Athletics stars, rivalries & key events at Paris 2024

Expect melodramatic storylines, thrilling competition, fierce rivalries and moreover world-record performances erstwhile nan athletics takes spot astatine Paris 2024.

The world's top athletes will effort to run, jump and propulsion themselves into nan history books astatine Stade de France connected 1-11 August successful nan French capital.

With nan opening ceremonial a matter of days away, present are 10 things to watch retired for.

Can anyone contradict Noah Lyles successful his bid for an unprecedented 4 way golds?

The American, victor of Olympic bronze 3 years ago, claimed 100m, 200m and 4x100m golden astatine past year's World Championships and wants to adhd nan 4x400m relay to his targets successful Paris.

Great Britain's world bronze medallist Zharnel Hughes will dream to beryllium among his rivals, while team-mate Louie Hinchliffe, coached by American awesome Carl Lewis, could supply one of nan stories of nan Games arsenic nan British 100m champion, 22, makes his Olympic debut pursuing a breakout year.

Jamaicans Kishane Thompson - nan fastest man this twelvemonth pinch a 100m champion of 9.77 seconds - and Oblique Seville person shown bully shape successful 2024, while Kenya's Ferdinand Omanyala has gone faster than Lyles complete 100m and Italy's Marcell Lamont Jacobs will beryllium wished to take sides his crown.

Key dates: Men's 100m last - 4 August; men's 200m last - 8 August; men's 4x100m relay last - 9 August; men's 4x400m relay last - 10 August

Jamaican sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce contests her last Olympics and intends to extremity her illustrious profession by making nan 100m podium astatine a 5th successive Games.

The 37-year-old five-time world 100m champion is nan third-fastest female successful history, but faces stern title from nan likes of reigning world champion Sha'Carri Richardson and world 200m champion Shericka Jackson.

However, chap Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah will not take sides her 100m and 200m titles because of injury.

British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Daryll Neita title some sprint events successful pursuit of first individual Olympic medals, earlier targeting nan 4x100m relay podium for a 3rd consecutive Games.

Key dates: Women's 100m last - 3 August; women's 200m last - 6 August; women's 4x100m relay last - 9 August

In 1 of nan astir eagerly anticipated showdowns of nan Games, Britain's world champion Josh Kerr and Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen renew their fierce rivalry successful nan men's 1500m.

The brace person exchanged words since Kerr, Olympic bronze medallist successful Tokyo, hit nan Norwegian successful nan world last past year, but Ingebrigtsen said nan rivalry is yet "good for nan sport" earlier their astir caller gathering successful May.

Kerr again sewage nan amended of Ingebrigtsen successful nan mile astatine nan Diamond League successful Eugene, breaking Steve Cram's 39-year-old British grounds successful nan process.

That came aft Kerr won world indoor 3,000m golden successful Glasgow, nevertheless Ingebrigtsen has claimed European golden and surgery nan European grounds this season.

Key dates: Men's 1500m semi-finals - 4 August; men's 1500m last - 6 August

Keely Hodgkinson has already suffered 3 near-misses successful her pursuit of a first world 800m title astatine nan property of 22 - and is wished to extremity that hold successful Paris.

In nan absence of Olympic champion Athing Mu, who fell during nan US trials, world champion Mary Moraa represents Hodgkinson's main obstacle to gold.

However, nan Briton hit Moraa convincingly successful Eugene 2 months agone and, aft defending her European title contempt unwellness successful June, improved her world-leading clip successful 2024 to 1 infinitesimal 54.61 seconds successful a stunning London capacity connected 20 July.

Teenager Phoebe Gill, GB's youngest way jock for 40 years, could emulate Hodgkinson by winning a badge connected her Olympic debut, while Jemma Reekie - nan second-fastest female this twelvemonth - missed retired connected nan Tokyo podium by conscionable 0.09secs.

Key dates: Women's 800m semi-finals - 4 August; women's 800m last - 5 August

In nan era of Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis, golden successful nan men's rod vault appears a formality.

The attraction is alternatively connected nan world grounds - and when, not if, nan Swedish prima will adjacent break it.

The 24-year-old, who has already won everything connected Olympic, world and European stages, improved that people for nan eighth clip successful April by clearing 6.24m.

In nan women's event, Britain's Molly Caudery eyes golden connected her Olympic debut aft winning world indoor golden successful March, and her British grounds of 4.92m is unmatched this year, but has associated world champions Nina Kennedy and Katie Moon for competition.

Key dates: men's rod vault last - 5 August; women's rod vault last - 7 August

Katarina Johnson-Thompson declared her 2nd heptathlon world title triumph successful Budapest past summertime arsenic "the champion time of my life", aft completing a singular turnaround successful her career.

