2024 Paris Olympics odds, predictions, best bets: Olympic champion reveals top track & field medal picks

Sha'Carri Richardson will make her long-awaited Olympic debut when she competes in the women's 100-meter sprint at Stade de France on Friday as part of the track & field events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Richardson qualified for the 2020 Summer Games, but a positive drug test led to a suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, which made her ineligible to compete in Tokyo. Also running in the women's 4x100-meter relay next week, the 24-year-old is looking to become the first American to capture gold in the women's 100-meter sprint since Marion Jones, who won the event in 2000 but was stripped of the medal after admitting to having used performance-enhancing drugs prior to the Sydney Games.

Other races taking place on Friday are the women's 800- and 5000-meters, the men's 1500- and 10,000-meters, and the mixed 4x400-meter relay. Medals will be awarded in the men's 10,000-meter event. Several more track & field competitions also begin, including the first half of the men's decathlon, the women's high jump, and the men's shot put.

Richardson is the -300 favorite to win gold in the women's 100-meter sprint in the latest 2024 Paris Olympics odds. Other favorites include Julen Alfred of Saint Lucia at +400 and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica at +1400. Before locking in any 2024 Summer Olympics picks or track & field predictions, you need to see what SportsLine Olympic insider Dan O'Brien has to say .

O'Brien is a highly decorated decathlete who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, becoming the first American to accomplish the feat since Bruce Jenner 20 years earlier. O'Brien is also a five-time U.S. champion and three-time world champion in the event, and he held the decathlon world record from 1992-99 and the heptathlon world record from 1993-2010. As a result of his achievements, O'Brien is a member of the USATF, USOC and IAAF Halls of Fame.

Now, O'Brien has broken down the 2024 Paris Olympics track & field events from every possible angle and revealed his best bets for the competitions that begin on Friday. You can visit SportsLine now to see his 2024 Summer Olympics track & field medal picks .

Top 2024 Summer Olympics track & field predictions

One athlete O'Brien believes will come away with a gold medal is Richardson, who is the -300 favorite to win the women's 100-meter sprint. A native of Dallas, Richardson will be looking to end Jamaica's reign in the event, as the nation has won gold in each of the last four Olympic Games. The Jamaicans also have captured three silvers and three bronzes in that span after pulling off a clean sweep in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Richardson posted a time of 10.71 seconds, the fastest so far this season, to win the U.S. Trials in June. She set a personal best at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, finishing at 10.65 to set the event record and take home the gold medal. "I think she has put (her issues) behind her and knows what is at stake here," O'Brien told SportsLine. "(She's) looked great in her last few outings. It will take a really fast time to beat her." See more track & field predictions from O'Brien at SportsLine .

How to make 2024 Paris Olympics track & field picks

O'Brien has analyzed the 2024 track & field events and made his selections to win medals. We can tell you one of his top picks is an athlete who is "a cut above" the competition in their sport and one of his best bets offers a plus-money payout. He's only sharing his picks here .

Who is O'Brien backing to win medals in track & field at the 2024 Olympic Games, and which athlete will shock the world? Visit SportsLine now to see Dan O'Brien's 2024 Summer Olympics track & field medal picks and analysis , all from the 1996 Olympic decathlon gold medalist who is also a three-time world champion in the event.