The Olympic women’s 100m freestyle event in swimming is all about speed, as the best freestyle swimmers in the world go up and down the Olympic pool once each in an attempt to win gold. This race is headlined by a couple of medalists from the previously completed women’s 200m freestyle event, including its gold medalist in Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan. Here, we will break down the 100m freestyle and pick our winner for what should be a fast-paced battle between a couple of great competitors.
Olympic Women’s 100m Freestyle Betting Odds
| Swimmer | Gold Medal Odds |
| Mollie O’Callaghan | -155 |
| Siobhan Haughey | +200 |
| Sarah Sjostrom | +350 |
| Marrit Steenbergen | +400 |
| Shayna Jack | +1200 |
| Gretchen Walsh | +1800 |
| Junxuan Yang | +2000 |
| Torri Huske | +2000 |
| Yujie Cheng | +2500 |
| Penny Oleksiak | +4000 |
| Beryl Gastaldello | +5000 |
| Anna Hopkin | +5000 |
| Katarzyna Wasick | +10000 |
| Marie Wattel | +20000 |
| Freya Anderson | +20000 |
| Barbora Seemanova | +20000 |
| Rikako Ikee | +20000 |
| Michelle Coleman | +20000 |
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
The favorite to win the Olympic women’s 100m freestyle is Mollie O’Callaghan of Australia. O’Callaghan finished strong in the women’s 200m freestyle to set an Olympic record and beat fellow Aussie Ariarne Titmus, who had won the 400m freestyle gold earlier in the Olympic meet. O’Callaghan will be expected to fly through the final 50 meters of this race as she did in the 200 free, but the question will be whether she will get off to a fast enough start to break away from the pack as the favorite here.
Olympic Women’s 100m Freestyle Major Storylines
O’Callaghan’s chance to win a second individual gold in a freestyle event is the top storyline of this race. Australia as a whole has been great in the women’s swimming portion of the Paris Games so far, with O’Callaghan and Titmus being big reasons for their success so far. A second gold in a span of three days for O’Callaghan would make this an all-time great individual Olympics from her.
Then there is the question of where the medals end up from gold through bronze in this race, all of which could be decided by hundredths of a second. There are four swimmers all within +500 to win gold in this race, with some excellent swimmers just outside of that group also looking to crash the party. This could end up being one of the closest races of the Paris Olympics all the way across the pool, which makes it more than worth taking the time to watch.
Olympic Women’s 100m Freestyle Medal Contenders
Along with O’Callaghan, there are three top contenders to come away with medals, but only three medal spots for those four swimmers to compete for. Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey won bronze in the 200m freestyle and will look to improve on that finish here. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom has medaled in this event in the 2016 Olympics and will look to do so again. And Marrit Steenbergen of Netherlands is also in contention to grab one of the podium spots in this competition.
Women’s 100m Freestyle Betting Prediction: Mollie O’Callaghan (-155)
We are expecting a very close race no matter who ends up winning the women’s 100m freestyle. But we will go with the favorite here in Mollie O’Callaghan, as we are encouraged by her performance in the 200 free on Monday. Look for O’Callaghan to grab a third total gold in these Olympics after winning individually in the 200 free and contributing to Australia’s victory in the 4x100m freestyle relay where they were heavy favorites.