Following her 2019 triumph nan Briton, 31, overcame a career-threatening Achilles rupture earlier suffering wounded heartbreak astatine nan Tokyo Olympics - and now seeks redemption successful nan shape of a first Olympic badge successful Paris.

Two-time reigning Olympic champion Nafi Thiam, 29, missed past year's Worlds pinch wounded but demonstrated a return to her champion to return a ascendant golden astatine nan European Championships, wherever Johnson-Thompson withdrew pinch a insignificant injury.

World metallic medallist Anna Hall, 23, has besides flooded injuries and seeks to emulate mentor Jackie Joyner-Kersee by winning golden for Team USA.

Key dates: Heptathlon 100m hurdles, precocious jump, changeable put, 200m - 8 August; heptathlon agelong jump, javelin, 800m - 9 August

There is imaginable for a world-record showdown erstwhile Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol spell head-to-head successful nan 400m hurdles.

American McLaughlin-Levrone and Dutch jock Bol person together tally 17 of nan 20 fastest times successful history.

Defending champion and world grounds holder McLaughlin-Levrone is favourite aft improving her champion clip to 50.65secs successful June - but Bol group an indoor 400m world grounds this twelvemonth and a caller European grounds of 50.95secs successful July.

The men's arena besides promises accelerated times should Norwegian world grounds holder Karsten Warholm, American Rai Benjamin and Brazil's Alison dos Santos - nan 3 men to tally nether 47 seconds successful 2024 - each make nan final.

Key dates: Women's 400m hurdles last - 8 August; men's 400m hurdles last - 9 August

Faith Kipyegon has won six of nan 7 world way finals she has contested since winning her first Olympic 1500m golden successful 2016, nan only objection being world metallic successful 2019.

That includes defending her Olympic title successful 2021 and achieving double world golden complete 1500m and 5,000m past twelvemonth - a feat nan 30-year-old mother intends to replicate successful Paris.

With Kipyegon improving her 1500m world grounds successful July, Tokyo metallic medallist Laura Muir and British champion Georgia Bell will request to hit Ethiopia's 5,000m grounds holder Gudaf Tsegay and in-form Australian Jessica Hull to make nan podium.

Tsegay, for illustration Kipyegon, is besides entered successful nan 5,000m but has nan 10,000m connected her radar too. Not to beryllium outdone, Dutch jock Sifan Hassan could effort adding nan marathon to that treble bid aft winning 5,000m and 10,000m golds and 1500m bronze successful Tokyo.

Key dates: Women's 5,000m last - 5 August; women's 10,000m last - 9 August; women's 1500m last - 10 August; women's marathon 11 August

Might David Rudisha's men's 800m world grounds yet beryllium beaten aft 12 years?

The Kenyan's golden medal-winning clip of 1 infinitesimal 91 seconds has stood since London 2012, but successful 2024 1 man successful peculiar has been successful basking pursuit.

Algerian 25-year-old Djamel Sedjati moved to 3rd successful nan all-time database by clocking 1:41.56 astatine nan Paris Diamond League successful early July, and aft improving to 1:41.46 successful Monaco 5 days later, stated he will purpose for Rudisha's mark.

World bronze medallist Ben Pattison, 22, ran nan second-fastest clip ever by a British jock - down only Sebastian Coe - successful 1:42.27 for 5th spot successful Monaco, beating world champion Marco Arop successful nan process, and is joined by erstwhile world 1500m champion Jake Wightman.

Key dates: Men's 800m semi-finals - 9 August; men's 800m last - 10 August

Matthew Hudson-Smith announced he had "big plans" for 2024 aft being pipped to world 400m golden by Jamaica's Antonio Watson, contempt struggling each twelvemonth pinch Achilles tendonitis.

The 29-year-old has made nary concealed of his aureate ambitions, successful Budapest and Paris, and improved his European grounds to 43.74secs successful a sensational capacity astatine nan London Diamond League successful July arsenic he built towards his target.

That is nan fastest clip successful nan world this year, while British team-mate Charlie Dobson is different sanction to watch retired for successful Paris aft nan 24-year-old Olympic debutant became nan second-fastest British jock successful history successful nan aforesaid race.

Hudson-Smith missed Tokyo pinch injury, and distant from nan way he has flooded terrible intelligence wellness issues, enduring "three years of hell" earlier returning to triumph world bronze successful 2022. "Next time, gold," he declared aft upgrading that successful 2023.

Key dates: Men's 400m semi-finals - 6 August; men's 400m last - 7 August