Britain women track stars expected to earn medals at Paris 2024

Britain women track stars expected to earn medals at Paris 2024

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Published: 01st May, 2024
Updated: 2nd May, 2024
BY Athletics Weekly
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In each edition of the summer Olympics, Great Britain yields a sizeable amount of its medals from the major track events and this year that will likely continue.

The nation boasts several frontrunners who are expected to achieve medal finishes and plenty more with an outside chance of earning a place on the podium in Paris.

Here we will look at Team GB's track stars that have the highest chances of contributing to the nation's medal tally in the women's events in France.

Laura Muir

Laura Muir contributed to Britain's 64-medal haul at Tokyo 2020, earning silver in the women's 1500m event. In 2024 she will again be one of the brightest hopes as the nation aims to continue being one of the most successful at the Olympics.

Team GB are expected to be one of the leaders in the medal standings at the culmination of the Paris Olympic Games. In betting with Paddy Power they are offered at 40/1 to be the leading medal winners, only behind the United States and China.

The site features an odds calculator to help sports enthusiasts understand the potential returns from any Olympic-based ahead of the action in France.

Muir will be fully expected to impact the nation's levels of tangible success at this year's games. She is firmly within the top three runners in her event, however, she faces tough competition from her fellow frontrunners.

The world record holder Faith Kipyegon will likely demand a career-high performance from Muir to be beaten to first place. There should not be much to split Muir and last year's London Marathon winner Sifan Hassan though - the Scottish athlete's superior Tokyo 2020 experience could provide her with the edge to at least retain her silver medal.

A medal looks nailed on for Muir in the succeeding 1500m event, it will likely just be a question of where she finishes in the front three. Another silver medal would be a success, and achieving gold would be history-defining, individually and for her country.

Dina Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith is the fastest British woman on record which means she will be the nation's greatest hope in the short-distance track events this summer.

She will enter two events - the 100m and 200m - and will have a strong chance of reaching the podium in both. The 100m is where she is truly expected to make an impact, although any winning ambitions are certainly a longshot.

Asher-Smith will face a woman regarded as one of the greatest female sprinters of all time, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who will be thoroughly expected to achieve gold.

The other Jamaican frontrunner, Elaine Thompson-Herah, should not be quite as dominant though and it could be a close battle between her and the Brit for the silver medal.

Asher-Smith should realistically claim the bronze medal at minimum, although finishing runner-up is certainly not unrealistic. She will always harbour an outside chance of a medal in the 200m event, although she is not as strongly suited to that distance and would spring a slight surprise in earning even a bronze medal finish.

Muir and Asher-Smith are ultimately the only women's Team GB stars who can have genuine medal-achieving expectations placed on them ahead of the track events in Paris.

Muir will be expected to bring a medal home from one of the longer-distance races and Asher-Smith will fight for a place on the podium in two sprint races.

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