RunningHotTakes 2024 Olympic Track and Field Primer

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Intro

Yeah, is it “athletics” or “track and field?” Technically, every sport at the Olympics involves athletes, so shouldn’t they all be athletics? Why is track and field THEE athletics? I guess it’s just that awesome. Swimming? Garbage.* Gymnastics? Trash.* Track and field is where it’s at.

Below you will find A LOT of content. First, some Canadian Track and Field stuff we never put out including some fun interviews, and a breakdown of the Canadian Olympic track and field team. Second, an easy to read Olympic track and field schedule, the link to the live results, and some Olympic-specific hot takes.

We would also like to highlight the indefensible hypocrisy on display at these Olympics. Russia has been banned because of its invasion of Ukraine, but Israel has not faced punishment for its invasion and genocidal assault on Palestine, and its decades long apartheid system. This is a prime example of how countries like Canada, USA, much of Europe, and their allies conduct international relations: “[terrorism] only applies to what they do to us, not what we do to them.”

The Palestine National Olympic Committee estimates that 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed since the start of Israel’s latest military assault, including Palestine’s first ever Olympic Athlete, 10,000m runner Majed Abu Araheel, who died because of the inhumane conditions that Israel is inflicting on over one million Palestinians in Gaza.

Canada helps supply the military goods that killed these athletes and thousands of other Palestinians. World Beyond War and reporters from The Maple have written about this in detail. These unjust actions are occurring in addition to the harm that Canada subjects Indigenous peoples to on a daily basis, which has been on prominent display most recently through the use of an Indigenous-specific, militarized RCMP unit that is deployed to force oil and gas pipelines through Indigenous territories.

It is important for Canadian athletes to bring attention to the human rights abuses that Canada is guilty of when athletes are afforded the platform to do so, as John Carlos and Tommie Smith did in 1968 to bring attention to USA’s system of racial segregation. One way you can take action is by signing the open letter written by Canadian Sport For Palestine.

*The author would like to note that athletes who compete in these sports are not actually junk and that this sentence was purely for dramatic effect. Being able to hold your breath for a million hours while going knife mode through some water at oxygen-draining intensities is absolutely ridiculous. Being able to hold a plank indefinitely or walk around on your hands all day is just as impressive.

Extra Note: The author would like to refer readers who are curious about the header photo to the website of the French group, Le revers de la medaille, and their report: “1 year of social cleansing before the 2024 Olympics.”

THE LINKS

Canadian Track and Field Championships Review

Olympic Track and Field Info

Paris 2024 Track and Field Hot Takes

Day 1 (August 1)

Men’s Racewalk

Who’s Going to Win? We would have put our money on this Perseus Karlstrom dude because he’s ranked number 1, has been winning almost every race he does, and gets gassed up harder than a fat pick up truck on Evan Dunfee’s social media.

Hot Takes? We knew Dunfee was gonna dangle out there. The 20km is not his wheelhouse, but sometimes a wheel junk yard can make due. It almost did. Dunfee fell off the lead pack at just over halfway once things strung out, but he stayed consistent in 11th place and kept picking off athletes who fell off the front of the race. A couple more km and the rest of the field would have been spring cleaning mode absolutely dusted, but a top 5 finish is respect. Ecuadorian Brian Daniel Pintado took the W which is pretty impressive when you consider that oil companies have been wrecking havoc on his home country.

Women’s Racewalk

Who’s Going to Win? Good question. Spanish athlete, Maria Pérez, won last year so we’ll just take the easy way out and pick the favourite.

Hot Takes? It was Jiayu Yang who came in ranked 10th in the world but laid down an expert 20k around the Eiffel tower on this one. Maria Pérez second.

Day 2 (August 2)

Men’s 10,000m

Who’s Going to Win? Holy the Ethiopian squad threw down an absolute heater at the Ethiopian championships these guys are not fooling around blasting enough pizza out of the oven to supply team Italy. The top 6 ranked times in the world this year were all run at Ethiopia’s championships, and only three of them get to touch mondo for the 10,000m in Paris, Kejelcha, Barega, and Aregawi. Rough. The next 4 best times in the world for 2024 have all been run by Kenyans. You have to respect the way these countries consistently dominate the distance running events. Cheptegei and Kiplimo be in here too.

Hot Takes? Moh “Speed” Ahmed has placed 6th in this event 4 times in a row. 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. That’s pretty impressive when you consider the onslaught of elite African runners he consistently goes up against, and it’s not gonna be any different this year. You know he’s gonna be extra-motivated to find the podium though. Will he be able to go train entering a tunnel mode and come thru? Kejelcha only has one world championship medal to his name, a silver from the 10,000m in 2019. Barega won in 2021 but Cheptegei has won the last two years. Kiplimo has seemed pretty nasty as of late. Aregawi was second to Kiplimo at the 2023 World XC championships and second to Kejelcha at the Ethiopian championships this year. He also won the Ethiopian championships in 2023. We’re going team AREGAWI for the win.

