Track and field is so close you can almost taste it – only a few days left! With all the hype over the 100m, intrigue over which stars will contest which distance events, and plotting out relay arrangements, we can’t forget that some of the most exciting action to come over the next week will be taking place on the field. With world record holders like Mondo Duplantis, Ryan Crouser, and Mykolas Alekna in action in Paris, we won’t simply be guaranteed great competition – we could be seeing history in the making.

A full schedule of events with live results can be found here. You can also find a searchable list of entries and a helpful FAQ on the World Athletics website.

In the United States, track and field events will be broadcast on Peacock (subscription required) and the NBC/Universal family of TV stations. A full broadcast schedule can be found here. If you don’t live in the U.S. and want to watch, more information on international broadcasts can be found here.

We’re excited to have a full CITIUS MAG team on the ground in Paris providing daily live shows before and after the action, including interviews with competing athletes, our TORCH TALK recap show, and the return of GOOD MORNING TRACK AND FIELD. Make sure you’re subscribed to the CITIUS MAG YouTube channel for live shows, and subscribe (and share with your friends!) to the CITIUS MAG newsletter for daily newsletters in your inbox after every day of track and field competition.

Here’s everything you need to know about the men’s field events at the Paris Olympics.

Men’s Shot Put

First round: Friday, August 2nd, 2:10 p.m. ET

This competition will be memorable no matter what, and it truly has the potential to be one of the greatest competitions in the history of track and field. It will be the first global championship in history where four men enter with PBs over 75 feet/22.86m. The Olympic podium has been the exact same at the last two Olympics: Americans Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs 1-2 with New Zealand’s Tom Walsh taking home bronze. That was the first such repeat in an individual Olympic event in any sport, but it’s unlikely to happen a third time in Paris, mainly because of one 27-year-old Italian.

Top contenders: Leonardo Fabbri has been on a historic run in 2024. His first major breakthrough came a little less than a year ago in Budapest, where he surpassed the 22m barrier for the first time and secured World Championship silver with a mark of 22.34m. His indoor campaign was strong, taking bronze in Glasgow, but nobody could’ve expected just how good he would be when moving outdoors. He’s thrown 22m in every competition, he won the European title, and he won the London Diamond League last week. All signs would point to him being the favorite, if not for Crouser. The world record holder and reigning double Olympic and World champ is pursuing a never-before-seen threepeat in Paris. His outdoor season was delayed by elbow and chest injuries, but strong showings at the U.S. Trials (1st, 22.84m) and London (2nd, 22.37m) show that he’s still the competitor we’re used to seeing. Don’t forget, this is the same guy who produced the second-farthest throw in history in Budapest with blood clots in his leg.

More names to watch: It feels insane to list a two-time World champion who’s the current world leader outside of the top contenders section, but that’s the place that feels most accurate for Joe Kovacs at the moment. After opening his season with marks of 22.93m and 23.13m in May, he has “only” managed 22.43m for a runner-up finish in Eugene and 22.03 for fourth in London. Kovacs is one of the best championship performers the sport has ever seen, and has a ton of confidence that he can throw much farther (for good reason), so despite his recent form, a win wouldn’t be totally out of left field. Walsh has struggled this outdoor season, so if anyone can break up the three favorites on the podium it would be Payton Otterdahl. The third American in the field has, like Fabbri, been having the best year of his career by a mile to start 2024.

Men’s Discus Throw

First round: Monday, August 5th, 4:10 a.m. ET

Like we’re seeing in the shot put, men’s discus has never been deeper than it is now. Nine men have cleared 69m this season, by far the most since at least 2001 (which is as far back as World Athletics top-lists go). Mykolas Alekna is the clear headliner of this incredibly deep field after his world record performance of 74.35m from April, but the number of athletes for whom you could make a legitimate podium case is near double digits.

Top contenders: Alekna has broken the world record this year, he’s thrown at least 70m on four occasions, and his worst mark was 67.48m to take bronze at the European Championships. The 21-year-old Lithuanian is 4-1 on the year against his chief competitor, Slovenia’s Kristjan Čeh, and will head to Paris as the favorite. Čeh, the 2022 World champ, has shaken off a couple poor Diamond League showings in May and should have some confidence going into his second Olympics. He went undefeated in June, including a European title in Rome, and has only lost once in the last two months (to Alekna in Hungary). Daniel Ståhl is the reigning Olympic and World champ in the event, but a promising start to the season has been followed by mediocrity, at least when compared to the standards of one of the best discus throwers to ever live. A glimmer of hope, however, is that the veteran Swede produced his best throw since mid-May in his most recent competition – but 66.99m may not be enough to make the podium in Paris.

More names to watch: Australia’s Matty Denny has done a great job of carrying the momentum from his Diamond League championship last September into 2024. The fourth-place finisher in both Tokyo and Budapest, Denny has produced seven of the nine best throws of his career this season, and he’s only placed outside the top three in one competition this year. He stands a solid chance at winning the first ever Olympic medal by an Australian man in a throwing event. Lukas Weißhaidinger is always dangerous in championship settings, as seen by his two global bronze medals, and the Austrian has been in great shape this year. Ralford Mullings of Jamaica is a bit of a wild card. The 21-year-old had two competitions at 69.67m and 69.21m in April, but has only thrown twice in the last three months. Mullings, who redshirted his junior year at Oklahoma, is also untested on the global scene, as this will be his first senior national team.

