The defending Olympic champion in the women’s 100m backstroke will be competing in this year’s race as well. But reigning gold medalist Kaylee McKeown of Australia is not the favorite to win the race this year, thanks to a surging American looking to get her hands on Olympic gold for the first time. Here, we look at the Olympic women’s 100m backstroke at the Paris Games and make our pick to win this race in the Olympic betting markets.
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Olympic Women’s 100m Backstroke Betting Odds
| Swimmer | Gold Medal Odds |
| Regan Smith | -125 |
| Kaylee McKeown | +110 |
| Mollie O’Callaghan | +700 |
| Katharine Berkoff | +900 |
| Kylie Masse | +1100 |
| Emma Terebo | +2000 |
| Letian Wan | +2500 |
| Ingrid Wilm | +2500 |
| Danielle Hill | +5000 |
| Beryl Gastaldello | +5000 |
| Xueer Wang | +10000 |
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
The favorite to win the Olympic women’s 100m backstroke is Regan Smith of the United States. While she has yet to win gold at an Olympic Games, she did set the world record in this distance at the US Olympic Trials back in June. But McKeown is right behind her, having won this race at the Tokyo Games in 2021. No other swimmer is inside of +500 to win this event, as we should see a showdown between Smith and McKeown for the gold.
Olympic Women’s 100m Backstroke Major Storylines
Whether or not the world record in the women’s 100m backstroke is safe is the number-one storyline coming into the Paris Olympics in this particular race. Smith just set the record on American soil and it could take another world-record-caliber performance to take home the gold medal in this race. Keep an eye on the clock in this event, as this race could end up being the fastest in Olympic history in the women’s 100m backstroke.
The perceived lack of suitable contenders behind Smith and McKeown is also an interesting storyline going into this race. This could go one of two ways, as a surprise contender could emerge to push the top-two for the gold. Or the rest of the field could go quietly and we see the top-two spots on the podium fall the way we expect them to. Either way, that will be something to watch in the Olympic pool in Paris.
Olympic Women’s 100m Backstroke Medal Contenders
Outside of the top contenders in this race, Smith and McKeown, the race to finish in the top-three is pretty wide open. Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan and the United States’ Katharine Berkoff are among those who could end up with a medal in this race. But there are realistically five to eight swimmers who could come away with a medal if they do well enough to get into favorable lanes going into the final of this event in the week to come.
Women’s 100m Backstroke Betting Prediction: Regan Smith (-125)
Right now, there is nobody in recorded human history that has completed the women’s 100m backstroke as fast as Regan Smith did back in June. While McKeown is an incredible competitor and should make this a tight race, we will go with Smith to get the win here as she should win her first Olympic gold medal in this race.