Day 3 (August 3)

Women’s 100m

Who’s Going to Win? Sha’Carri Richardson

Hot Takes? With Shericka Jackson pulling out it will require a special performance to take down Sha’Carri. She is water tank magician mode absolutely locked in ready to burst back on top of the podium. MAYBE Tia Clayton, a 20-year-old out of Jamaica can find another gear. Maria Jose Ta Lou has been kicking around consistently for a while. Maybe multi-time Olympic medalist and double hyphenator Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will channel some double bubble and pop off once more. Audrey Leduc???? She set another Canadian record in the heats. Is she gonna be hybrid-car-style cruising through the semi’s or will she run out of gas? The last time a Canadian woman made an Olympic 100m final was in 1984 when Angela Bailey (6th) and Angella Taylor (8th) did it in LA. The last time a Canadian woman made any World Championship outdoor final was in 1987 (the same two athletes). “Stats with Not Trackie,” brought to you by the Kirkland sports drinks I have been mucking all week. You think you’re gonna get this stuff at CBC or Canadian running? They probably sip juice.

Women’s Triple Jump

Who’s Going to Win? Leyanis Pérez Hernandez. She placed 3rd last year but comes in ranked first. Gotta love seeing athletes from Cuba doing well even under an unjust blockade that has been enforced by USA for decades and that has been condemned on numerous occasions by nearly the entire international community.

Hot Takes? Thea Lafond is one of just 4 athletes competing out of the small Caribbean country of Dominica. She was 5th last year but has the world leading jump this time around. How much does she want it? If it’s like how much I want an orange slushy on a hot day, then she’s gonna win. Shanieka Ricketts is back for revenge after just missing out on the podium in 2023. If she gets on that’s a Caribbean sweep. Another Cuban, Liadagmis Povea, could challenge as well after placing 6th last year. Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk could try to break up the Carribbean domination and has a couple world championship silvers to her name. Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré is back in the mix too after finishing third in 2021.

Men’s Shot Put

Who’s Going to Win? Ryan Crouser or Joe Kovacs

Hot Takes? Ryan Crouser has been dominant since 2020, winning the last 3 world championships/Olympic Games in 2021, 2022, and 2023, but the last dude to win a men’s world shot put title not named Ryan was Joe Kovacs in 2019. Joe has the world lead coming into this competition but we think we might see Crouser put a new moon crater down out there. We’ll be cheering for the Italain, Leonardo Fabbri, who the Ethiopians have partnered with to deliver pizzas to everyone in the athlete village. Fabbri could probably carry a million pizzas. He has fun out there. These guys are car-with-a -flat-tire absolutely JACKED. Someone in this contest is named Jacko Gill from New Zealand. Unbelievable.

Mixed 4x400m

Who’s Going to Win? Netherlands. They’re going to avenge themselves after Bol heartbreakingly crashed to the track just before the line last year.

Hot Takes? Don’t look now but IRELAND is coming into this with a world leading time of 3:09.92 which is pretty dang fast. That would have been good enough for a silver or bronze at each of the last four World Championships/Olympics. Hell yeah Ireland. I’m gonna have to shotgun a Guinness right before the final runs for good luck.

Decathlon

See parismultis.com for updated analysis (per sources).

Who’s Going to Win? Leo Neugebauer. Buddy is tweaked.

Hot Takes? Yeah, Damian Warner is just gonna be run jump throwing out there like a summer camp dodgeball game you best not get hit with one of his arm cannon heat missiles or your gonna regret it he’s gonna be hot on this Leo kid’s heals the whole time folks. Aside from Warner, this Ayden Owens-Delerme dude seems pretty good.

Day 4 (Aug 4)

Women’s High Jump

Who’s Going to Win? 22-year-old Yaroslava Mahuchikh broke a 37-year-old world record this year by getting over 2.10m (the old record was 2.09m) and next time there’s a cat stuck in a tree we don’t need a firefighter to come with a ladder you just need to dial her up.

Hot Takes? Mahuchikh won the world championships last year. Australian Eleanor Patterson won in 2022, and Nicola Olysagers is the top finishing athlete from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics where she placed second. Olysagers comes in with the second-best season’s best after Mahuchikh but WATCH OUT for the 19-year-old Angelina Topić of Serbia. Likely gonna be a battle between Topić, Olysagers, Patterson, and maybe Vashti Cunningham for the final two medals.

Men’s Hammer Throw

Who’s Going to Win? Your boi Ethan Katzberg comes in after flinging an 84.38m reverse asteroid in April this guy drinks Tabasco sauce instead of water before flaming hammers across the stadium and he’s only 22.

Hot Takes? Polish duo Wojciech Nowicki and Pawel Fajdeck will want revenge after being shocked by the Katty show at the world championships last year. They were first and third at the 2021 Olympics and second and first at the 2022 world championships, respectively. Nowicki was second last year and Fajdek was fourth. You just know these guys are marinating themselves in cabbage roll sauce hot tubs with sunglasses on listening to Polish scream-out music to amp themselves up for this. This Mykhaylo Kokhan Ukranian dude seems petty good too. It won’t be a cakewalk for EK. Shoutout Rowan Hamilton for greasing the circle with a PB to make the final and let’s also shoutout the AK machine Adam Keenan for just missing the final with a season’s best after getting in last year.

