Paris Olympics 2024 Athletics: Men's Field Events Preview

Thursday, 01 August 2024

The track and field action at the Paris Olympics will kick off on Friday, August 2. The men's field events promise to be as thrilling as the track events, showcasing the world’s brightest athletes as they vie for medals and strive to set new records. In this preview, we'll delve into the star athletes who are poised to defend their titles, as well as the emerging talents ready to stun the world with their exceptional performances. From the high jump to the hammer throw, these competitions are set to captivate audiences and highlight the incredible prowess of male athletes on the global stage.

Men’s long jump:

Miltiadis Tentoglou could become the only second man after Carl Lewis to win back-to-back Olympic titles. Lewis won four long jump gold medals in Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996.

Tentoglou made his Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro 2016 at the age of 18 and won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo 2021 five years later.

The Greek star won the world indoor gold medal in Belgrade 2022 before finishing second behind Wang Jianan at the World Championships in Eugene and winning his second consecutive European title in Munich with 8.52m. The following season he won the European indoor gold medal in Istanbul and his first world gold medal in Budapest with 8.52m.

This season Tentoglou won the world indoor title in Glasgow with 8.22m beating Mattia Furlani on countback. Last June the Greek athlete won his third European outdoor gold in Rome improving his PB to 8.65m, the best result in the world since 2019. Tentoglou achieved this mark twice in the Rome final and produced all five of his valid jumps beyond the 8.40 metres barrier.

Furlani improved the world under 20 record to 8.36m in Savona and to 8.38m when he won the European silver medal in Rome in front of his home fans. Furlani’s collection of medals also includes the European under 18 and under 20 medals in 2022 and 2023. The Italian 19-year-old jumper finished second to Tentoglou with 8.09m in their most recent head-to-head clash at the Continental Tour Gold in Szekesfehrvar.

Simon Ehammer started the 2024 season with a world indoor gold medal in the heptathlon with a national record of 6418 points. Last June he leapt to 8.41m in the qualifying round at the European Championships in Rome, missing his national record by just four cm. Ehammer went on to win the bronze medal with 8.31m. The Swiss athlete set the world all-time best in the long jump within a decathlon competition with 8.45m in Goetzis and won the Diamond League final in Eugene in 2023.

Wayne Pinnock from Jamaica won the world silver medal with 8.50m in Budapest, just two cm off Tentoglou’s winning mark.

Carey McLeod from Jamaica finished fourth at the World Championships in Budapest behind his compatriots Wayne Pinnock and Tajaj Gayle. Mcleod won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow.

McLeod was the only athlete to have beaten Tentoglou at the Diamond League in Doha with 8.52m with an illegal wind of +5.2 m/s, his longest jump ever in any conditions.

Men’s triple jump:

Fabrice Hugues Zango is aiming to win his first Olympic gold medal three years after claiming the bronze medal in Tokyo. Zango won the world outdoor gold medal in Budapest 2023 with 17.64m, the world indoor title in Glasgow 2024, the world bronze medal in Doha 2019 and the world outdoor silver medal in Eugene 2022. The triple jumper from Burkina Faso has won nine of his ten competitions this year and set a seasonal best of 17.57m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Hengelo.

Defending champion Pedro Pichardo won the Olympic gold medal with 17.95m and the world gold medal in Eugene 2022 with 17.98m. The Portuguese jumper has won medals at 13 of 14 international competitions he has contested. He was not able to defend his world title in Budapest due to an injury. He made his come-back this year with a silver medal at the European Championships in Rome with 18.04m, the third best performance of his career.

This result was not enough to win the gold medal in the Eternal City, as Jordan Diaz Fortun from Spain set the third best performance in history with 18.18m to claim the European outdoor gold medal. Diaz missed Jonathan Edwards’ world record by 11 centimetres. The 23-year-old Spanish athlete of Cuban origin is aiming to win his first global title at senior level after claiming world under 18 and under 20 gold medals in 2017 and 2018.

Jaydon Hibbert won the world under 20 title in Cali 2022 and set the world outdoor under 20 record with 17.87m last year. The 19-year-old Jamaican jumper led the qualifying round with 17.70m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest but he got injured in the first round of the final. Hibbert set a seasonal best of 17.75m at the Racers Grand Prix in Kingston on 1 June.

