Men’s Running Preview – Paris 2024 Olympics

These are the key men’s track and running races that we’re looking forward to watching at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including some of the key runners and favourites in each race. You can jump straight to each event below. And here’s the full running schedule at the Paris Olympic Games.

Here’s our preview of the women’s running events at the Games.

Men’s 100m & 200m | Men’s 400m & 400m Hurdles | Men’s 800m | Men’s 1500m | Men’s 5000m | Men’s 10,000m | Men’s Marathon 

Men’s 100m & 200m

WR: 09.58 | 19.19
OR: 09.63 | 19.30
Finals: Sun 4 Aug | Thu 8 Aug

If you’ve seen Sprint on Netflix then you’ll know a lot of these characters and rivalries, and the USA’s Noah Lyles remains a favourite in both races.

Lyles has won three of the fastest 10 times in the world over 100m this year, and two of the fastest 200m times, so he’ll come into the Paris Games looking to win the prestigious double, and he has a chance to create a sprint legacy that would put him in conversations with Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt. He’ll also run in the 4 x 100m relay aiming to take another medal. But Lyles has a lot of competition.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson is the fastest man in the world over 100m this year (9.77), and his countryman Oblique Seville has also run some very fast times this year, and has beaten Lyles over 100m. GB’s Louie Hinchliffe and Jeremiah Azu also run in the 100m. USA’s Kenneth Bednarek has been in good form and will be looking to challenge Lyles in the 200m, as will their countryman Erriyon Knighton. 

Team GB’s Zharnel Hughes is running in the 100m and the 200m, as is Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, and both will be chasing Lyles in the sprint double. 

Men’s 400m & 400m Hurdles

WR: 43:03 | 45.94
OR: 43.03 | 45.94
Final: Wednesday 7 August | Friday 9 August

Team GB’s Matthew Hudson-Smith is the European record holder and has run the world lead in 2024 and goes into the Olympics as a top medal contender. His season best is just ahead of USA’s Quincy Hall, winner of the US trials. Also among the favourites are Canada’s Christopher Morales Williams and USA’s Michael Norman. Reigning Olympic champion Steven Gardiner, from Bahamas, will be aiming for another medal, though his times are a little behind some of the others in the competition.

The Olympic 400m hurdle final was won by Norway’s Karsten Warholm in a world record time, finishing ahead of USA’s Rai Benjamin and Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos. Those three have run an astonishing 28 of the fastest 30 times in history between them, so expect a great race in Paris.

Men’s 800m 

WR: 1:40.91
OR: 1:40.91
Final: Saturday 10 August

Three men have already run a 1:41 this year – Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyoni and France’s Gabriel Tual – so it’s going to be a fast and thrilling race, and could even be one where we see a new world record. It may also be one of the tightest races in the Games with any one of a dozen athletes in contention.

Sedjati’s time is the third-fastest of all time and his style is to stick in the pack and then race the final 200m hard. Team GB have a strong trio of Max Burgin, Ben Pattison and Elliot Giles (who is a last-minute replacement for Jake Wightman). 

Men’s 1500m 

WR: 3:26.00
OR: 3:28.32
Final: Tuesday 6 August

This is one of the most anticipated races of the Olympics, certainly in The Running Channel offices. 

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen is the Olympic record holder and defending Olympic champion, and he also has the world-leading time of 3:26.73 (no other runner has gone under 3:28), so he’s probably the favourite in the race, but it’s the match-up against Team GB’s Josh Kerr, who won 1500m bronze in Tokyo and beat Ingebrigtsen to become World Champion in 2023, that we’re all looking forward to. Kerr’s first 1500m of the season will be round one of the Olympics, while Ingebrigtsen is in good form over the distance, but Kerr beat him in the Bowerman Mile held earlier in 2024.

Neil Gourley and George Mills are also running for Team GB and have had a great season so far. USA’s Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker could be in contention, as will Kenya’s Timothy Cheruiyot who won silver in Tokyo and has run the world’s second fastest 1500m this year.

Men’s 5000m 

WR: 12:35.36
OR: 12:57.82
Final: Saturday 10 August

The men’s 5000m promises to be a great race with some of the greatest and fastest of all time taking part – but the Olympic 5000m final is typically a tactical race, and not a fast race. Will that be different in 2024?

The fastest man this year, and second-fastest of all time, is Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei is the world record holder and reigning Olympic champion, and another Ugandan, Jacob Kiplimo, has run the third fastest time this year. Team USA have some strong contenders in Grant Fisher and Nico Young, and then there’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who is the double World Champion over the distance – if he doesn’t do well in the 1500m then you can bet he’ll be racing this for gold (but his best chance of winning may be in a slower, tactical race). Team GB will hope that Sam Atkin and George Mills (silver medallist in the European champs) make the final.  

Men’s 10,000m 

WR:  26:11.00
OR: 27:01.17
Final: Friday 2 August. 

The first track final of the Olympics will be a fascinating race with a deep field of athletes. 

Watch out for the Ethiopians in this race. At their Olympic Trails final in June, six men ran under 26:50, running the six fastest times of the year so far. Third in that race was the reigning Olympic champion Selemon Barega. Also running in Paris are Tokyo’s silver and bronze medallists, Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo, both from Uganda and both also racing the 5000m. Cheptegei is the world record holder in the event. 

Kenya’s three 10,000m guys pushed each other to run three of the top 10 times this year in their Olympic trails, which was won by Daniel Mateiko in 26:50. 

Team USA should also be considered contenders with Grant Fisher and Nico Young both running 26:52 this year (they are both also running in the 5000m). No British male athletes take part in the 10,000m.

Men’s Marathon 

WR: 2:00.35
OR: 2:06.32
Final: Saturday 10 August

The Olympic Record for the men’s marathon is 2:06.32, run in Beijing in 2008 (and pre-supershoes). In 2024 alone, 44 men have run faster than that. Will we see a new Olympic record? It’s a difficult course, with a lot of elevation in the middle miles, and run in the middle of summer, meaning the weather could affect runners. But we know that there are many athletes in the field capable of running 2:06, and it could be one of the most exciting races in the Games.

The great Kenyan marathoner Eliud Kipchoge is looking to win his third straight Olympic marathon gold (in what is very likely to be his final Olympics), so we’ll all be watching him, but we should also watch his Kenyan teammates, Benson Kipruto and Timothy Kaplagat, who are the only men to run 2:02 this year. Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, who has three Olympic gold medals (and is an Olympic legend!), is also running and can’t be overlooked in what will be his final Olympic race.

France’s Morhad Amdouni’s 2:03.47 is the fastest European time this year, so home advantage might work well for him. GB’s Emile Cairess could be an outside favourite for a medal, while Team USA’s Connor Mantz is another athlete to watch. 

***

What men’s events and athletes are you most excited to see in Paris?

Image: Erik van Leewen, GFDL