Men’s 100m

Who’s Going to Win? Noah Lyles

Hot Takes? It’s gonna be a tough semi for DE GRASSE going against Kishane Thompson and Ferdinand Omanyala in heat 3. The Jamaican and Kenyan have run the top 2 times in the world this year. 2022 champion and 2021 Olympic silver medalist Fred Kerley is in this heat too. In heat 2 it’s Tebogo, Simbine, Bednarek, and defending Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs. Lyles seemingly has the easiest path to the final in heat 1.

Who’s got the jets? Aside from Winnipeg’s hockey team, we’re going with OMANYALA and KERLEY.

Day 5 (Aug 5)

Men’s Pole Vault

Who’s Going to Win? Armand Duplantis

Hot Takes? Armand has broken the pole vault world record EIGHT TIMES since 2020. Before that, it was French legend and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Renaud Lavillenie, who will probably be watching from the stands getting absolutely hammered on alcohol-infused baguettes or something idk what french people do. They have fun. CAN SAM KENDRICKS CHALLENGE? The guy “believes” that we don’t need public health protections when it comes to COVID-19, so I think he should go and drink from the Seine if he doesn’t like vaccines and masks. If you’re gonna expose yourself and others to COVID everyday, you might as well expose yourself to shit too. Embarrassing to sink strenuous hours into track and field training only to be a wimp about vaccines and masks. COVID is still circulating. It’s disabling people who get infected multiple times folks. Wearing a mask indoors and getting vaccinated helps yourself and others.

ANYWAY, 28-year-old EJ Obiena was 11th at the 2021 Olympics, 3rd at the 2022 World Champs, and SECOND last year. Maybe new flying frenchman Thibault Collet can get on the podium in front of his home crowd and then get absolutely sauced on baguettes and wine after with Renaud. Would be elite.

Women’s Discus Throw

Who’s Going to Win? Valarie Allman

Hot Takes? Can 2022 world champion Bin Feng from China MOUNT a challenge after a bronze last year? Maybe. Can Sandra Peković (correction, it’s Elkasavić now) MOUNT a challenge after a silver in 2022 but a fifth place finish in 2023? Maybe. Can these athletes throw their discs into a frisbee golf basket at the top of MOUNT Everest? Yes.

Women’s 5000m

Who’s Going to Win? This could be a wild one. Defending champion Faith Kipyegon hasn’t raced much lately but won both the 1500m and 5000m at the Kenyan championships after winning both of those at the World Championships last year, so she has to be the favourite.

Hot Takes? Who’s gonna challenge? Sifan Hassan was thinking about trying FOUR EVENTS this year (at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics she finished 1st, 1st, and 3rd in the 10,000m, 5000m, and 1500m). She has decided to drop the 1500m, but WILL be doing the marathon. A schedule that includes the 5000m heats, 5000m finals, 10,000m finals, and marathon sounds worse than a peanut butter and ketchup sandwich but I guess when you love running you love running. She’s gonna be at her freshest for this final so we’ll see what she can do. World record holder Gudaf Tsegay from Ethiopia is in the mix. A world record will do that for you. Her compatriot, Ejgayehu Taye, comes in with the second best time in the world this year, but she has the top ranked time in the world this year of the athletes in the final. Ethiopia is just that stacked folks, their athlete with the world leading time decided to focus on the 10,000m instead. Beatrice Chebet has medaled at the last two worlds, Margaret Kipkemboi was fourth the last two years, this final is gonna be a carry-on suitcase absolutely packed.

Women’s 800m

Who’s Going to Win? Keely Hodgkinson. Silver medalist for the last three years, the 22-year-old comes in with the world leading time.

Hot Takes? 24-year-old Mary Moraa of Kenya sent Hodgkinson and Athing Mu home DEVASTATED last year. But this year Mu missed qualifying after falling in the final at the US championships, and Hodgkinson has taken another 0.5s off of her personal best. It’s gonna be a tall order for Moraa. Like Shaq calling up a pizza place or something.

Day 6 (Aug 6)

Women’s Hammer Throw

Who’s Going to Win? Camryn Rogers

Hot Takes? World Leader Brooke Andersen failed to qualify after fouling all of her throws in the final at the US championships, so that leaves 2023 bronze medalist DeAnna Price as the top challenger for Camryn. Rogers was 5th at the last Olympics before placing second and third at the World Championships the last two years. Let’s see how far she can launch the 4kg bowling ball tonight.

Men’s Long Jump

Who’s Going to Win? Miltiadis “Miltos” Tentoglou

Hot Takes? The only athlete to finish ahead of Miltos at a world championships (outdoor AND indoor) the last three years has been Wang Jianan of China, but Wang hasn’t been having a great season. Maybe he’s got a leaperoni pizza stashed in his jumping shorts. Instead, it’s looking like the key challengers for the win will come from 2022 Swiss bronze medalist, Simon Ehammer, and Jamaican 2nd and 4th place finishers from 2023, Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod. Ehammer looks like the perfect name for an electric power tool.

