Men's 4X400m Relay Predictions & Betting tips - Olympic Games

Prediction published on 08/08/2024, 14:12  by Matthew Newman | Modified on 08/08/2024 at 14:18

The men's 4X400m relay final is always a fascinating race. Starting on a stagger on the first lap and a bit before runners can pick their lane going down the back straight for the second time, our prediction will need to get themselves into a good position early to take advantage of the track position.

The USA are red-hot favourites here with odds of around 1.14. They are the reigning champions, the world record holders and boast all of the top 10 times in the history of the men's 4X400m. 18 times they have taken Olympic gold since the event started in 1912, that's from a possible 25.

Great Britain are second favourite, a team that has regularly produced a strong showing in this event over the years. They will have an extra incentive after Matthew Hudson-Smith narrowly missed out on gold in the men's individual 400m to the USA's Quincy Hall.

The quickest team in the world so far this year is Botswana. There is not a lot of form to go on over a season in the relays but that has to demand plenty of respect. They beat Jamaica, South Africa and Great Britain in Nassau back in May to produce that time. They won the bronze medal in Tokyo and based on that performance earlier this year, they should be in the medal race again.

Belgium has the best performance of any of the European squads so far in 2024. They might need a little bit of luck to knock any of the big three off the podium but the relay races always have that element of danger to them trying to get the baton around.