Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson have their eyes firmly fixed on gold ahead of the men’s and women’s 100m finals at Paris 2024.
With the Summer Games taking centre stage from 27 July, the world’s fastest athletes will be gearing up for arguably the most coveted event in athletics.
The 100m sprint is, after all, the climax of any Olympics, with eight runners pitted against each other in a fiercely contested battle. However, it looks like there are two clear favourites to return home with the titles this year.
Lyles, who represents Team USA, beat his PB with a blistering time of 9.81 seconds at the 2024 London Diamond League last Saturday.
And yet, the 27-year-old is known more for his prowess over the 200m distance, holding the American record with a time of 19.31 seconds – the fourth fastest in history. His transition to the 100m race, though, has only brought him more success, as he now sits in prime position to steal the show in Paris.
Akani Simbine is perhaps the American’s most formidable rival, as the African holds a PB of 9.84 seconds and performed well at the recent London event too. But, with the momentum now in his favour, Lyes will be eager to win his first Olympic gold medal after settling with a bronze at Tokyo 2020.
Sha’Carri Richardson, another valuable asset for Team USA, will be making her Olympic debut at the age of 24.
After competing in the US Olympic trials in 2021, Richardson was handed a one month suspension after testing positive for THC, a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency rules.
This resulted in her missing out on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when, instead, Elaine Thompson-Herah clinched gold with a time of 10.61 seconds. But the world record, held by Florence Griffith Joyner, has stayed at 10.49 seconds since 1988, with Richardson being the frontrunner to finally break it.
Beating esteemed sprinters Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce with a time of 10.65 seconds at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Richardson looks set to become the next big star in athletics, and has already appeared on the front cover of Vogue Magazine.
When are the 100m finals?
The women’s 100m sprint final takes place on Saturday 3 August, and the men’s on Sunday 4 August.
What time will the races be?
The session is currently slated for a start of 8:20pm (BST) for the women’s event, with the men’s a day later at 8:50pm (BST).
A full day-by-day list of Olympic events and timings can be found here.