Men’s 1500m

Who’s Going to Win? Oh baby. He’s been dealing with injuries for a couple seasons, but 2019 World Champion Timothy Cheruiyot is BACK in business to try and win the gold after finishing second to Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2021. After winning the Olympics in 2021, Ingebrigtsen has been beaten in the final at the World Championships by two Brits who had supersonic finishing kicks. Last year’s champion, Josh Kerr, is back to try and pop balloons to ruin the party again. Not that it was ruined that much, Jakob went on to win the 5000m in 2022 and 2023. The guy can refocus better than a 4k camera. 25-year-old newcomer Brian Komen is looking pretty solid too. 25-year-old 5th place finisher from last year Yared Nuguse is looking pretty dang nasty. Cole Hocker is gonna go Pat Benetar mode and hit the field with his best shot. 21-year-old Hobbs Kessler is very nice.

We think if it’s hard from the get-go it favours Ingebrigtsen, Cheruiyot, and Komen, whereas a final lap burnup (Rob Walker term) probably favours Joshie Kerr, Nuguse, Kessler and Hocker. If it does come down to the final lap, I hope the folks in the stands packed some marshmallows to toast because it’s gonna be crispy. We’re gonna have to go with Ingebrigtsen. 5000m gold isn’t good enough, he wants the 1500 crown back.

Hot Takes? Yeah, Timmy C is gonna execute his patented forward lean and deploy speed demon horses from the farm to drive his Cheruiyot over the line in first LET’S GO.

Women’s Steeplechase

Who’s Going to Win? Dealers’ Choice

Hot Takes? Peruth Chemutai is back to top form and throwing bows to try and defend her Olympic title after missing the podium the last two years. Reigning world champ Winifred Yavi is throwing jabs. World record holder and 2019 champion Beatrice Chepkoech is tossing uppercuts to the dome. 2023 bronze medalist Faith Cherotich is hurling haymakers. And there’s STILL 2022 champion Norah Jeruto in the mix pitching body shots. Readers are going think we’re describing a 1v1v1v1v1 final card boxing match but NOPE. IT’S WOMEN’S STEEPLECHASE. Val Constien is having a good season too lol dark horse medal pick.

Women’s 200m

Who’s Going to Win? Gabby Thomas

Hot Takes? Thomas has been on a heater lately after setting up at the beach and breezing through the first two rounds. She has the world lead this year too. Can anyone bring in the storm clouds? Look out for lightning fast competitors like McKenzie Long, who has the second fastest time in the world this year; Brittany Brown, who has the fourth fastest; 100m champion, Julien Alfred; and 2022 bronze medalist, Dina Asher-Smith. I think if anyone is going to turn Thomas’ umbrella inside out and sit on her sandcastle it’s gonna be Alfred.

Day 7 (Aug 7)

Marathon Racewalk Relay

Who’s Going to Win? China-Ecuador-Spain battle.

Hot Takes? It was close for the first two legs, but China got a red card on leg three and that left Spain and Ecuador to 1v1 each other. In the end it was Maria Pérez who smashed a slam dunk for the win on her second leg after placing second in the women’s race.

Women’s Pole Vault

Who’s Going to Win? World lead Molly Caudery unfortunately did not make it through the qualifying round, so that leaves it open for a Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon repeat after they tied for gold at the World Championships last year.

Hot Takes? Angelic Moser is thumb-on-a-phone-camera mode she has entered the picture with a big PB this year; look for her to get on the podium. Eliza McCartney and Alysha Newman could challenge as well. There are NINETEEN athletes in the final after a whole bunch of athletes didn’t make the qualifying height which resulted in a lot more getting through, so they’re gonna be vaulting ALL NIGHT.

Men’s Discus

Who’s Going to Win? Mykolas Alkna

Hot Takes? 21-year-old Alkena threw a massive 74.35m in April this year to break a 38-year-old world record so it’s tough to think anyone is going to be able to deliver the pizza further than he can, but Daniel Ståhl and Kristjan Čeh are both very experienced at spinning pies through the roof of the stadium. They were first and second at the world championships last year and Ståhl is the defending Olympic champion too. Let’s see if they can get Alkena to crack under pressure by summoning the ghost of Freddie Mercury or something.

Men’s 400m

Who’s Going to Win? Silver and Bronze medalists from 2023 Matthew Hudson-Smith and Quincy Hall return. 2022 gold medalist Michael Norman is looking good. We’re going with 2012 Olympic gold medalist KIRANI JAMES. He won silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021, but the 31-year-old from Grenada was looking real good in the heats and comes in now with the #2 time in the world this year.

Hot Takes? Oh baby this is the best Jereem Richards has looked in the 400m since making a name for himself way back in 2017 by winning a bronze in the 200m and running a monster second leg for Trinidad and Tobago’s 4x400m gold medal winning relay team. This young dude from Zambia, Muzala Samukonga, is looking DANGEROUS ft. Akon. That’s six athletes we’ve named in this segment. This final could be Bulk-Barn-type nuts.

