The Olympic action from Paris continues to wind down, but man, the games are going out with a bang. The 5000m heats were crazy, so go re-watch on Peacock in case you missed it. Four runners took a tumble in Heat 1, while a photographer, presumably covering the women’s javelin event at Stade de France, wandered onto the track during Heat 2, much to the ire of Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. The snatch and clean and jerk men’s 61kg weightlifting event was very exciting, too, with USA’s Hampton Morris claiming bronze. The 20-year-old gave the USA its first medal in weightlifting since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Heading into Thursday’s action, there are plenty of medals to be doled out still, and team sports are either in the semifinals or finals, as we get ready to zip things up from France.
Anyway, it’s Thursday. Let’s continue to build that bankroll through the closing ceremonies this weekend.
Here are the three best bets for Thursday, Aug. 8 at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Thursday’s Best Olympic Bets
(All bets are one unit unless otherwise specified)
Men’s 110m Hurdles – To Win a Medal: Hansle Parchment (+220)
The Men’s 110m Hurdles is scheduled for Thursday at 3:45 p.m. ET. Parchment, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion, has had a rough time at the 2024 Paris Games, as he looks for back-to-back gold medals. USA’s Grant Holloway is hungry for redemption after that stunning loss.
Parchment turned in a time of 13.430 seconds in Heat 3 on Sunday, which placed him fifth in the group. He was much better in Semifinal No. 1 on Wednesday, posting a time of 13.190 seconds, although he was well behind Holloway at 12.980 seconds. Fellow Jamaican Rasheed Broadbell topped Semifinal No. 2 with a time of 13.210 seconds. Orlando Bennett gives Jamaica a trio of runners in the final, as he topped the charts with a time of 13.090 seconds in Semifinal No. 3.
Parchment (+220) is a good bet for the chance to more than double up. He is the Olympic champion until further notice, although Holloway is the overwhelming favorite this time around. If you’re a little more conservative, Broadbell (-105) might be a safer play to medal.
Men’s Taekwondo 80kg – Gold Medal Winner: Seo Geon-woo (+220)
Like Parchment above, we’ll be rolling with another guy who can help us more than double up. Geon-woo is looking for the first medal in Taekwondo in the 80kg weight division. He is ranked No. 4 in the world, and it won’t be easy. He’ll debut in the Paris games against Joaquin Churchill Martinez of Chile in the Round of 16 on Thursday. Should Seo win, he would face the winner of the match between Brazil’s Henrique Marques Rodrigues and Saleh Salah El-Sharabaty, who won a silver medal in Tokyo.
It won’t be easy, but the only higher-ranked athlete in Pool A is Simone Prince Alessio of Italy. Geon-woo is going for history, and his toughest match might come in the quarterfinals. Roll the dice, and look to double up in Men’s Taekwondo.
Men’s Weightlifting 73kg – Gold Medal Winner: Shi Zhiyong (+160)
China’s Shi Zhiyong looks to become a triple Olympic champion in the 73kg division. A back injury derailed Zhiyong for more than two calendar years, and he made his first appearance at the Qatar Grand Prix in December, where he declined his final two attempts because he was still in pain. So, Shi is a bit of a wild card in this competition.
Shi looks to follow in the footsteps of fellow countryman Fabin Li, who posted a result of 310kg in the 61kg division on Wednesday.
Zhiyong will have his work cut out for him, as Indonesia’s Rizki Juniansyah (-175) is the odds-on favorite to take home the gold medal in the division. However, it appears to be a two-horse race, as Thailand’s Weeraphon Wichuma (+1200) has the 3rd-best odds, and he is a bit of a long shot. Shi placed second in the World Cup in Thailand in his first full competition back, coming in just behind Juniansyah.
The safe play is Juniansyah, the favorite, but the better value is Shi, who looks to make history, and that’s the common theme in this column.
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Daniel, check out his archive and follow him @danieledobish