Tag: Joe Kovacs

2024 Summer Olympics: Saturday’s best bets, picks and predictions

Analyzing Saturday’s Summer Olympics odds and lines, with expert picks, predictions and best bets.

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The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad, run through Aug. 11 in Paris, France. We’ll review the best bets for Saturday. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines for the best bets and prop plays for Saturday’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.

For Saturday, Aug. 3, it’s another busy day of Olympic action.

It’s time for Round 3 of the men’s golf tournament, and the schedule also includes judo, women’s badminton, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, women’s handball, men’s and women’s skeet shooting, men’s and women’s volleyball, women’s archery, men’s and women’s rowing, women’s shooting, men’s rowing, equestrian, women’s field hockey, various track and field events, men’s water polo, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s cycling road race, men’s and women’s swimming, tennis, men’s and women’s sailing (weather permitting), women’s fencing, women’s table tennis, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, men’s and women’s boxing, men’s and women’s canoe slalom, as well as men’s and women’s surfing (weather permitting).

Medals will be awarded for men’s and women’s shooting, equestrian, men’s and women’s rowing, men’s cycling road race, tennis, women’s table tennis, men’s and women’s sailing (weather permitting), women’s archery, women’s badminton, men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, judo, women’s fencing, various track and field, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s surfing (weather permitting) and women’s boxing.

Saturday’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 4:03 a.m. ET.

Men’s shot put — To win a medal: PAYTON OTTERDAHL, USA (+220)

Otterdahl led Group B in the men’s shot put qualification with a throw of 21.52m, besting New Zealand’s Tom Walsh (21.48m) and fellow American Joe Kovacs (21.24m). Kovacs has shorter odds (-180) to medal than Otterdahl, despite a worse qualification distance.

Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri (-550) topped Group A at 21.76m, just edging out Czechia’s Tomas Stanek (21.61m) and USA’s Ryan Crouser (21.49m).

Otterdahl showed out in qualification, and he is one of the best values for a chance to more than double up if he simply reaches the podium.

The competition starts at 1:35 p.m. ET.

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Men’s water polo: ROMANIA +6.5 (-114) vs. Italy

Romania (0 wins, 3 losses, 0 draws) is still searching for some modicum of success at the Paris Olympics. Romania hung with Croatia Thursday but lost 11-8, although it was able to cover as a 6.5-goal underdog.

On the flip side, Italy (3-0-0) is unbeaten. It has an average margin of victory of just 3.0 goals per game (GPG), including a narrow 11-9 win over Montenegro Thursday as it failed to cover as a 3.5-goal favorite.

Romania is not going to beat Italy, the group favorite and leader. But a margin of more than 6 goals is quite a bit. Look for the Romanians to hang around and grab a cover as the ‘dog.

The match starts at 3:05 p.m. ET.

Men’s individual archery — Gold medal winner: KIM WOOJIN, South Korea (+105)

KIM WOOJIN (+105) is the chalk to win the gold medal in the men’s individual event. He is the top-ranked archer in the world — South Korean archers are routinely at the top across all competitions.

Woojin won gold in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the team competition, but he was a disappointing 19th in the individual event in Rio, and 5th in Tokyo in the individual event, missing the podium. Turkey’s Mete Gazoz shocked the world in Tokyo with a gold, and Italy’s Mauro Nespoli took silver, with Japan’s Takaharu Furukawa earning bronze.

Look for a Woojin resurgence in Paris as he has his mojo back, and he is motivated after his disappointment 3 years ago. Ku Bon-chan won gold for South Korea in 2016, and Oh Jin-Hyek won gold in London in 2012. Woojin is looking to join the club.

The competition starts Sunday at 3:30 a.m. ET.

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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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Nine Nittany Lions to compete at USATF Olympic Trials

Nine Penn State athletes heading to Eugene in hopes of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Nine current and former Penn State track and field athletes are set to compete for the United States in this month’s USATF Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon in their counties road to Paris. The meet will take place at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field from June 21-30.

Hammer throw school record holder Samaria McDonald, as well as 800-meter runner Darius Smallwood, will represent the 2023-24 Nittany Lions in Eugene, with competition set to begin Friday. The duo joins Penn State track & field legends [autotag]Joe Kovacs[/autotag] (Shot Put), Isaiah Harris (800m), Tyler Merkley (Hammer), Morgan Shigo (Hammer), Rachel Fatherly (Shot Put), Brannon Kidder (800m, 1500m), and Rachel Gearing (800m) in competition at the Olympic Trials.