Men’s Steeplechase

Who’s Going to Win? Can Girma do it? The 23-year-old has been second the last FOUR TIMES. 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023. The last three of those races were all won by Soufiane El Bakkali, who is back for more.

Hot Takes? Other challengers include Ethiopians Getnet Wale and Samuel Firewu. Amos Serem from Kenya had a mishap in the final but still got through on a technicality. He looked pretty good aside from that. Before 2021 Kenya had won this event FOR THIRTY YEARS. Pretty wild.

Shoutout au gars Jean-Simon pour un autre qualification à la finale. Il a terminé à la huitième place l’année dernière et peut zipper avec les meilleurs d’entre eux, qu’il s’agisse d’athlètes ou de vestes d’hiver.

Day 8

Heptathlon

Who’s Going to Win? Nafti Thiam

Hot Takes? After recovering from an Achilles injury last year Thiam has been like a cheesemeister at a pizzeria just absolutely shredding so she’s back to try for a third-straight Olympic title. Two-time and defending world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will try to stop her, but has had some Achilles issues in the leadup. Last year’s silver and bronze medalists (and 2022’s bronze and silver medalists) Anna Hall and Anouk Vetter, will too, as will Tokyo bronze medalist Emma Oosterwegel. Watch out for French athlete Auriana Lazraw-Khlass, who finished second to Thiam and the European championships this year with a huge PB and who will be competing in front of a home crowd. Noor Vidts won the World’s indoor pentathlon this season.

Women’s Long Jump

Who’s Going to Win? Malaika Mihambo. After an injury last year ended her 3-year World Championships/Olympics winning streak, she’s back to defend the Olympic title.

Hot Takes? The top returner from last year is Tara Davis after Ivana Spanović missed the final. 2023 bronze medalist Alina Rotaru-Kottmann is in the mix too and MAYBE Jasmine Moore but this is likely going to be a really cool showdown between Mihambo and Davis. Who’s going to go beer mode and deliver the hops?  

Men’s Javelin

Who’s Going to Win? 33-year-old Jakub Vadlejch. The guy has never won a Worlds or Olympic gold. He’s placed second or third four times, including a bronze last year and a silver at the Tokyo Olympics. He comes in ranked #1 in the world and has the third best throw this season. Call up Duran Duran he’s absolutely hungry like the wolf right now.

Hot Takes? Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra blasted onto the scene by blasting long metallic darts far enough to win an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. He followed up his Olympic win with a silver and gold at the next two World Championships, and threw 0.5m further than Vadlejch to win last year. 2022 World Champion, Anderson Peters, will be slinging spears across the stadium once again. 2023 silver medalist, Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan, will try to launch some rockets off the throwing runway. German athlete Julian Weber will try to crack the podium after three consecutive fourths by zipping a terrific twig toss of his own.

Men’s 200m

Who’s Going to Win? Noah Lyles

Hot Takes? Kung Fu Kenny Bednarek is maybe the best hope to take down Lyles. Bednarek finished in second ahead Lyles in 2021, but Lyles won the World Championships the next two years. Letsile Tobogo was 3rd last year and ran a Botswanan national record in the 100m. The 200m seems to be his better event, but it still seems like he’s going to have to slurp some gasoline and swallow a match if he wants to fire it up enough out there for the win. Shoutout to the two Zimbabweans for making the final, dang. One thing is for certain, if Lyles wins again, the NBA section of the internet might not be able to handle it. They’re all swimming in the ocean I mean they’ve been absolutely salty ever since Noah put NBA players in their place last year.

Women’s 400m Hurdles

Who’s Going to Win? Femke Bol has done extremely well to shave 1.08 seconds off of her PB over the last two years to approach Sydney McLaughlin territory and is fresh off of grabbing a boom box and putting the beat on the athletes who were featured in the final leg of the mixed 4×400, but is it enough? Nah. McLaughlin is certified nasty. You can’t be caught hot-dogging even for one moment when you’re up against her, because she’s coming after you with ALL of the mustard I’m talking even the grainy Dijon kind. Hell yeah. She’s gonna win.

Hot Takes? Mostly covered it above, but the battle for third between Cockerell, Jones, and Clayton should be interesting. Respect to Savannah Sutherland for going new roof mode and hammering one in the semi to make the final with a small q.

Men’s 110m Hurdles

Who’s Going to Win? Grant Holloway

Hot Takes? Mr. Grant has won the last 3 world titles, but Olympic Champion is still missing from his resumé because Jamaican legend Hansle Parchment took out a quill and wrote himself into first at the Tokyo Olympics. That was a shocker. 34-year-old Parchment has qualified for the final once again, just barely, but I don’t think he has the juice to shock the stage this time. He would have had to start rubbing balloons together ages ago to have a large enough static charge ready. Danny Roberts was third last year and could challenge Grant. So could Freddie Crittenden. But we think G money is in the duvet zone he’s got this one covered.

