The Summer Olympics kick off July 26th in Paris, France. The athletes are front and center, of course – legends like Michael Phelps, Mia Hamm, Carl Lewis, Simone Biles, and many others have been created during just one magical month every four years.
Also front and center? Bovada’s Olympics odds – check back often as we load up on all the bets you need for a red-hot Olympic summer.
The United States is favored to win the gold medal count once again, but there are some challengers lurking.
Let’s have a look at the different Olympic odds for them and a bunch of other countries.
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USA (-850)
The US has some solid gold medal history coming into the Paris Olympic Games.
They’ve been at the top of the class six times since the 1992 Olympic Games, along with two Games where they placed second in the gold medal tally.
Athletics (aka Track and Field) is the main area where the States are dominant in the gold medal category. The track team, in the most recent World Championships, won 12 gold medals – more than double that of the second-best athletics country.
Sha’carri Richardson is the reigning “Fastest Woman in the World,” and she will almost certainly help the US carry home some extra gold this summer and help justify their Olympics odds.
Richardson won gold in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay at the 2023 World Championships, and she may be looking at gold in the 200-meter event in Paris too.
Swimming is the second-most lucrative event for gold-seeking US athletes, and they’re looking at some pretty hefty totals this coming summer too. The Olympics odds for the US are often tied to their prospects in the pool.
There are 37 swimming events at Paris 2024, including multiple relay events where the medals really stack up. Keep an eye out for the US swimming trials in June, where the Olympics odds will become even more clear as Kyle Chalmers, Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel and others lead another strong charge towards Paris.
The US Men’s Basketball will also get a lot of attention. The team will probably be a “oui” for the gold medal, with players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Joel Embiid all likely to be on the roster this July.
China (+400)
The Chinese team ranked second in the gold medal count at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, picking up 38 – only one behind the USA’s total at the same Games. Could they have closed the gap in the past 3 years? (Tokyo’s Olympics were held in 2021, but the name remained “2020”).
The Olympic odds for China remain strong because of their dominance in Diving and in Weightlifting. Both of these events produced 7 gold medals for the Chinese athletes and a total of zero for the US team. If China can snag some golds in the pool or on the track at the 2024 Paris Olympics, they stand a good chance of taking home the overall gold medal count too.
France (+8000)
The battle for the gold medal count jump considerably from the second-ranked country to the third, with host nation France having the next best shot in the eyes of our oddsmakers.
The French Summer Olympics racked up a total of eight gold medals – including two from Judo champion Clarisse Agbegnenou – at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, so they’ll need to benefit big-time from the hometown boost in order to catch up to the USA and China.
With the men’s reigning Olympic soccer champion Brazil not qualifying for the Summer Games in 2024, the strong French soccer team has a good shot at gold too.
Great Britain (+8000)
The Olympic odds for the Great Britain team are identical to their rivals on the other side of the English Channel. This is somewhat surprising, given their count of 22 gold medals in the most recent Games in Tokyo. That’s 14 more than the French team had – was there a drop-off in recent years for the British athletes or is the home-field advantage so strong for the Paris performers?
The British strength is firmly in the Cycling events, where they scored 12 medals in total during the last Olympics, including 8 gold. Watch for big names like Ethan Hayter and Katy Marchant to take some gold bounty from Paris 2024.
On the cycling track or elsewhere, Team GB will have plenty of support. The British have purchased more tickets than any other country besides France, ensuring an added boost of adrenaline that could have them surprise many medal watchers.
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Australia (+25000)
If you like your Olympics odds long and coming from Down Under, consider the Australian Olympic team for the Paris 2024 Games.
The Aussie team secured a solid 17 gold medals in Tokyo, their best total ever (tied with their Athens 2004 tally). Like the favored Americans, Australian medal wins come primarily from the pool. They won 9 of those 17 golds in Swimming, with another strong lineup of swimmers heading to Paris.
In a sport where the difference between gold and silver is often counted in 1/100ths of seconds, a few upsets in the pool could propel the Aussies to a surprising gold medal count. Add to that, the fact that Team Australia beat the mighty Team USA at the 2023 World Championships!
As for who to watch for (and maybe wager on), Australian legend Ian Thorpe (remember the Thorpedo?) is no longer competing, but young guns like Maximillian Giuliani and Kai Taylor are worth keeping an eye on.
Stay tuned and check in regularly at Bovada’s leading Sportsbook to find more Olympic odds as the Paris Games approach!