Olympics Odds Today July 24th – Picks for Medal Events in Cycling, Weightlifting & Judo
By Chris Amberley in News
Published:
- The first medals of the Toyko 2020 Olympics will be awarded on Saturday, July 24th
- Tadej Pogacar, the two-time Tour de France champ, is eying a gold medal in Cycling
- Read below for odds, analysis and best bets
Saturday in Tokyo marks the first day of the Olympics where medals will be awarded. A handful of events will declare champions including cycling, where 130 male riders are set to tackle a treacherous road race. The 234-kilometer course is one of the most mountainous tracks ever seen at an Olympics, and features plenty of the sport’s biggest names that are fresh off competing at the Tour de France.
Men’s Cycling Road Race Odds
| Athlete | Odds |
|---|---|
| Tadej Pogacar (SLO) | +400 |
| Primoz Roglic (SLO) | +450 |
| Wout Van Aert (BEL) | +550 |
| Remco Evenepoel (BEL) | +800 |
| Joao Almeida (POR) | +1400 |
| Adam Yates (GBR) | +1600 |
| Alejandro Valverde (ESP) | +2000 |
| Simon Yates (GBR) | +2000 |
| Maximilian Schachmann (GER) | +2000 |
| Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) | +2500 |
| Richard Carapaz (ECU) | +2800 |
| Gianni Moscon (ITA) | +2800 |
| Bauke Mollema (NED) | +3500 |
| Sergio Higuita (COL) | +3500 |
| Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) | +3500 |
| Michael Woods (CAN) | +3500 |
| Alberto Bettiol (ITA) | +3500 |
Odds as of July 23rd at DraftKings.
Tadej Pogacar is the favorite and rightfully so. The 22-year-old is the two-time Tour de France champion, fresh off winning multiple stages in Paris, and sweeping the Tour’s overall, best climber, and best young rider classifications for the second year in a row.
Tadej Pogačar's 2021 Tour de France:
🟡 Overall winner
⚪️ Best young rider
🔴 King of the mountains
_________#TDF2021 #TourdeFrance pic.twitter.com/8WdQ7LMhGf— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 18, 2021
Men’s cycling has officially entered the Pogacar era, and no one is better suited to tackle this brutal trek through the mountains.
Pick: Tadej Pogacar (+400)
Women’s 49 kg Weightlifting Odds
| Athlete | Odds |
|---|---|
| Hou Zhihui (CHN) | -500 |
| Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (IND) | +500 |
| Jourdan Delacruz (USA) | +1000 |
| Nina Sterckx (BEL) | +1600 |
| Windy Cantika Aisah (INA) | +3500 |
| Beatriz Piron (DOM) | +3500 |
| Fang Wan-ling (TPE) | +5000 |
| Kristina Sobol (ROC) | +5000 |
| Hiromi Miyake (JPN) | +5000 |
| Natasha Rosa (BRA) | +20000 |
| Dika Toua (PNG) | +20000 |
| Ludia Montero (CUB) | +20000 |
| Anais Michel (FRA) | +25000 |
| Roilya Ranaivosoa (MRI) | +50000 |
When it comes to women’s weightlifting in the 49 kg category, Hou Zhihui is the name that stands high above the rest. The 24-year-old holds the world record for her weight class in not only the snatch, but the overall total as well (snatch plus clean and jerk).
She boasts a 96 kg snatch (211.2 lbs), and her 213 kg total (468.6 lbs) is 3 kg higher that the personal best of any other competitor. Barring injury, look for Zhihui to not only smash the competition but also set a new world record along the way.
Pick: Hou Zhihui (-500)
Men’s Judo 60 kg Odds
| Athlete | Odds |
|---|---|
| Naohisa Takato (JPN) | -120 |
| Robert Mshvidobadze (ROC) | +400 |
| Yeldos Smetov (KAZ) | +400 |
| Lukhumi Chkhvimiani (GEO) | +700 |
| Francisco Garrigos (ESP) | +800 |
| Won-Jin Kim (KOR) | +1100 |
| Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB) | +1300 |
| Yung-Wei Yang (TPE) | +2000 |
| Tornike Tsjakadoea (NED) | +2000 |
| Eric Takabatake (BRA) | +2000 |
| Jorre Verstraeten (BEL) | +3500 |
| Karamat Huseynov (AZE) | +5000 |
| Ashley McKenzie (GBR) | +5000 |
| Amartuvshin Dashdavaa (MGL) | +8000 |
| Luka Mkheidze (FRA) | +10000 |
| Lenin Preciado (ECU) | +10000 |
| Yanislav Gerchev (BUL) | +15000 |
The host nation is expecting its highest gold medal tally ever, and success in Judo will go a long way in helping to achieve that. Japan’s Judo Federation is so dominant that it sent none of its Olympic athletes to the World Championships this summer, but still came home with six golds, four silvers and two bronzes, which was more medals than any other federation.
Naohisa Takato, a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is the favorite in the Men’s 60 kg class, but don’t sleep on Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov.
1st day of #Rio2016 was a good one for @Kazakhstan. Judokas Yeldos #Smetov won silver and G.Otgontsetseg won bronze pic.twitter.com/nxxefMctqw
— Embassy of Kazakhstan in Singapore (@EmbKZinSG) August 7, 2016
The 28-year-old is a former World Champion, and the silver medalist at the Rio Games. He also boasts six Grand Prix gold medals on his resume, in addition to a Grand Slam gold, and victories at the Asian Championships and Asian Games.
Pick: Yeldos Smetov (+400)
Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