Andy Diaz Hernandez will make his debut for Italy at a global championship in Paris. The Italian jumper of Cuban origin won two consecutive editions of the Diamond League Finals in Zurich 2022 and Eugene 2023 and broke the Italian record set by his coach Fabrizio Donato with 17.75m at the 2023 edition of the Golden Gala in Florence. Diaz set the world indoor seasonal best of 17.61m at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Torun but he was sidelined by an injury. He leapt to 17.00m with a shortened run-up in San Vendemmiano on 17 July. The Italian team will be also represented by Emmanuel Ihemeje, two-time NCAA outdoor champion in 2021 and 2022 and fifth at the World Championships in Eugene 2022, and Andrea Dallavalle, fourth at the World Championships In Eugene and European silver medallist in Munich in 2022.

Another medal contender is Cuba’s Lazaro Martinez, who won the world indoor title in Belgrade 2022 and the world outdoor silver medal in Budapest 2023.

Yasser Tricki from Algeria set his PB of 17.43m to place fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow 2024 with 17.35m. The Algerian athlete finished second in Oslo with 17.25m and Hengelo with 17.07m.

Salif Mane improved his PB from 16.79m to 17.14m to win the NCAA title in Eugene last June.

Thomas Gogois from France broke the 17 metres barrier for the first time in his career to win the European bronze medal with 17.38m in Rome.

China will be represented by Zhu Yaming, Olympic silver medallist in Tokyo with 17.57m, and World University Games champion Su Wen, who improved his PB to 17.17 last May.

Men’s pole vault:

Swedish pole vault star Armand Mondo Duplantis is aiming to win his second consecutive Olympic gold medal and improve his world record.

Duplantis broke the world record for the eighth time in his career by clearing 6.24m at the first Diamond League meeting in Xiamen.

The 24-year-old Swede won the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with 6.02m and two consecutive world titles in Eugene 2022 with a world record of 6.22m and in Budapest 2023 with 6.10m. This year he won the world indoor gold medal in Glasgow with 6.05m, his third European outdoor gold medal in Rome with a championship record of 6.10m and cleared 6.00m at three more Diamond League competitions in Suzhou, Stockolm and Paris.

Duplantis will renew his rivalry against his friend Sam Kendricks, who won the Olympic silver medal in Tokyo and two world titles in London 2017 and Doha 2019. Kendricks returned to his best form last March when he won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow with 5.90m. Kendricks won the US Trials title with 5.92m and finished second at the Paris Diamond League meeting with 5.95m.

Chris Nielsen is second on the world seasonal list with 6.00m and finished second at the US Trials with 5.87m. Nielsen won two silver medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo with 5.97m and at the World Championships in Eugene with 5.94m.

Emmanouil Karalis from France, who finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, won the world indoor bronze medal in Glasgow and the European outdoor silver in Rome this year. Karalis recently improved his PB to 5.93m to win the Greek title.

Ernest John Obiena beat Nielsen to win the world silver in Budapest equalling his Asian record with 6.00m. Obiena set a seasonal best of 5.97m in Bydgoszcz but he has been battling an injury in recent weeks.

The French hopes will be carried by Thibaut Collet, who finished fifth at the World Championships in Budapest with 5.90m last year and improved his PB by 5 cm to 5.95m this season. Renaud Lavillenie, 2012 Olympic champion, finished fourth at the French Championships at the age of 37 and did not qualify for the Olympic Games.

Men’s high jump:

Olympic and world champion Gianmarco Tamberi set world lead of 2.37m to win his third European gold medal in front of his home fans in Rome, but he was forced to withdraw from the most recent meetings in Szekesfehrvar and Monaco due to a minor thigh injury. The tests ruled out a serious muscular problem, but a period of therapies was needed to find the right shape for the Olympic Games, where he will aim to become the first high jumper in history to win two consecutive Olympic titles. Three years ago the Italian showman shared the gold medal with his friend Mutaz Barshim at 2.37m.

Last week Tamberi was the flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games on the Seine River in Paris.

Tamberi will certainly use the energy from the crowd at the Stade de France to bring the best out of himself.

Gianmarco Tamberi: “Nobody in history has ever fulfilled the dream of winning two Olympic medals in the high jump in this damn event and I swear that, despite this injury setback, I will continue to do everything I can to be the first to succeed. It won’t be easy, but objectively I ask myself: what has been easy in my career ? I swear it does not end here”.

Barshim withdrew from the last competition before the Olympic Games at the Diamond League meeting in London. Barshim finished second in two Diamond League competitions in Xiamen (2.27m) and Suzhou (2.29m) and set a seasonal best of 2.31m at the high jump meeting in Heilbronn (Germany).