Day 9

Women’s 4x100m

Who’s Going to Win? USA

Hot Takes? Well Jamaica come in as the defending champions but they’re down Shericka Jackson, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce due to injury. It’s not looking good. It’s like when you start making pancakes but screw up the flip. ANYWAY. MAYBE the UK can challenge. They looked good in the heats and you have to think subbing Dina Asher-Smith into their lineup for the final will provide a boost. They do have the world leading time this year so it’s possible. Germany had the smoothest handoffs of the heats but I don’t think they’re fast enough gg. Good work by the Canadian team to make the final behind a massive last leg by Leduc.

Men’s 4x100m

Who’s Going to Win? USA

Hot Takes? It doesn’t look like anyone is going to be able to touch the Americans here after the Jamaican team inexplicably missed the final even though they had two athletes make the 100m final and were one of three teams to have all of their 100m athletes qualify for the semis. Who’s the third team? South Africa. Watch our for them. Jamaica faltering worked out for Canada. They finished ahead of Jamaica for third in the heat which gets them into the final. The same Canadian squad was silver in Tokyo and won in 2022. They’re going to have to grab their Bunsen burners and put on an absolute chemistry clinic if they’re going to grab another medal, let alone take down the Americans. Would be cool if they did though because a USA 4x100m sweep is never fun to watch.

Women’s Shot Put

Who’s Going to Win? Sarah Mitton

Hot Takes? 2023 World Champion Chase Jackson couldn’t make it through the qualifying so that opens it up even more for Sarah. She’s still going to have defending champion Lijao Gong and World Outdoor and Indoor medalists Jessica Schilder and Yemisi Ogunleye to contend with, but Sarah is absolute laundry mode out there right now her spin cycle is powerful enough to send everyone in the stadium home with clean clothes after they shit their pants from witnessing how far she can blast a shot. Let’s go.

Women’s 400m

Who’s Going to Win?  Marileidy Paulino

Hot Takes? All three medalists from the World Championships last year return but Paulino is the only returning finalist from the 2021 Olympics, where she finished second. Salwa Eid Naser was the World Champion in 2019 before being banned for two years because she missed three doping tests. She’s back now.  Sada Williams from Barbados has been third the last two years and will look to add another Caribbean track medal to Julien Alfred’s two in the 100m and 200m. Rhasidat Adeleke from Ireland looked pretty sweet through the heats. Natalia Kaczmarek from Poland won silver last year. Kaczmarek and Adeleke actually have faster season’s bests, but Paulino looks like hot coals are gonna start falling out of her shorts out there she’s packing a heater.

Men’s Triple Jump

Who’s Going to Win? Dealer’s Choice

Hot Takes? Hugues Fabrice ZANGO from Burkina Faso comes in with not only the coolest sounding name but also as the reigning Indoor and Outdoor World Champion. His season’s best is only good enough for FIFTH in the world this year though. Pedro Pichardo of Portugal comes in with the #2 jump in the world, while #1 is European Champion from Spain Jodan Diaz Fortun. Lazardo Martinez of Cuba was second last year. This Jamaican dude Jaydon Hibbert has a pretty massive season’s best but he’s relatively unknown, which just goes to show you how unpredictable this competition might be. Let’s see if Fabrice can put on a Zango Tango for the win.

Women’s 10,000m

Who’s Going to Win? Beatrice Chebet. The 5000m champion is back for more.

Hot Takes? Beatrice set an absolutely nasty 10,000m world record of 28:54 this season to break the old record of 29:01 run in 2021 by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey, who will not be competing. Defending Olympic champion Sifan Hassan is back after winning a bronze medal in the 5000m four days ago. Other challengers will be Chebet’s Kenyan compatriots, Margaret Kipkemboi and Lillian Rengeruk, as well as Ethiopians Gudaf Tsegay (the 2023 World Champion), Tsigie Gebreselama, and Fotyen Tesfay. Tsegay could be tired after competing in the 5000m and two rounds of the 1500m already. It seems like it would take a Tobey Maguire spiderman movie to stop the train of Chebet and Hassan from reaching the podium, but third place is pretty wide open.

Men’s 400m Hurdles

Who’s Going to Win? Rai Benjamin

Hot Takes? He’s got the world leading time and Alison dos Santos seemed to struggle through the heats. That means it’s probably going to be a Karsten Warholm-Rai Benjamin showdown for gold once again and maybe this time Benjamin comes out on top. He was second to Warholm in 2019 and 2021. Then with Warholm injured in 2022, Benjamin was second behind a TNT-level explosive performance from dos Santos. Last year he was third behind Warholm and Kyron McMaster, who could also factor in here. Warholm holds the world record that he set in 2021 by turning his legs into a rocket ship and blasting 45.94, but Benjamin might have the better fitness this time. Let’s see how it plays out.

Day 10 and 11

Men’s and Women’s Marathons

Who’s Going to Win? It’s a lot tougher to talk about the marathon than it is the other events. Marathons are run far less frequently and many athletes choose to focus on marathon majors rather than World Championships unless it’s an Olympic year. But yolo let’s try our best.

