Women’s Running Preview – Paris 2024 Olympics

These are the key women’s running races 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 2024 Olympics.

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

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

Women’s 100m & 200m

WR: 10.49 | 21.34
OR: 10.61 | 21.34
Finals: Sat 3 Aug | Tue 6 Aug

Have you watched Sprint on Netflix? If you have then you’ll already know about some of these great sprinters and their rivalries (and if you haven’t watched then go and check it now!). 

In the 100m, Team USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson runs in her first Olympics and will be aiming to beat Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has already won eight Olympic medals. Richardson has run three of the fastest 100m times in the world this year, so she’s the woman to beat. 

The USA’s Gabby Thomas is the world lead over 200m this year, having run the three fastest times 2024, and with a bronze medal from Tokyo. Their USA teammate McKenzie Long will also be a favourite to stand on the podium, as will Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who pulled out of the 100m to focus solely on the 200m.

Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita lead Team GB’s sprint hopes in both races.

Women’s 400m & 400m hurdles 

WR: 47.60 | 50.65
OR: 48.25 | 51.46
Final: Friday 9 August | Thursday 8 August

There’s some great form coming into the 400m and 400m hurdles. 

Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce has the world leading time over 400m of 48.57 which she ran in London just two weeks before the Games. Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek and Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino are all among the favourites. 

USA’s Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is the defending double Olympic champion in the 400m and 400m hurdles, and she broke her own 400m hurdle world record in June. She’s only racing the hurdles in Paris where she’ll be up against another track star in Dutch athlete Femke Bol, who has run some terrific times this year, including the European record (just 0.3 seconds behind the world record). Gold and silver in the 400m hurdles will likely be between those two (and perhaps a new world or Olympic record).

Women’s 800m 

WR: 1:53.28
OR: 1:53.43
Final: Monday 5 August

Team GB has great hopes for gold in this race with Keely Hodgkinson as the clear favourite to win. She’s run the fastest 800m this year and is in great form. GB’s Jemma Reekie is the second fastest in the world this year, so expect her to be chasing for a medal, and perhaps a British one-two. Or even a one-two-three with 17-year old Scot Phoebe Gill in the race and competing in her first Olympics after an impressive year so far. Kenya’s Mary Moraa and France’s Renelle Lamote will be strong contenders. 

Women’s 1500m 

WR: 3:49.04
OR: 3:53.11
Final: Saturday 10 August

Faith Kipyegon is the woman to beat. She’s the current Olympic and World Champion and has run the world lead this year to be the only woman under 3:50. But there’ll be an impressive field chasing after her.

Australian Jessica Hull recently broke the 2000m world record, and has the third fastest 1500m time this year, so she’s coming into the Games in good form. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay is the second fastest woman in the world this year (and also running the 5000m). World road mile champion, Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji, is also racing. And let’s not forget Team GB which includes Tokyo silver medallist Laura Muir and Georgia Bell, who will both be fighting for a medal. 

Women’s 5000m 

WR: 14:00.21
OR: 14:26.17
Final: Monday 5 August

This looks like Ethiopia versus Kenya. The Ethiopians have been especially strong so far in 2024, with the five fastest times this year run at their Olympic Trials race, which was won by Tsigie Gebreselama in 14:18 – and that race didn’t include Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, who is the 5000m world record holder, and will be in Paris. Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet has run well over the distance this year, and is the road 5km record holder (14:13). Faith Kipyegon has a great chance of winning, though hasn’t run as fast as others this year. Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan is the reigning 5000m Olympic champion, and her schedule of 5000m, 10,000m and marathon is an historic challenge at the Olympic Games. 

The women’s 5000m should be a fascinating competition in Paris.

Women’s 10,000m 

WR: 28:54.14
OR: 29:17.45
Final: Friday 9 August

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet broke the 10,000m world record earlier in 2024, and she’s the existing 5km road world record holder, so she’s the strong favourite in this race. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay is second fastest in the world this year, and the 5000m world record holder. 

Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan is the defending Olympic champion, and runs in the 10,000m as her second of three events in the Games following the 5000m, then after the 10,000m final she’ll have around 36 hours to recover before the marathon begins.

Team GB have Eilish McColgan and Megan Keith running. McColgan hasn’t proven her fitness this year, despite her incredible career record, so we hope that she’s fit and ready to race, while Keith has had a standout year on the track, winning the Night of the 10,000m PBs. 

Women’s Marathon

WR: 2:11.53  
OR: 2:23.07
Final: Sunday 11 August

The final running event of the Olympic Games and it’s a deep field. 

The world record holder, Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, is running. The second fastest female marathoner of all time, Dutch runner Sifan Hassan, is running the marathon after competing in the 5000m and 10,000m. Reigning Olympic Champion, Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, will also be on the start line after running 2:16 in London earlier this year. Ethiopia’s Sutume Asefa Kebede has ran the fastest time in the world so far this year at the Tokyo Marathon. And there’s Kenya’s Hellen Obiri who has won New York and Boston so knows who to race on a hill course, as does fellow Kenyan Sharon Lokedi, who has also won New York and finished second in Boston. That’s just some of the competition… It’s going to be a great race!

This year, more than 50 women have already run faster than the marathon record, so this is one of those Olympic records which could be broken in Paris, though it’s a tough course so will likely be a tactical run until around 29km when the course hits a steep downhill and then a flat route to the finish.

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What events and athletes are you most excited to watch at the Paris Olympic Games?

Image Erik van Leeuwen