USA, Jamaica rivalry among Olympic track and field storylines
The track and field competition at this summer's Olympics won't lack star power.
Several of the sport's top athletes are set to renew rivalries and pursue history over the next 11 days.
Here are six storylines to watch when the action begins Thursday.
USA ๐บ๐ธ vs. Jamaica ๐ฏ๐ฒ
The United States-Jamaica sprint rivalry remains alive and well.
At least one athlete from either nation has captured Olympic gold in the 100m dash since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. The Americans have historically dominated the event, winning 16 gold medals in the men's race and nine in the women's race. However, the Jamaicans have swept three of the past four Olympics. The titles of world's fastest man and woman will likely come down to the two powerhouse countries once again.
Noah Lyles established himself as the man to beat in Paris when he completed the sprint treble at last year's world championships, becoming the first person to do since Usain Bolt in 2015. The Florida native is relishing the increased spotlight and left no doubts about his form after clocking a personal-best time of 9.81 seconds at the Diamond League meet in London nearly two weeks ago.
Lyles' main competition will likely come from a pair of Jamaicans. Kishane Thompson, the latest star to emerge from the MVP Track Club, turned heads at the Olympic national trials in June when he eased to a world-leading time of 9.77 seconds. Meanwhile, compatriot Oblique Seville ran a 9.82 when he beat Lyles in June at the Racers Grand Prix.
On the women's side, Sha'Carri Richardson leads the American trio looking to end Jamaica's reign atop the podium. The LSU standout won her maiden world title in Budapest last year, reeling in Shericka Jackson down the stretch despite starting in Lane 9. Richardson's training partners - Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry - are also ones to watch. Jefferson and Terry both ran sub-11 at U.S. Olympic Trials, with the former producing the fourth-fastest time this year.
Jamaica will be without its top sprinting threat after Jackson pulled out of the 100m to focus on the 200. Her absence puts more focus on rising talent Tia Clayton. The teenager's personal-best time at the Jamaican championships in June was just 0.15 seconds shy of Richardson's world-leading time this season. Not to be forgotten is the ageless Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The 37-year-old icon was a bronze medalist at worlds a year ago and has never finished outside the top three in four Olympic appearances.
Can Bol challenge McLaughlin-Levrone?
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has been in a league of her own over the past three years. The Kentucky standout continues to raise the bar in the women's 400-meter hurdles, setting a new world record on five different occasions, including a blistering time of 50.65 seconds at U.S. Olympic Trials. She's also the only track athlete to break four world records in the same event, doing so in a 13-month span.
There was no reason to think anybody had a shot at beating McLaughlin-Levrone until Femke Bol put down a statement run of 50.95 seconds at the Resisprint International in mid-July. The Dutch star joined McLaughlin-Levrone as the only competitors in the discipline to dip below the 51-second mark.
It's been two years since Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone went head-to-head, with the American emerging victorious by almost two seconds. But Bol shouldn't be counted out: She owns three of the fastest 10 times in history and should get a confidence boost from her recent showing.
Multiple world records in danger
Nobody will be surprised if McLaughlin-Levrone lowers her personal best once again. The women's 400-meter hurdles time is one of multiple world records that could fall at Stade de France.
Mondo Duplantis has displayed a similar level of dominance in men's pole vault. The 24-year-old Swede is already considered the GOAT in his event having broken his own world record seven times, including a career-high 6.24 meters at the Xiamen Diamond League meet last April.
Florence Griffith Joyner's 21.34-second record in the women's 200 has rarely come under threat in 36 years. However, Jackson almost shattered Flo-Jo's longstanding mark, running a 21.41 at last year's world championships to set the second-fastest time ever. Gabby Thomas of the U.S. is another candidate to assume the throne. The Harvard grad's run of 21.6 seconds at the 2023 national championships is No. 9 all time, and she has the three fastest times in the world this year.