Hot Takes, MEN? Let’s see. Eliud Kipchoge comes in as the two-time defending Olympic champion and brings in the fastest PB of the bunch (RIP Kelvin Kiptum) but he has shown chinks in his armour lately with a 6th place finish at the 2023 Boston Marathon and a 10th place finish at the Tokyo Marathon this year. The winner in Tokyo? Benson Kipruto. He also won the Chicago Marathon in 2022 and Boston in 2021. 42-year-old Kenenisa Bekele, one-million-time Worlds XC champion and 2008 Olympic 5k & 10k gold medalist, is somehow still kicking around and set a master’s world record of 2:04:15 at the London Marathon where he placed second this year. The winner there? Alexander Munyao, who is also competing. So that’s already 4 solid guys we’ve talked about. Victor Kiplangat of Uganda won the world championships last year. Abdi Nageeyee of the Netherlands and Bashir Abdi of Belgium were silver and bronze at the 2021 Olympics. Tamirat Tola was the World Championship winner in 2022 for Ethiopia.

We’ve also got BC BOY Cam Levins gunning for the podium after a stellar fourth place finish in 2022 and even more stellar gym workout videos featuring Butters the dog and N95 masks. There’s been a lot of COVID at this Olympics because of the zero protective measures in place, and some athletes have had to be carted off in wheelchairs because of it, but Cam ain’t succumbing to that shit. Mask zone ftw. Canada has never medalled in this event and his fourth at the World Championships in 2022 was the best ever Canadian finish. We will be spectating like an analyst at a puzzle convention trying to see what he can put together. Definitely nobody in the field who can spike balls into the ground at the same velocity as him though so that has to count for something.

Hot Takes, WOMEN? Alright let’s run through the favourites. The only athlete NOT from Kenya or Ethiopia to win a world marathon major since 2021, men’s or women’s division, is Sifan Hassan. It’s gonna be absolutely ridiculous if she medals here after placing third in the 5000m and 10,000m. 62.2 km of racing in a span of 9 days is wild (there are two rounds of the 5000m, remember). I might have to eat one of my shoes. Let’s show some respect to Kenya and Ethiopia for absolutely dominating the marathon running scene though holy heck.

Helen Obiri has decided to move up to the marathon after winning 5000m silver at the 2016 and 2021 Olympics. It’s worked out pretty well for her; she won Boston and New York last year, and Boston again this year. She’s probably the favourite considering this French marathon is supposed to have a fairly hilly section in the middle, similar to Boston. A certain je ne sais quois for the athletes to deal with in addition to the 42.2km of running. Obiri won the World Cross Country Championships in 2019 too.

Peres Jepchirchir comes in as the defending Olympic champion and also has three major marathon titles to her name, most recently the 2024 London Marathon where Megertu Alemu of Ethiopia finished just 18 seconds behind in fourth. Tigst Assefa, also of Ethiopia, finished just 7 seconds behind in second.

The defending world champion is Amane Beriso Shankule of Ethiopia. The 32-year-old was second to Obiri at the Boston Marathon in 2023. Who was second to Obiri at the Boston Marathon THIS year? Sharon Lokedi of Kenya.

One other name to watch out for is Rose Chelimo, who won the World Championship in 2017, and maybe Canadian Malindi Elmore finds a way to go deck mode and build on her 9th place finish from the 2021 Olympics.

Men’s High Jump

Who’s Going to Win? Sanghyeok Woo. Shaved head can’t lose. This guy won silver at the 2022 World Championships but you will never see a happier competitor in your life this guy’s smile holds up better than a marble arch it’s wild.

Hot Takes? Mutaz Barshim appeared to hurt his calf in the qualifying rounds on his first attempt at 2.27m, but then STILL came back and flipped over the bar on his second attempt even though his calf didn’t seem to appreciate it at all. “I don’t go down without a fight,” he said. This guy is a legend. Three Olympic medals (silver 2012, silver 2016, gold 2021), three-time World Champion, second highest jump of all time behind the 31-year-old record of legendary Cuban, Javier Sotomayor. Nobody can arch their back and whip their legs over the bar as artistically as Barshim he could absolutely dummy Bob Ross if he wanted (but he never would because Bob Ross is cool). There isn’t a piece of sandpaper in existence that could make Barshim’s jumps smoother. His technique even makes it look cool when he fails a jump. PLUS he’s been strapping on frozone sunglasses during competitions the last few years. Unprecedented swagger. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE OTHER GUYS.

Giancarlo Tamberi has been around a while too. The guy broke his ankle in 2016 and that derailed his career for a long time as he tried to recover. He finally broke through by tying for gold at the 2021 Olympics with Barshim and then won the World Championships last year. He could contend, but apparently he had to go to the hospital last week to deal with kidney stones. Jeeze. Aside from those guys, New Zealander Hamish Kerr is looking pretty dangerous out there. He won the world indoor championships and is probably a favourite to win. American Shelby McEwan had the cleanest qualifying card and could touch the podium.

