One year to go until athletics action begins at Paris 2024 Olympic Games

One year from today, just before 9am local time, the first athletics champions of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be crowned.

It will be the first of 48 sets of medals that will be awarded during the track and field programme of the Games, spanning 11 days of action. Here are some of the expected highlights from each of those 11 days.

 

Day one (1 August)

The starting gun will fire at 7:30am local time for the men’s and women’s 20km race walk events, marking the start of the athletics programme in the French capital.

Held on Pont d’lena, against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, the races will bring together the best race walkers in the world with athletes such as double world champion Kimberly Garcia and world and Olympic champion Massimo Stano competing for top honours.

 

Day two (2 August)

In-stadium track and field action will kick off on this day, starting with heats of the women’s 100m in the morning and ending with the men’s 10,000m in the evening session.

Uganda’s world record-holder Jacob Kiplimo has won the past two world titles for the 25-lap event, but he was beaten to gold in this discipline by Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega at the last Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Another world record-holder, Kevin Mayer – one of the host nation’s best hopes for a gold medal – will likely be in action on this day as the first five disciplines of the decathlon get under way.

 

Day three (3 August)

The fastest woman in the world will be crowned on the evening of the third day when the women’s 100m final takes place. Expect a strong Jamaican presence as Elaine Thompson-Herah has won the past two Olympic titles, while compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is a five-time world champion at the distance. But the US challenge is always tough, too.

The decathlon will also reach its conclusion on this day, while the mixed 4x400m will produce much excitement on the track.

The men’s shot put and women’s triple jump have seen their fair share of world records in recent years, and that could continue on this night in Paris as both disciplines take place.

 

Day four (4 August)

The men’s 100m final on the evening of 4 August will, as ever, be one of the biggest focuses of the Games.

Italy’s Marcell Jacobs won the wide-open final in Tokyo in 2021, while USA’s Fred Kerley took the world title in Oregon last year. Another gold medallist could emerge at the World Championships in Budapest next month, while several other contenders will be vying for the podium.

The women’s high jump and men’s hammer will add further interest to the programme on day four.

 

Day five (5 August)

In recent years, Mondo Duplantis has achieved all there is to do in the pole vault.

The world, Olympic and European champion has broken the world record on several occasions, but shows no sign of slowing down. Who knows what heights he – and the rest of the world’s leading pole vaulters – could be chasing by the time of the men’s Olympic pole vault final on 5 August.

Other finals due to take place this day include the women’s 800m and the men’s discus.

 

Day six (6 August)

There’s something for everyone on day six.

The women’s 200m will engage sprint fans, while the women’s 5000m promises to be another mouth-watering clash for fans of distance running.

Meanwhile, the men’s 1500m – with Jakob Ingebrigtsen potentially defending his title from Tokyo – will be a highlight for keen followers of middle-distance running.

Field event enthusiasts, meanwhile, will be enthralled by the women’s hammer and men’s long jump finals.

 

Day seven (7 August)

The seventh day will be highlighted by the newest discipline on the Olympic programme: the marathon race walk mixed relay.

The event will feature 25 teams, each comprising one man and one woman, who will complete the marathon distance (42.195km) in four legs of approximately equal distance.

Back in the stadium, the action will be hot as the men’s 400m and 3000m steeplechase finals take place, along with the women’s pole vault and men’s discus.

 

Day eight (8 August)

It has taken a world record to win the women’s 400m hurdles at the past three global championships, so who knows what will be needed to take the title in Paris.

On a busy night for sprints and hurdles action, the men’s 200m final and 110m hurdles final will take place that evening, as will the finals for the women’s 3000m steeplechase, women’s long jump and men’s javelin.

 

Day nine (9 August)

Twenty-four hours after the women’s final takes place, the men’s 400m hurdles will be one of several finals held on the evening of 9 August.

In fact, three other finals held over one lap of the track – the women’s 400m, women’s 4x100m and men’s 4x100m – are all being held this day.

The women’s heptathlon will reach its conclusion during the evening session, while the women’s 10,000m, shot put and men’s triple jump will be key features of the busy night of athletics action.

 

Day 10 (10 August)

Nine finals will be held on the last full day of track and field action, but the day begins with the men’s marathon on the streets of Paris.

Back in the stadium, the finals of the men’s 800m, 5000m and women’s 1500m will take place, so too will the women’s 100m hurdles and both men’s and women’s 4x400m finals.

The men’s high jump and women’s javelin, meanwhile, will be the last field events of the Games.

 

Day 11 (11 August)

In a break from tradition, the last athletics action of the Games will be the women’s marathon, which will take place on the morning of 11 August as the world’s best road runners compete for the final title on offer in Paris.