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We’re down to the final days of the 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, which conclude Sunday in Paris, France. We’ll review the best bets for Friday. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines for the best bets and prop plays for Friday’s Olympic action, and make our expert Summer Olympic picks and predictions.
Each day we’ll check out the best bets, as well as the top prop plays when applicable.
On Friday, men’s and women’s taekwondo continues as does the men’s and women’s modern pentathlon, and round 3 of the women’s golf tournament.
In addition, we’ll have men’s and women’s diving, group rhythmic gymnastics, men’s team table tennis medal matches, men’s and women’s sport climbing, men’s and women’s canoe sprint, men’s sailing (weather permitting), men’s water polo consolation and semifinals matches, men’s and women’s cycling track, women’s field hockey medal matches, the women’s soccer bronze medal match, men’s weightlifting, women’s breaking, the men’s volleyball bronze medal match, men’s handball semifinals, women’s basketball semifinals, women’s beach volleyball medal matches, artistic swimming, wrestling, men’s marathon/open-water swimming and various track and field events.
Friday’s 2024 Olympics best bets
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:39 a.m. ET.
Men’s water polo semifinal: HUNGARY ML (+124) vs. Croatia
This match takes place at 1:35 p.m. ET.
Croatia won 3 of 5 games in Group A play in the preliminary round, finishing 4th in the table with a plus-1 goal differential. The 57 goals allowed and the goal differential were the 2nd-worst among qualifying teams with only Serbia ranking lower.
Hungary also won 3 of 5 games in the preliminary round in Group B play, notching 62 goals, 2nd-best in the tournament, while posting a plus-8 goal differential. That was the 2nd-best among B teams.
Hungary nipped Italy 12-10 in a shootout in the quarterfinals to get to this point. Goalkeeper Soma Vogel came up huge to help Hungary, one of the best all-time water polo nations, keep its dreams of gold alive.
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Men’s boxing 92kg gold medal match: LOREN ALFONSO, Azerbaijan (-122) vs. Lazizbek Mullojonov, Uzbekistan
This bout is scheduled to start at 4:34 p.m. ET.
Azerbaijan’s Loren Alfonso, sometimes listed in full as Loren Berto Alfonso Dominguez, has managed a 49-17 record across his pro-am career. Originally born in Cuba, he defected to Azerbaijan.
He competed in the middleweight division in the Cuban Championships in 2017, before moving on to Azerbaijan. He finished 3rd in 2018, and 2nd in 2019 in the Azerbaijani light heavyweight championships.
Alfonso started off these Olympics by upsetting Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz, the gold medalist at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Alfonso will have his hands full against Uzbekistan’s Lazizbek Mullojonov, who has won his 3 bouts by a combined score of 13-2 in these games.
Alfonso is on a roll, however, and a strong play at this price.
Men’s marathon — Gold medal winner: BENSON KIPRUTO, Kenya (+105)
This event actually begins at 2 a.m. ET on Saturday.
Kenya is a long-distance running power, and Kipruto is already a decorated runner. He posted a personal best of 2:02:16 at the 2024 Tokyo Marathon, and he also has won the 2021 Boston Marathon and the 2022 Chicago Marathon. In addition, he secured wins in the 2018 Toronto Waterfront Marathon and 2021 Prague Marathon, too.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge (+310) has won the past 2 Olympics marathons — at Rio De Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2020) — and Kenya has posted golds in 3 of the past 4 games. Kipchoge is a tempting play for the chance to triple up, and he likely will end up on the podium with Kipruto Saturday morning.
The biggest threat to the Kenyan dominance is Uganda’s Victor Kiplangat (+220) and Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta (+650).
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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More USA TODAY Summer Olympics coverage:
News | Medal count | Meet Team USA
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