Paris Olympics Odds: Sydney McLaughlin Favored Over Femke Bol In 400m Hurdles

By Brian Pempus , Tyler Maher
Editor , Editor
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Paris Olympics Odds: Sydney McLaughlin Favored Over Femke Bol In 400m Hurdles

Just a few weeks ago it looked like no one could prevent Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone from winning gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

In June, McLaughlin-Levrone bested her world record at the U.S. Olympic Trials, running a sensational 50.65 seconds. She also owned the three fastest individual performances in event history.

At online betting sites, McLaughlin-Levrone’s odds were around -1200 to win in Paris. You would have had to risk $1,200 to turn a mere $100 profit on the 24-year-old.

Then came a surge from Femke Bol of the Netherlands.

Bol, who had previously run 51.45 seconds in London in 2023, obliterated her personal best on July 14 at a meet in Switzerland with a time of 50.95 seconds. She joined McLaughlin-Levrone as the only women to run sub-51-seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

Bol was already the second-fastest woman in history in the event prior to her new personal best.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s odds were slashed to -700 at DraftKings Sportsbook, which was about her price before she set her new world record on June 30.  Bol was +300 to win gold.

The odds continued to narrow as their showdown neared.

After Bol ran an impressive sub-48-second split in a relay event at the Olympics, she was just +200 to win gold against McLaughlin-Levrone (-360)

A win from Bol would still count as one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.

McLaughlin-Levrone took gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in what was then a world record. Bol won a bronze medal.

The final of the 400-meter hurdles is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 8, at Stade de France.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s potential gold medal is one of many projected for Team USA, which is favored to win the most golds.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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Brian Pempus
Brian Pempus Editor

Brian Pempus is the managing editor of Forbes Betting. A Penn State journalism graduate, Brian has covered the U.S. gambling industry since 2009, starting as a staff writer and later online content manager with Card Player Magazine in Las Vegas. In 2018, he became deputy editor of sports betting at Better Collective and later managing editor at The Game Day. He joined Forbes in 2022. His work has been cited by Fortune Magazine, Wisconsin Law Review, The Tennessean, ESPN, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Journal of Corporation Law, University of Cincinnati Law Review, UC Law San Francisco, The Congressional Research Service, The Tennessee Bar Association, The University of Nevada Las Vegas and The Ohio State Law Journal.

Tyler Maher
Tyler Maher Editor

Tyler is the Deputy Editor of Forbes Betting, helping expand the vertical since its launch in 2022. Before joining Forbes, he worked for MLB.com, The Game Day and Minute Media. Originally from the Boston area, he graduated from Tufts University in 2015 and currently lives in Providence, RI.