Hamish Kerr has been one of the most consistent jumpers this year. Kerr, who is nicknamed as “the Flying Kiwi” set an Oceanian record of 2.36m to win the world indoor gold medal in Glasgow. He won three Diamond League competitions in Suzhou with 2.31m, Monaco with 2.33m and London with 2.30m. Last year he did not qualify for the final at the World Championships in Budapest, but he bounced back a few weeks later with a win at the Diamond League meeting in Zurich with 2.33m.

Hamish Kerr: My jumping is feeling so good at the moment. Overall, I am really happy with my performance and I know I am in really good shape going into the Games”.

Seven jumpers cleared 2.30m. The fight for the podium is wide-open with many potential candidates able to rise to the occasion at the most important competition of the season.

The list includes Woo Sanghyeok from South Korea, fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2021 with 2.35m, world indoor champion in Belgrade 2022 and Diamond League champion in Eugene 2023, Ju’Vaughn Harrison, seventh in the Olympic final in Tokyo and world silver medallist in Budapest with 2.36m, US jumper Shelby McEwen, world indoor silver medallist in Glasgow 2024.

Men’s shot put:

Ryan Crouser is bidding to win an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the shot put.

Crouser won his first gold medal setting the Olympic record with 22.52m in Rio de Janeiro 2016. Five years later the US shot putter improved his Olympic record three times to 23.30m to defend his title. Last year Crouser changed his technique and improved his world record to 23.56m three months before winning his second consecutive world gold medal in Budapest with 23.51m.

This season Crouser battled with a series of injuries. He suffered from an ulnar nerve in his elbow at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, where he won his first world indoor gold medal. Last April he tore a pectoral muscle before dealing again with his elbow nerve. Crouser made his come-back at last June’s US Trials where he claimed the win with his seasonal best of 22.84m.

Crouser finished second to Italian record holder Leonardo Fabbri at the London Diamond League with 22.37m.

Ryan Crouser: “I can see myself rapidly improving after injury. The result was not what I was hoping for, but back feeling a sembiance of healthy”.

Fabbri, world silver medallist in Budapest 2023 and world indoor bronze medallist in Glasgow 2024, has won all of his 12 competitions this outdoor season and broke Alessandro Andrei’s Italian record with 22.95m in Savona last May to move to fifth on the world all-time list behind Ryan Crouser (23.56m), Joe Kovacs (23.23m), Randy Barnes (23.12m) and Ulf Timmerman (23.06m). Fabbri produced 11 of the 20 farthest throws this season, including four beyond the 22.88m barrier. Fabbri won the second Diamond League competition of his career in London beating Crouser and Kovacs and the European gold medal in Rome with 22.45m. Italy will also field Zane Weir, who finished fifth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo on his debut at this event and won the European indoor title in Istanbul 2023 with 22.06m. Weir sustained an ankle injury last May after setting his seasonal best of 21.91m in Modena, but he came back on 14 July with a win in Lignano Sabbiadoro with 21.29m.

Kovacs, twice Olympic silver medallist in 2016 and 2021 and double world champion in 2015 and 2019 set the world lead with 23.13m at the Eugene Diamond League last May. He was just 10 cm off his PB of 23.23m set at the 2022 Diamond League final in Zurich. Kovacs finished fourth at the London Diamond League meeting with 22.03m.

Payton Otterdahl finished third at the US Trials with 22.28m and set a seasonal best of 22.59m in Des Moines. Otterdahl took third place with 22.13m in London.

Tom Walsh, world champion in London 2017 and Olympic bronze medallist in 2016 and 2021, set the sixth best throw of 22.16m and won the world indoor silver medal in Glasgow with 22.07m.

The other athletes to watch are Rajindra Campbell, who set the Jamaican record with 22.22m in 2022, three-time African champion Chukwebuka Enekwechi from Nigeria, and Filip Mihaljevic, European silver medallist in Rome.

French 45-year-old veteran Melina Rober

Men’s discus throw:

World record holder Mykolas Alekna wiil clash against reigning Olympic and world champion Daniel Stahl and European gold medallist Kristjan Ceh in the men’s discus throw.

Alekna threw to 74.35m to break the world record of 74.08m set by Jurgen Schult in 1986, 16 years before Mykolas was born. The Lithuanian thrower went beyond the 70 metres barrier in three of his eight competitions this year and won three Diamond League meetings in Marrakesh (70.70m), Oslo (70.91m) and Stockolm (68.64m). Mykolas could follow in the footsteps of his father Virgilius, who won two Olympic titles in Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Mykolas wo the world under 20 gold medal in Nairopbi 2021 and two world senior medals (silver in Eugene 2022 and bronze in Budapest 2023).

Mykolas will be joined in the Lithuanian team by his older brother Martynas and 2017 world champion Andrius Gudzius.

