Olympic Swimming Women’s 100 Freestyle 2021 Betting Predictions & Odds
Swimming: Saturday, July 24 – Sunday, August 1, 2021
Women’s 100 Freestyle Stats
World Record: Sarah Sjostrom (SWE) – 51.71 (2017)
Olympic Record: Simone Manuel/Penny Oleksiak – 52.70 (2016)
World Junior Record: Penny Oleksiak – 52.70 (2016)
2016 Olympic Champs: Simone Manuel (USA) /Penny Oleksiak (CAN) – 52.70
Emma McKeon is a straight runway model and one of our top picks to win gold. Great eye candy for us guys throughout the week as she’ll be swimming a ton of events. She could definitely win the 100 free, but we’re not so confident in laying -115 against the field in a race as tight as a 100 freestyle. With that said there are very tasty odds with Campbell, Sjostrom, Oleksiak and Wattel.
As last Olympics has shown us Campbell blew out the majority of parlays with her as a -250 favourite in this event in Rio, but we have to think there’s some value on her at +300. She’s got the #2 performance all-time and we could see her winning, even though she didn’t bring home the gold in Rio. Same with Oleksiak. She was tied with Manuel for gold in Rio as a 16 year old. Swimnerds think she’s undervalued too at her current odds.
The past two Olympics Campbell has been Australia’s best chance to medal. The Australian media is so brutal and piles a tonne of pressure onthe gold medal favourites. Look at Maggie in 2012 and Sullivan in 2008, who both choked in the final due to the pressure of the media.
Yufei is not swimming this event which makes it less exiting from a betters point of view. Sjostrom is the world record holder but she broke her hand a few months ago so we doubt she’ll be in peak form worth a punt.
We are hearing a lot of prefessional pundits for swimming such as swimnerds are really like Sibohan Haughey as well. Who would’t at her current odds. Maybe try to slam her when more detailed odds come out, we’re sure she’ll be 15-1 or 20-1.
Our four top picks:
1.Sarah Sjostrom would be an easy favourite to win the Olympic title. Sjostrom, the reigning Olympic bronze medalist, is the current world record holder in the event, having swam a time of 51.71 back at the 2017 World Championships. However, Sjostrom was also out of the water for a period of time after breaking her elbow earlier this year. After returning to the water, Sjostrom has been as fast as 53.47, coming in second place at the Sette Colli Trophy. She will most likely need to be about a half second faster to contend for a medal in Tokyo, but with a fairly narrow field, she should still be one of the top contenders.
2. Cate Campbell entered Rio as the heavy favorite for gold in the event after breaking the long standing world record during the Australian Olympic Trials (which has since been broken by Sjostrom). Campbell was unable to repeat her successes on the Olympic stage, falling to 6th place in the final. After taking most of 2017 off, Campbell returned to the international stage, winning gold at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in a best time of 52.03, the second fastest performance of all time. At 29-years-old, Campbell has been on the international stage for over 13 years. However, she has never won an Olympic title in an individual event. Tokyo may be Campbell’s best, and final chance, to accomplish that feat. Cate is our most confident pick.
3.Emma McKeon won the event at the Australian Olympic Trials last month. McKeon swam a time of 52.35 in finals after posting a 52.19 in prelims, making her the fastest swimmer in the world for the 2020-2021 season. McKeon was a member of Australia’s winning 400 freestyle relay in Rio, but she’s in the position to claim her first individual title in Tokyo. However, she’ll have a busy schedule during the meet, with up to 7 events, even after dropping the 200 freestyle. Due to the amount of events she has to compete in- McKeon is our second favourite pick.
16-year-old Penny Oleksiak shocked almost everyone when she tied Manuel for the Olympic title, setting a new World Junior Record with her time of 52.70. In the years since then, however, Oleksiak has failed to reach the same level of competition, falling to 6th at the 2017 World Championships and not even contesting the event at the 2019 World Championships. Now, at 21-years-old, Oleksiak is looking to make a comeback, and has positioned herself well to do so. At the 2021 Canadian Olympic Trials, Oleksiak won the 100 freestyle in a time of 52.89, her fastest performance since Rio. Oleksiak’s time currently ranks her 4th in the world for this season, with all 3 of the swimmers in front of her coming from Australia.
Notable mentions:
Taylor Ruck is also looking to regain her momentum after a disappointing meet at the Canadian Olympic Trials. Ruck, the reigning Pan Pac and Commonwealth Games champion, missed the Olympic Team in the 200 freestyle. However, Ruck was pre-nominated to swim the 100 freestyle in Tokyo, and also may be in the conversation for a medal if she can beat her personal best of 52.71.
Abbey Weitzeil and Erika Brown claimed the two individual spots in the event. Tokyo will be Weitzeil’s second Olympic Games, after swimming in Rio 5 years ago. With her winning time of 53.52 from trials, Weitzeil currently ranks 19th in the world. However, several people rank ahead of her who cannot swim the event in Tokyo, placing her within reach of finals.
Dark Horse: Marie Wattel has been one of France’s top sprinters for years, competing in Rio in the 100m butterfly. At the French Olympic Trials, Wattel had a strong meet, qualifying for 3 events in Tokyo, plus coming within a tenth of her best time in every race. Although Wattel was only 53.34 in the event at trials, she may have room to drop more with a full taper.