back last year, when he won the world silver medal in Budapest. Warner won a record eighth title in Goetzis with 8678 points. 

Warner’s compatriot Pierce LePage was forced to withdraw from the Olympic Games due to a herniated disc in his back.

Lindon Victor from Grenada will aim to reach the podium at another global championship following his bronze medal in Budapest with a national record of 8756 points. 

Johannes Erm won the European title in Rome improving his PB by almost 300 points to score 8764. The strong Estonian team will be also represented by Karel Tilga, who won the Multistars in Desenzano del Garda and finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest, and 2022 European bronze medallist Janek Oiglane. 

Owen Ayden Delerme from Puerto Rico finished fourth at the World Championships in Eugene and moved to third on the world all-time list when he finished second at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships with 6518 points. Last April

Delerme improved his decathlon PB to 8732 points. He set a PB of 48.26 in the 400 metres hurdles last year. 

Norway’s Sander Skotheim scored 8590 points in Goetzis and won the European silver medal in Rome with a national record of 8635 points. His compatriot Markus Rooth won the European under 23 title in Espoo 2023 with 8608 points beating Skotheim. 

Nicklas Kaul placed fourth at the European Championships with 8547 points with a strong second day, especially in the javelin throw and in the 1500m. 

Heath Baldwin won the US Trials title with 8625 points in Eugene 2022. Baldwin will be joined in the US team by Zach Ziemek and Harrison Williams. 

Alshley Moloney from Australia won the Olympic bronze medal at the age of 21 and finished fourth at the Hypo Meeting in Goetzis with 8367 points. 

The other top contenders are Makenson Gletty from France, European bronze medallist in Rome with 8608 points, and Sven Roosen from the Netherlands, European under 23 bronze medallist and second in Goetzis with 8517 points.