Athletics / Robin Adams / 15 August 2009 / Leave a comment

Bob Adams discusses the range of markets on offer around Sunday's 100m final and asks whether Usain Bolt can live up to the hype...

"In the winner without big two market, there are so many more interesting contenders than Asafa Powell and Antiguan Daniel Bailey looks a stand out wager at [3.5]."

All eyes on Sunday will be on the final event of the day and nobody will be leaving Berlin's Olympic Stadium until they see whether Usain Bolt can live up to the expectations heaped upon his young shoulders. Betfair are offering a whole range of innovative markets based around this contest and there's profit to be gained even with Bolt apparently unbeatable.

I have examined this contest in depth elsewhere on these pages and I believe Bolt will strike gold as he did in the Olympic final last year - hence there's no value in the straight win market. America's Tyson Gay will no doubt claim silver and this opens up a really intriguing market in betting without the big two. Asafa Powell heads the list here at [3.25], but I'm happy to take him on at those odds as his confidence seems shot to bits in having to play second fiddle to Bolt for much of this year. There are so many more interesting contenders and the Antiguan Daniel Bailey at [3.5] looks a stand out wager here.

If Bolt is a hot favourite to claim the honours in the men's 100m final then Valerie Vili of New Zealand is a scorching certainty to grab gold in the women's shot put and she has been matched in the win market to the exclusion of all others, with plenty of money waiting for any brave layers. Most of the markets here are relatively immature, but I'd really be interested in taking a price on the Belarus athlete Natallia Mikhnevich in the winner without Vili market. Mikhnevich took silver in the Beijing Olympics and has the talent to do so again in Berlin.

Tags: Asafa Powell, Athletics betting, Bob Adams, Daniel Bailey, Tyson Gay, Usain Bolt, World Championship Athletics Betting