Penn State will also be represented on the coaching side with throws assistant Nathan Ott guiding McDonald and Merkley in their quest for Paris. Ott will also coach 2024 World No. 1 women’s hammer thrower Brooke Andersen.

In a most events at the Olympic Trials, athletes who finish in the top three of their respective events and also achieved the Olympic standard in their event during the qualifying period, will advance to the Olympic Games this summer. Special circumstances arise where this is not the only way to qualify, however, achieving the standard and placing in the top three at the trials is a U.S. athlete’s best shot to be named to the Olympic team. Track & field events at the Paris games are slated to take place August 1-11 and will include nearly 50 medal events.

Kovacs, one of the greatest shot putters in world competition, aims for his third-straight Olympic berth, having won silver medals in the shot put at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. His 23.13m throw is this year’s No. 1 mark and the No. 7 mark all-time.

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Watch the group of current and former Nittany Lions, compete in Eugene over the next ten days using the info below.

  • Dates: June 21-30
  • Time: Begins at 1 p.m. on Friday
  • TV Channel: NBC, USA Network, Peacock (Full TV schedule)

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Penn State football commit J’ven Williams breaks state shot put record

Penn State football commit J’Ven Williams dominates at the Pennsylvania high school track and field championships

One of Penn State’s top recruits lined up in the Class of 2023 is making sure to leave his mark on his high school track and field career before he makes the jump to play offensive line for the Nittany Lions. [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] set a new high school record in Pennsylvania at the PIAA Class 2A championships on Saturday by launching a shot 66 feet 7.75 inches.

Not only did Williams crush it in the shot put, but he also won the gold medal in the discus event held this weekend at Shippensburg University. Not a bad way to spend a Memorial Day weekend in the Cumberland Valley.

 

Ironically, Williams broke a state record that stood for an impressive 15 years. The record was previously set by [autotag]Joe Kovacs[/autotag], a Penn State track and field legend in his own right. Kovacs won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, earning his second career Olympic medal and adding to his medal collection.

Williams is a four-star offensive lineman recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2023. Williams has been ranked as the top recruit in the state of Pennsylvania, and he could arguably be the top offensive lineman in Penn State’s next recruiting class. Proving not to just be a shot put master, Williams was also named a First-Team All-County tackle and the offensive lineman of the year last season.

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Olympics: Penn State’s Joe Kovacs wins silver in shotput final

Joe Kovacs is taking home the first Olympic medal by a Penn Stater in Tokyo

Penn State’s own Joe Kovacs added to his medal collection on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics. Kovacs finished second in the shotput event to fellow American Ryan Crouser.

Kovacs won his second career Olympic medal, and it is the fifth medal of Kovacs’s career. As he boasted on Twitter following the Olympic final, he has never finished below a silver medal.

Kovacs certainly should not be disappointed in his second-place finish at the Olympics. His American rival, Crouser, happened to set a new Olympic record for the event as he took home the gold medal in Tokyo. Although it came just shy of his previous world record, Crouser shot a distance of 23.3 meters. Kovacs shot a distance of 22.65 meters in the final event.

New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh took the bronze with a distance of 22.47 meters.

Kovacs claimed the first medal by a former Nittany Lion, but more are surely on the way soon.

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Every Penn State Olympian athlete taking part in the Tokyo Olympics

Current or former Penn State athletes will represent three countries in nine events at the Tokyo Olympics.

Penn State will be represented well at the Tokyo Olympics, which of course have been delayed a year due to the pandemic. From track and field events to the volleyball court and the wrestling mats, Nittany Lions and former Nittany Lions will be competing on the ultimate international level this summer in Tokyo.

This is an attempt to make sure we have listed every single Olympic athlete competing with some form of tie to Penn State. As it stands, Nittany Lions will be representing three different countries in a total of nine individual or team events.

If you want to see the entire roster of Olympians representing the United States, check out this collection from USA TODAY Sports.

Here’s a look at this year’s Olympic athletes who are or once were a Penn State athlete.

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