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• “The favourite is Thompson”-Boldon highlights Jamaican champion as man to beat in 100m in Paris

  Trinidadian four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has named Jamaican sprinting sensation Kishane Thompson as his favourite to take 100m gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.

  Thompson, 23, is currently the world leader in the event after running a personal best 9.77 to win the 100m title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June.

  The MVP Track Club-trained sprinter also produced times of 9.82 and 9.84 in the heats and semi-finals, respectively, at those national championships and, most recently, ran 9.91 shutting down to win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on July 9.

  “Thompson is the favourite,” Boldon said in an interview with LetsRundotcom on YouTube on Friday.

  “I know Noah (Lyles) is the World champion. I think Noah made it a little bit more interesting by running that 9.81 into a headwind which kind of almost converts to a 9.77 but there’s no way you can look at the way in which Thompson ran that 9.77 and just go ‘Oh Noah will beat him.’ Noah has his hands full with that guy,” Boldon said.

  Blazing speed acknowledged, one thing that Thompson lacks that his other competitors don’t is experience competing at the highest level of the sport with this being his first time representing Jamaica at any level.

  If there is anything to prevent Thompson from delivering on the form that he’s shown so far this season, Boldon believes that would be this lack of experience on a stage like the Olympic Games compared to his peers.

  “There are things which I see people completely ignoring. Kishane Thompson has not been under the microscope of Olympic favourite. Rounds are a great equalizer. Noah has the medals that he does because of how well he runs rounds. Is Noah suddenly a lock for the silver? No but he does have his hands full,” he said.

  “There are others who are going to be in the 100m that are used to the pressure and pressure is a big thing. If he’s able to pull this off, you write books about stuff like that,” he added.

   Thompson's quest for Olympic glory will begin in the heats of the men's 100m beginning on Saturday' August 3.

   

• Muir hoping Paris gold is 'meant to be' after claiming British record

  Laura Muir hopes breaking the British 1,500m record in Paris earlier this month is a sign of things to come as she guns for gold at the Olympic Games.

  Having finished seventh in the final at Rio 2016, Muir took silver at the last edition of the games in Tokyo, finishing behind Kenya's Faith Kipyegon with a time of 3:54.50.

  The 31-year-old Scot has been tipped to go one better this year after running a British record of 3:53:79 at the Diamond League meeting in the French capital on July 7.

  Speaking exclusively to Stat Perform, Muir outlined her hope that the 2024 Games will mark the culmination of her progress over the last few years. 

  "The record I broke was the record that I ran in the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver," she said, reflecting on her record time. 

  "So to break my British record that I ran winning silver, and to do it in the city that the next Olympics is going to be held in… it was just a 'this is meant to be' moment. 

  "It was really special, and to run the fastest I've ever ran just ahead of the Olympics was perfect and such a big confidence boost.

  "I'm just going to go into the Games in the best shape I've ever been in."

  Muir's silver medal in Tokyo came in front of no public spectators, with crowds in the Japanese capital limited to fellow athletes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  She is excited about the chance to share her experience with others this time around, saying: "It was such a shame that nobody could watch the biggest events in Tokyo. 

  "It's just so nice that people can come and spectate now, not just athletics but lots of different sports. 

  "With it being so close to home it'll be really easy for people to travel out there, it's not a big time difference, so it'll be so much easier for people to watch. I'm just really excited that they can soak up that atmosphere."

  Team GB managed five athletics medals in Tokyo (two silver, three bronze), having taken seven in 2016 and six on home soil at London 2016.

  With the likes of Matt Hudson-Smith and Keeley Hodgkinson also tipped to be in medal contention, Muir has high hopes regarding Team GB's overall prospects.

  "I think it's a fantastic team we've got out in Paris, so I'm just really excited to see how everybody gets on," she added.

  "To see Matt get his European record, Keeley get her British record, I got my British record a couple of weeks before that… it's a really, really exciting place to be. 

  "I think we're so strong across so many different events as well, which is so exciting, and the depth of that within some events, especially in endurance running, it's really exciting to see."

• Chelsea new boy Wiley eyes up Olympic gold with USA

  Chelsea's new signing Caleb Wiley is hopeful of clinching Olympic success with the United States in Paris.

  Wiley secured a move to Stamford Bridge from Atlanta United for a reported £8.5million ($11m) on Monday.

  But before linking up with his new team, Wiley will play for his country as the Stars and Stripes aim to claim gold at the Paris Games.

  The USA are playing at the Olympics for the first time since 2008, and open their account against France in Marseille on Wednesday, and the aim for Wiley is clear.

  The left-back told the Associated Press: "A medal. That's what we're going to fight for, and I have full belief that we're going to do it."

  Wiley has been overwhelmed with congratulatory messages after his transfer to one of the giants of English football, but he has credited the Olympics with helping him take his mind off one of the biggest moments of his career so far.

  He said: "I think for me the most important moment was staying present. It's been an ongoing thing for a while now, for a few months.

  "Just knowing where I was, staying focused with Atlanta at that time and then now with the Olympics has helped me kind of just be in the moment.

  "I think it's important to enjoy it first. You know this doesn't happen to many kids and so I think you need to embrace the feeling."

  The 19-year-old registered six goals and seven assists in 77 MLS matches across two and a half seasons with Atlanta.

  The USA, along with Thierry Henry's France, have also been grouped with Guinea and New Zealand in Group A.

  And coach Marko Mitrovic is embracing the enormity of facing the hosts in their first match after a 16-year absence, but stressed the result against Les Bleus will not define his team's tournament.

  He said: "We are very grateful to play that game. It's going to stay forever for us, but it's only one of three games that we have in the group stage and the points of the game count the same as in the other games."