The podium in the Olympic men’s 100m freestyle at the Paris Olympics is going to look a lot different than it did four years ago. Caeleb Dressel of the United States won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics but is not swimming in this event, while several talented swimmers will look to take his place. Here, we break down the 100m freestyle event and pick our winner for this competition in the pool in Paris.
Olympic Men’s 100m Freestyle Betting Odds
| Swimmer | Gold Medal Odds |
| Zhanle Pan | +120 |
| David Popovici | +160 |
| Jack Alexy | +600 |
| Kyle Chalmers | +900 |
| Chris Guiliano | +1200 |
| Maxime Grousset | +1600 |
| Nandor Nemeth | +2500 |
| Joshua Liendo | +4000 |
| William Yang | +5000 |
| Matthew Richards | +5000 |
| Andrej Barna | +5000 |
| Alessandro Miressi | +5000 |
| Sunwoo Hwang | +8000 |
| Leonardo Deplano | +10000 |
| Katsuhiro Matsumoto | +10000 |
| Josha Salchow | +10000 |
| Jordan Crooks | +10000 |
| Haoyu Wang | +10000 |
| Duncan Scott | +15000 |
| Marcelo Chierighini | +20000 |
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Only two swimmers are inside of +500 to win the Olympic men’s 100m freestyle swimming gold medal. Those swimmers are Zhanle Pan of China and David Popovici of Romania, who are expected to stand out above the rest of the field. Pan set the world record in this discipline earlier in 2024 at the World Championships in Doha. Popovici, meanwhile, held the world record back in 2022 when he set it at the European championships, setting up a great duel that could end with a new world record time in Paris.
Olympic Men’s 100m Freestyle Major Storylines
If two one-time world record holders going at it is not enough to keep your attention, I don’t know what to tell you. Pan and Popovici competing for the gold after a multi-year run where both men spent time as the best ever at this distance is as compelling as it gets, even if it is hard to drape an American flag over this competition.
But the question of whether an American can get onto the podium and even into the top-two of this race is still a storyline most American sports fans will have their eyes on. Without Dressel in the pool for this event, the best hope for the United States appears to be Jack Alexy. Alexy did finish second to Kyle Chalmers of Australia in the 2023 world championships in this distance, so a good swim from him could make this another American triumph in the pool.
Olympic Men’s 100m Freestyle Medal Contenders
The fun thing about short-distance swims like this one is that there isn’t a lot of room for the best in the world to create separation. We should get a close race no matter who comes out on top, which makes the list of medal contenders for this event one of decent length. Along with Pan, Popovici, and Alexy, there are another five or so swimmers who could grab a medal for themselves.
Australia’s Kyle Chalmers probably has the best chance outside of the aforementioned three names, having won gold at the world championships in 2023. But don’t count out Chris Guiliano of the United States, France’s Maxime Grousset, or Hungary’s Nando Nemeth in this race either.
Men’s 100m Freestyle Betting Prediction: Zhanle Pan (+120)
We will go with the chalk to win the Olympic men’s 100m freestyle race in Paris. Pan has the best time in history already under his belt this year. And while the short distance here could open him up to challenges from all over the pool, we’ll go with the favorite to continue his incredible 2024 with a gold medal on the biggest stage.