Meanwhile, Ryan Crouser has done virtually everything in shot put. The Oregon native is the two-time defending Olympic and world champion. He's got five of the six furthest throws of all time. A gold medal in Paris would make Crouser the first shot-putter to three-peat at the Olympics, and he's openly spoken about resetting his world record once more in the lead-up to the Games.
Ingebrigtsen, Kipyegon pursue 1,500m, 5,000m double
Jakob Ingebrigtsen is the reigning Olympic gold medal winner in the 1,500 meters and the two-time defending world champion in the 5,000 meters. However, he's never won both at a single Games or world championships.
Ingebrigtsen has another opportunity in Paris to complete the double. The Norwegian hasn't missed a beat this season despite sitting out eight months due to an Achilles injury. His only defeat in eight races was to 1,500-meter rival Josh Kerr in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic. Ingebrigtsen lowered his personal best in the 1,500 at last month's Diamond League event in Monaco, clocking a time of 3:26.73 to set a new European record. It was also the sixth-fastest time in history and nearly 2.5 seconds quicker than Kerr's personal best. Ingebrigtsen is well positioned in the 5,000-meter, too, after capturing his third consecutive European title in the distance last June.
Faith Kipyegon is looking to sweep the 1,500 and 5,000 as well. The Kenyan runner has been a force in the 1,500 over the last decade, taking home three world championship crowns and a pair of Olympic gold medals. Kipyegon shaved 0.07 seconds off her world record at the Paris Diamond League three weeks ago. Another win in the French capital would make her the first woman to win three titles in the same individual track event at the Olympics. The 5,000 is still relatively new for Kipyegon even though she's the event's most recent world champ. The 30-year-old added the discipline to her schedule last year and set a then-world record in just her third career race at the distance.
Hassan attempts unprecedented triple
Sifan Hassan could spoil Kipyegon's hopes in her own quest for history. The versatile Dutch runner is slated to compete in the 5,000, 10,000, and marathon. Hassan will have at least two days of rest in between her four races, assuming she qualifies for the 5,000 final.
As crazy as it may sound, it isn't the first time Hassan has loaded up her schedule at a major international competition, and she's not interested in a participation ribbon. The 31-year-old made history at the previous Games in Tokyo, winning gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 to go along with a bronze in the 1,500. No other athlete has finished on the podium in all three races at the same Olympics.
Hassan had another multi-medal performance at last year's world championships, placing second in the 5,000 and third in the 1,500. She could've added another gold medal in the 10,000 but lost her balance and tumbled to the ground in the final straightaway as she attempted to hold off the field.
The marathon is Hassan's latest challenge, yet she already looks like a seasoned vet only one year after making her debut. The Ethiopian-born star won her maiden London Marathon. Several months later, she registered the second-fastest time ever en route to claiming the Chicago Marathon. There's no doubt Hassan has the ability to win any one of the three events she's entered in. Will she have enough left in the tank this time around?
Canada eyes hammer throw sweep ๐งน
Canada wasn't always a hammer-throwing force. The country won just two medals combined at the Olympics and world championships prior to 2022. Their last podium finish came at the 1912 Games in Stockholm. They've already exceeded that entire total in the last two years alone.
Camryn Rogers is the reigning world champion in the women's event. She showed promise at the collegiate level as a three-time NCAA champ with California and subsequently fulfilled that potential with her signature performance in Budapest last year. Rogers carried that momentum into 2024, posting two of the world's three best throws this year, including a Diamond League-record 77.76 meters at the Prefontaine Classic.
Ethan Katzberg's 2023 world title was more of a surprise, as the British Columbia native only took up the sport seven years ago. Katzberg upset five-time defending world champion Pawel Fajdek to become the youngest man to capture the crown. It quickly became clear that Katzberg didn't luck into first place, as he followed that up with a Pan Am Games victory. The 22-year-old's throw of 84.38 meters at the Kip Keino Classic last April was the longest by anyone since 2008.
If Rogers and Katzberg both prevail in France, Canada will join Poland as the only nations to win both hammer throw titles at a single Olympics and world championship.