Olympics Betting Update Nine

	Downloads Bookmark this site Set as homepage Andrew W Scott

Day 1 of the athletics, you beauty! Plenty of events on the track and in the field, but bookies will have done more homework. Aths is much higher profile in Europe than swimming, thus British bookies put more time into the research. Not expecting as much value as in the swimming, but there will be some value to be found.

Two finals on Friday.

Men’s Shot Put

Second fav Adam Nelson is allegedly injured with an injured oblique muscle. If all fit, there’s not a lot between the top four in the betting. One tipping line with a fearsome reputation on athletics managed to snap up 25/1 on Mikhnevich from a couple of bookies after he lobbed 22m in a local meet in Minsk three weeks ago. Tough event to pick, no bet. Good event to bet in-running on as it takes a few hours.

Womens 10000m (Saturday 00:45)

Tough event and a short price favourite. Firstly – there are two Dibabas, Tirunesh and Ejegayehu. Don’t go backing the 1.2 shot when you want to back the other. E.Dibaba was runner-up in Athens four years ago. Distance races often have pacemakers, and a lot of team running with half the field from Ethiopia and Kenya. No such luxury here. Can’t pick a winner in this to be honest, but I think there’s little to be lost in laying the favourite at such a short price. A lot can happen...

Lay T.Dibaba at 1.28 and below for 1pt.

Heats and Semis:

Mens 100m

Three-way contest between Bolt, Gay and Powell. I’d like to see the early rounds before committing.

Womens Heptathlon

Very hard without Kluft in the field as this event isn’t regularly contested. Blonska is the veteran with the score on the board, Chernova the new talent with the world’s second best effort this year. The scary thing, she was miles off form in the high jump that day and still improving at 20. The American Fountain has the 2008 best mark from the US trials recently, I wonder if that will means she’s overdone it like their swimmers? Note for the in-play standings, Fountain starts well in the hurdles with Chernova well back, and then finishes like a brick with her worst results at the end. I can’t see Sotherton staying fit long enough to be a chance.

Back Chernova at 4, general for 0.5pts (no shorter than 3.75) (4.5 Centrebet, 4.2 Sportsbet, 4.0 TAB)

Lay Fountain in-running at 1.6 for 2pts on Betfair (place this bet before the event begins if within Aus, and make sure you hit KEEP). If she never reaches that price, then nothing lost.

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