Ceh won the world title in Eugene 2022 with 71.13m and world silver medal behind Stahl in Budapest. This year the Slovenian thrower won the Diamond League meeting in Doha with 70.48m and the European gold medal with 68.08m in Rome last June ahead of Lukas Weisshiadinger, Mykolas Alekna and Daniel Stahl.

Daniel Stahl is chasing his fourth global gold medal in five years. The Swedish discus thrower won two world titles in Doha 2019 and Budapest 2023 with 71.46m and the Olympic gold medal in Tokyo, where he beat his compatriot Simon Pettersson with 68.90m. Stahl opened his season with a win at the European Throwing Cup and finished third in Marrakesh, Oslo, Stockolm and fourth at the European Championships in Rome.

Another top contender for a spot on the podium is Matthew Denny from Australia finished fourth at the World Championhips in Budapest and won the Diamond League final in Eugene. Denny improved his national record to 69.35m at the National Championships in Adelaide.

The Jamaican team is led by Ralford Mullings, who improved his PB to 69.67m in Ramona last April.

Men’s javelin throw:

Neeraj Chopra from India will defend his Olympic title in the men’s javelin throw with 87.58m. Chopra won the world gold medal in Budapest with 88.17m, finished second at the World Championships in Eugene 2022 with 88.13m and became the first Indian athlete to win a Diamond League title in Zurich in 2022. The popular is still seeking his first 90 metres throw. He set the national record with 89.94m in Stockolm in 2022.

Jakub Vadlejch from Czech Republic won the first gold medal of his career in a big international event at the European Championships in Rome with 88.65m in the final round after claiming silver at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and three medals at the World Championships (silver in London 2017 and bronze in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023). In the Italian capital the Czech thrower beat defending champion Julian Weber, who had taken the lead with 85.94m in the first round.

Vadlejch won the Diamond League competition in Doha with 88.38m beating Chopra by just 5 cm, while Grenada’s Anderson Peters finished third with 86.36m. Peters is seeking his third global gold medal following his double world gold medals in Doha 2019 and Eugene 2022.

Weber set the third best performance in the world this year with 88.37m. His compatriot Max Dehning, world and European under 20 silver medallist, set a world leading performance and European under 23 record with 90.20m last February in Halle.

World silver medallist Arshad Nadeem from Pakistan threw 84.21m in his only competion of the season. Nadeem set his PB Of 90.18m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022.

The other major contenders are Oliver Helander from Finland, who is currently seventh on the world seasonal list with 85.75m, 2016 Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott from Trinidad and Tobago, eleventh on the world seasonal list with 85.22m, 2015 world champion Julius Yego from Kenya, who won the African Games gold medal with 80.24m, Teuraiterai Tuapia, who set the French record with 86.11m this year.

Samoa’s Alex Rose set the Oceanian record with 71.48m last May moving to 11th in the world all-time list.

Men’s hammer throw:

Ethan Katzberg won the world gold medal in Budapest 2023 with 81.25m and has been undefeated since then. The Canadian thrower opened his 2024 season with a world-leading mark and a North American record of 84.34m at the Continental Tour Gold meeting in Nairobi.

Katzberg has won all nine of his competitions this year and threw beyond the 80 metres barrier in seven of these events. He won in Szekesfehrvar with 81.87m in his final competition before the Olympic Games. Katzberg is aiming to become to first athlete from North America to win the hammer throw since Hal Connolly’s triumph in 1956.

Reigning Olympic champion Wojchech Nowicki has reached the podium in the past eleven major championships. Last June the Polish athlete won his third consecutive European title in Rome with 80.95m.

Nowicki’s compatriot won five world gold medals and the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo 2021. This year he finished sixth at the European Championships in Rome but he returned to his best form by winning the Polish record with 80.02m and the Diamond League competitition in Paris.

Bence Halasz from Hungary did not get through to the final at the Olympic Games, but he bounced back by winning the world bronze medal in Budapest and the European silver medal in Rome.

Mykhaylo Kokhan from the Ukraine proved to be a solid contender at major championships when he finished fourth at the Olympic Games in Tokyo at the age of 20, fifth at the World Championships in Budapest 2023 and third at the European Championships in Rome 2024, when he won his first senior medal at a major championship.

The other athletes to watch are US throwers Daniel Haugh and Rudy Winkler, who finished sixth in the past two editions of the World Championships in Eugene 2022 and Budapest 2023 respectively, Merlin Hummel from Germany and Yann Chaussinaud, who placed fourth and fifth respectively at the European Championships in Rome.