Olympics 2008: Bodog's Fantastic Five
by Bodog Sports | Jul 31 2008
In betting parlance they are known as the ‘bankers’ of the Beijing Olympics; the sportsmen and women who are odds-on favourites, that many shrewd judges feel are almost guaranteed to win gold in their respective events.
Sanya Richards - Athletics - Women's 400m
USA, aged 23
At such short odds it’s perfectly clear the bookies are looking to stay on the right side of the athlete who won gold in the 4x400m relay at the Athens Games. The following season Richards won a silver medal in the 400m at the 2005 World Championships.
In 2006 she made it a Golden League clean sweep winning six out of six events in the same season to bank the bonus $250,000. At the tail end of the 2006 season Richards eclipsed Valerie Brisco-Hooks' US 400m record with a time of 48.70. She was subsequently named IAAF 2006 Female World Athlete of the Year.
Away from the track Richards is an accomplished singer and a dancer and it seems likely she’ll have a spring in her step after the 400m final.
on Sanya Richards to win the Gold Medal at Olympics 2008
Leisel Jones - Swimming – Women’s 100m Breaststroke
Australia, aged 22
In terms of Olympic bankers they surely don’t come more secure than this Aussie beauty. But at such low odds only the very big hitters will be getting involved. Got a spare 120k handy to win ten grand?
Jones deploys an old fashioned breaststroke technique that features a slow, deep cycle. At the highest level she’s one of the slowest starters around and is usually the last swimmer to surface after dive start.
She competed in the 2000 Olympics aged only 15 years, and won relay gold at the 2004 Olympics. Her leg in the women's 4 x 100m medley relay in Athens to put Australia in command is still raved about.
This season at the Telstra Grand Prix in Canberra Jones beat her own 100m breaststroke world record with a time of 1.03.72.
on Leisel Jones to win the Gold Medal at Olympics 2008
Jeremy Wariner - Athletics - Men's 400m
USA, aged 24
The man with the Rolls Royce stride became major box office material when he claimed two Olympic golds in Athens - in the men’s 400m and as the third leg of the USA 4x400m relay.
In 2006 the Texan bagged six out of six Golden League events (400m) to land the $250,000 bonus. At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, Wariner clocked a 400m time of 43.45 - the third-fastest 400m of all time (only the legendary Michael Johnson and Butch Reynolds have gone quicker).
Many have doubted the wisdom of his recent switch from long time coach Clyde Hart to Michael Ford but it will be some surprise if that hampers his gold medal chances too much.
on Jeremy Wariner to win the Gold Medal at Olympics 2008Irving Saladino - Athletics – Men’s Long Jump
Panama, aged 25
The Panamanian hero will carry his country’s flag at the Opening Ceremony and is Bodog’s outstanding favourite. Spring-heeled Saladino is the reigning World Champion having claimed gold in Osaka last year.
It was no surprise to see the Latin American prosper in Japan. Saladino gave us glimpses of things to come when he claimed five Golden League events in 2006 at Oslo, Rome, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin.
His Osaka win was a thrilling affair – he produced his biggest jump when it really mattered - the last leap of the competition to eclipse Las Vegan Andrew Howe with a distance of 8.57m.
on Irving Saladino to win the Gold Medal at Olympics 2008Michael Phelps - Swimming – Men’s 100m Butterfly
USA, aged 23
At only 23 the Baltimore man is already an Olympic legend having won a staggering eight medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens - six of them gold.
His achievement equalled the record for medals at a single Olympics - alongside Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Games (although it should be remembered that USA didn’t take part in Russia).
Phelps’ distinguished career has seen him voted World Swimmer of the Year in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Unsurprisingly, his feats have seen him compared to the great Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics - but that’s an achievement that many believe not even Phelps will better.
However, at the 2007 World Championships Phelps claimed seven gold medals – breaking five world records along the way. With 25 world records to his name it seems likely that figure will rise once the Games begin.
on Michael Phelps to win the Gold Medal at Olympics 2008
on the Beijing Olympics 2008