Men’s 800m

Who’s Going to Win? Marco Arop

Hot Takes? This Djamel Sedjati dude looks really fluffin’ good. Emmanuel Wanyonyi? Really fluffin’ good. But if I’m looking for a pillow it’s Arop who’s delivering the most feathers this guy really knows how to fly out there and he looked super relaxed while winning his semi-final, let’s go. The only returning finalist from the Tokyo Olympics is Gabriel Tual (7th). Arop won it last year and Wanyonyi was second. Sedjati was second in 2022.

Women’s Javelin

Who’s Going to Win? Maria Andrejczyk She’s the top returning athlete from the 2021 Olympics, where she won silver, and had the furthest toss in the qualifying round.

Hot Takes? Haruka Kitaguchi won the world championships last year. Flor Ruiz was second last year and has the best throw in the world this season. McKenzie Little launched a rocket at the European championships a few weeks ago. These athletes really know how to chuck spears let’s see who can laser beam one into the sun out there.

Women’s 100m Hurdles

Who’s Going to Win? Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

Hot Takes? There’s going to be a big challenge from the Americans Alaysha Johnson, Masai Russel, and Grace Stark, but Jasmine is the defending Olympic champion and she’s out there trucking hurdles races like a towing convention she can pull a real heavy load when she wants to.

Men’s 5000m

Who’s Going to Win? Lol idk we predicted Ingebrigtsen wrong in the 1500m but now we’re committed and doubling down.

Hot Takes? We’re missing out on the Ingebrigtsen-Cheptegei showdown for undisclosed reasons, so that kinda sucks. Kiplimo is out too. Moh Ahmed missed the final after an unfortunate fall in the heats which REALLY sucks. So that’s three medal favourites out holy heck. Jacob Krop of Kenya was the bronze medalist last year and silver medalist in 2022, but hasn’t run very fast this year. The top EIGHT times in the world this year were run at a hella fast diamond league race in Oslo at the end of May. Hagos Gebrhiwet won that race and comes in with a world leading time of 12:36. Fellow Ethiopians Addisu Yihune and Biniam Mehary are fast enough to challenge for a medal. We had never heard of Spanish athlete, Thierry Ndikumwenayo, but he finished 8th and the World XC championships in March so he’s definitely good enough to be in the mix. He has the fourth fastest time in the world this year. Aside from them, Grant Fischer has looked really damn good this week after a bronze in the 10k and a sunset cruise in the 5k heats he is coming in like a classic car parade. Oscar Chelimo will look to fill in with his compatriots Cheptegei and Kiplimo missing. Chelimo was third at the World Championships in 2022.

We think this race is gonna be a shitshow. You better have some toilet paper on hand if you plan on watching it. Should make for an exciting end though.

Women’s 1500m

Who’s Going to Win? Faith Kipyegon. Silver medalist already in the 5000m, she’s the defending Olympic champion and won the World Championships in 2022 and 2023. When her spikes touch the track it’s rice crispy mode snap crackle and pop out there let’s grab a bowl.

Hot Takes? It doesn’t seem like Gudaf Tsegay has the finishing speed this year but maybe her compatriot and 2023 silver medalist Diribe Welteji has a heater ready. Aside from them, Jessica Hull is probably a good pick for the podium. Nikki Hiltz or Elle St. Pierre could factor in as well as Laura Muir. If it’s even a tad slow Hiltz is gonna be dangerous. Their spring skills produce more smoke than that time I left my KD on the stove too long.

Men’s 4x400m

Who’s Going to Win? Botswana

Hot Takes? We picked USA to win the men’s and women’s 100m and were absolutely WRONG, and the men’s team is probably EVEN MORE heavily favoured to win the 4x400m than the they were the 4x100m, especially after subbing in Quincy Hall to muck a lap, but TOO BAD. We used the exact opposite logic in the 5000m while sticking with Ingebrigtsen, but we’re literally mailing in these predictions right now so it’s getting messier than a cafeteria sloppy joe and we’re just gonna WEAR IT. Letsile Tebogo has been firing on all cylinders lately he’s a musketeer shooting targets while running on river logs. Those kinds of antics put the other teams of edge. Dub.

Women’s 4x400m

Who’s Going to Win? USA

Hot Takes? I think something would have to go seriously wrong for USA to lose this one. Should be an interesting battle for the last two medals between basically all of the other teams. Great Britain, France, and Jamaica seem to have good squads. Ireland is a dark horse with individual 400m fourth place finisher Rhasidat Adeleke factoring in for the final. They’re gonna need a rainbow to appear for them to win though.

AND THAT’S ALL. THANKS FOR TUNING IN. FREE PALESTINE. READ OUR INTRO IF YOU HAVEN’T YET BECAUSE IT CAN DOUBLE AS AN OUTRO. INTRO SOUNDS WAY BETTER THAN OUTRO BY THE WAY. OUTRO SOUNDS REEEEEAAAAL SILLY.

Okay that’s actually all now. See ya.

International Athletics - Discourse

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