2024 Paris Olympics odds, track & field predictions, best bets: Olympic champion reveals picks for Aug. 5

Three hotly contested races highlight the 2024 Paris Olympics with the men's and women's 400 and the men's 400 hurdles on the docket later this week. The women's 400-meter run could come down to the wire with Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic the +100 favorite. Also expected to contend for a spot on the medals stand are Jamaican Nickisha Pryce (+140), Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke (+550), Poland's Natalia Kaczmarek (+1100) and Bahrain's Salwa Eid Naser (+1600).

The top two ranked runners in the world go head-to-head in the men's 400. American Quincy Hall is the +175 favorite, just ahead of Great Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith (+185). Hall was an Olympic trials winner, while Hudson-Smith was the first European to breach the 44-second barrier at 43.74 seconds. Also expected to battle for a medal are Michael Norman (+500) of the United States, Kirani James (+1200) of Grenada and Great Britain's Charlie Dobson (+1500). 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. You can visit SportsLine now to see his 2024 Summer Olympics track & field medal picks .

Top 2024 Summer Olympics track & field predictions

O'Brien is fading Ireland's Rhasidat Adeleke (+550) to win gold in the women's 400, and instead backing the favorite Paulino (+100) to top the medal stand. After taking silver at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, O'Brien is confident Paulino will take first this time around. Jamaican Nickisha Pryce is also much improved and O'Brien likes her to come in second.

"Paulino defeated (Poland's Natalie) Kaczmarek (+1100) comfortably earlier this season, so I have to give the edge to the current world champ and Olympic runner up," O'Brien said. "But the rest of the field could get wild. Only three medals and about seven really solid contenders." 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 has locked in his picks for upcoming events, including a runner getting +500 odds he says "could not only medal, but may challenge for gold." He's only sharing his picks here .

Who is O'Brien backing in track & field at the Paris Olympics 2024? 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.