Best bets and predictions for day seven of the 2024 Paris Olympics: All eyes on golden girl Hodgkinson in 800m

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Best bets for day seven

Josh Kerr to win men's 1500m
2pts 2-1 Coral, Hills, Ladbrokes

Leo Neugebauer to win men's decathlon
2pts 8-11 bet365, Hills

Ireland to win men's lightweight double sculls final
2pts 4-7 Coral, Ladbrokes

Paris 2024 Olympics day seven predictions

Athletics predictions

Starts 9.05am
By Phil Agius

Some of Great Britain's brightest hopes for track and field gold are in action as the athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympics get started on Friday.

A week after the opening ceremony, all eyes are on the Stade de France and Keely Hodgkinson's bid for gold in the women's 800m will be the centre of attention.

The 22-year-old Tokyo silver medallist also finished runner-up in the 2022 and 2023 world championships, but she is a red-hot 1-3 favourite for gold in Paris.

Hodgkinson's task was made easier when defending champion Athing Mu fell in the US trials and failed to qualify, but she still faces stiff competition from world champion Mary Moraa of Kenya, who also beat Hodgkinson into second in the 2022 Commonwealth Games final in Birmingham.

The British athlete has looked the one to beat in 2024, though, and set this year's world's best time in Oregon, storming past Moraa in the process.

The third and fourth-favourites are also British. Teenage sensation Phoebe Gill is a 14-1 chance just a year after winning the English Schools Championship, while Jemma Reekie is a 22-1 shot.

Hodgkinson is 9-4 favourite to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year but plenty can go wrong in the hustle and bustle of an 800m race and her race odds are short enough.

There's another fascinating middle-distance battle in prospect in the men's 1,500m, where Britain's Josh Kerr is up against rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway.

The Norwegian is favourite at 4-7 to add a Paris success to his Tokyo gold but Kerr is worth an interest at 2-1 after winning last year's world championship race in Budapest. The 26-year-old Scot beat Ingebrigtsen over a mile in May and the Team GB athletics men's captain should go close to Olympic glory.

America's Sha'Carri Richardson is hard to oppose in the women's 100m. The world champion looked in fine form at the US trials, while St Lucia's Julien Alfred arrives in good shape and could throw down the strongest challenge. 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica is not quite the force of old, while Britain's Dina Asher-Smith should make the final but is 55-1 with Betfair and Paddy Power.

Germany look to have found a new athletics star in decathlete Leo Neugebauer, who smashed multiple records during the 2023 American college season, and the 24-year-old looks a solid bet for gold in Paris.

He still has to beat the more experienced defending champion Damian Warner of Canada while talented Estonian Johannes Erm has medal potential but Neugebauer, who beat Jurgen Hingsen's German record last year, looks a worthy successor.

Diving predictions

Starts 10am
By Phil Agius

Great Britain's men's 3m synchronised springboard pair Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding are in a similar position to that of Tom Daley and Noah Williams in the 10m platform earlier this week. 

They are also second favourites but at lengthy odds of 10-1 behind white-hot favourites from China, Long Daoyi and Wang Zongyuan, who are no better than 1-16. Laugher won this event with Chris Mears at Rio 2016 but may have to settle for silver this time.

Rowing predictions

Starts 10am
By Phil Agius

Ireland has a great chance of rowing gold in the men's lightweight double sculls final as Fintan McCarthy and Paul O'Donovan bid to repeat their 2020 Tokyo success. 

The powerful pair posted the fastest time in the semi-finals, comfortably beating the Swiss duo who had been considered one of their biggest rivals. Italy's Stefano Oppo and Gabriel Soares now look the biggest dangers to the Irish pair but the favourites look good to come through.

Great Britain's Emily Craig and Imogen Grant are 2-5 favourites to win the women's lightweight double sculls final.

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