Olympic 100 Metres Betting
The shortest track race in the Olympic Games, the 100 Metres is a dash from start to finish (it is actually referred to quite commonly as the 100 Metre Dash), and you can expect the result to be known a matter of seconds after the race starts. The 100 Metres has been part of the modern Olympic Games since 1896, when the race was won for the USA by Thomas Burke even though Burke tended to specialise in the 400 metres. His winning time was 12.0 seconds, which was actually a fifth of a second slower than the time he achieved to qualify. The fastest time ever recorded in any official Men’s 100 Metres race is 9.58 seconds by Usain Bolt.
The Women’s 100 Metres race made its Olympic Games debut in 1928, when Betty Robinson won the gold medal for the USA in 12.2 seconds. The current World Record for the Women’s 100 Metres stands at 10.49 seconds and Florence Griffith-Joyner achieved that time in July 1988.
Although the 100 Metres is the shortest track race at the Olympic Games, it is still extremely popular among sports betting fans, and so there are a number of markets to choose from.
Olympic 100 Metres Betting Markets:
Outright Winner
Who will be the fastest runner in the final and win the gold medal? If you can answer that question correctly then you can win yourself some cash by betting on your selected runner in the Outright Winner market. As with other track events that have qualifying rounds before the final, you can bet on your selection before qualifying has taken place (in which case you will lose your bet if your selection doesn’t qualify) or wait until the final line-up is known.
Heat Betting
Even if you choose to wait until after the preliminary heats to place your bet on the Outright Winner, you can still bet on the outcome of the heats themselves. Although this facility is available in other track races, it is particularly popular among fans of the Olympic 100 Metres for the simple reason that the final competition is over so quickly. Including the heats in addition to the final for betting purposes helps to extend the excitement of the competition.
False Starts
A false start is one where a runner leaves his or her starting block before the official start has been sounded, and it results in the competitors having to get set all over again for another start. Whilst this situation is always frustrating for the runners, it can be lucrative for bettors who get involved in False Start betting markets. These come in a variety of formats, but a common one allows you to bet on the number of false starts in a heat or final, with a bet on Zero meaning that you don’t expect any false starts to occur.
New World/Olympic Record
The New World Record and New Olympic Record markets allow you to bet on whether or not a new World or Olympic record will be set. The odds offered will depend on the runners taking part and their past performance, as well as on the direction and speed of the wind on the day. You should note that if there is a tailwind of 2 metres per second (2 m/s) or more, no new record can be allowed. Of course, some betting markets may allow a bet in this market to stand despite the official tailwind rule, but that is something for each bookmaker to decide for themselves, so be sure to consult the exact rules with your chosen bookie before you bet.
Best Performance
The Best Performance market requires you to predict which nation will fare the best when all results of their runners are taken into consideration. Some markets concern just the Men’s or just the Women’s competitions, whilst others ask you to predict the Best Performance for both competitions combined. The odds available will depend on how many competitors are running for each nation concerned as well as the previous form and current fitness of those runners.
Winning Nation
Because a country is almost certain to take several potential finalists to an Olympic 100 Metres event, bookmakers allow you to bet on the nationality of the eventual gold medal winner. Your bet would win if any runner from the selected nation goes on to win the final. If you want to bet on the Winning Nation in both the Men’s and Women’s finals then you can of course do so, but you would probably want to take a good look at any available combined Best Performance market as well.
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