Men’s Javelin

First round: Tuesday, August 6th, 4:20 a.m. ET

The performances in men’s javelin haven’t been as historically great as in some of the other throwing events, but the depth and excitement of the event have definitely been there. Neeraj Chopra, who is by far the most popular active track and field athlete in the world, enters Olympic competition as the reigning champion from both Tokyo and Budapest. He’s only fourth on the world list this year, behind his two biggest rivals in Jakub Vadlejch and Julian Weber, but his competition pedigree should have him pegged as the favorite.

Top contenders: Vadlejch and Weber have both been excellent each time out this year, and many of their competitions have been head-to-head. Weber has won three of four matchups, but Vadlejch took home a big win at European Championships. Vadlejch has medalled at each of the last three major championships while Weber had finished fourth three times in a row, but this looks like it could be the year they finally share a podium. Chopra has competed half as much as either Vadlejch or Weber in 2024, but that’s in line with what we’ve seen from him the last two years before World Championships. The results? Silver in Eugene, gold in Budapest.

More names to watch: Two-time World champ Anderson Peters has been throwing well this year, as his season’s best of 86.62m has him ranked fifth in the world headed to his second Olympics. The Grenadian will be back on the global stage with revenge on his mind after failing to make the finals in Budapest. 19-year-old German Max Dehning has been the world leader practically the entire season with his 90.20m mark from late February, but hasn’t shown the form necessary to be considered a legitimate medal contender. For the home fans, Teura’itera’i Tupaia broke the French national record in May and can make the podium if he’s at his best, but consistency has been somewhat of a struggle for the 24-year-old.

Men’s Hammer Throw

First round: Friday, August 2nd, 4:10 a.m. ET

For as great as Crouser and Alekna are, the heaviest favorite in the men’s throws has to be Ethan Katzberg. The 22-year-old Canadian has backed up becoming the youngest World champ in the event’s history last year with seven competitions over 80m in 2024 so far. His mark of 84.38m, which came in his season opener in Kenya, placed him ninth on the all-time list and was the farthest throw in nearly 16 years. The average of his nine competitions this year is 81.10m, which is farther than anyone else entered in the Olympics has thrown even once this year. Simply put, Katzberg looks unstoppable.

Top contenders: It’s impressive that Katzberg has looked so much better than everyone else, because there are a ton of really great throwers behind him that he’s just been lapping all year long. Poland’s Wojciech Nowicki is the reigning Olympic champ and will have the second-best mark this year when they get to the circle in Paris. He’s been consistent this year, he won the European title, and he’s medalled at each of the last seven global championships. And yet, he’s 0-3 against Katzberg this year and his best mark is about two-and-a-half meters behind Katzberg’s best. Mykhaylo Kokhan of Ukraine will be heading to his fifth senior global championship at only 23 years old. The U18 world record holder has thrown 80m at four separate meets this year and has a great shot at taking home his first medal.

More names to watch: Five-time World champion Paweł Fajdek will be competing in his third Olympic Games later this week, but he’s still looking for that first title. It hasn’t been the most impressive season for Fajdek, but he broke the 80m barrier for the first time this year with a win over Nowicki at the Polish Championships in June. Bence Halász has a pair of World bronze medals, and the Hungarian is definitely a contender for a medal at his second Games. On the U.S. side, national record holder Rudy Winkler and Trials champion Daniel Haugh have a shot at winning the first Olympic medal in this event by an American (male or female) since Lance Deal in 1996, but that would take them performing at their very best.

Men’s Long Jump

First round: Sunday, August 4th, 5:00 a.m. ET

Miltiadis Tentoglou might be one of the most underrated athletes in track and field right now. At 26 years old, the Greek star already has an Olympic title, a World title, two World Indoor titles, and three European titles both indoors and out. Currently sitting 14th on the all-time list after jumping 8.65m in Rome last month, Tentoglou will head to his third Olympics as the favorite to defend his title, a feat only ever achieved by Carl Lewis (who did it three times in a row).

Top contenders: Along with his great track record in championship settings, Tentoglou has simply jumped really well this year. His only loss came in his opener at the Doha Diamond League, where eventual winner Carey McLeod’s best jump was buoyed by a massive tailwind of 5.2m/s. Heading across the Ionian Sea, 19-year-old Italian superstar Mattia Furlani will be one of Tentoglou’s biggest challengers. After finishing runner-up in Glasgow on countback, Furlani has twice broken the world junior record this outdoor season. That mark now sits at 8.38m, which Furlani jumped on home soil to win European silver in June.

More names to watch: The Arkansas-based Jamaican duo of Wayne Pinnock and McLeod have found success on the global stage in the past and are strong podium contenders. Pinnock was comfortably in the gold medal conversation after a stellar indoor season, but he’s somewhat struggled to put it together outdoors. It’ll be the second Olympics for McLeod after he competed in both long and triple jump in Tokyo. Simon Ehammer, the World Indoor heptathlon champion from March, has the second-best mark in the world this year at 8.41m and is opting not to compete in the decathlon, citing a shoulder injury.

Men’s Triple Jump

First round: Wednesday, August 7th, 1:15 p.m. ET

Ladies and gentlemen, get your popcorn out for this one! The men’s triple jump competition at these Olympics has the potential to be one of the best the event has ever seen. Jordan Díaz Fortun and Pedro Pichardo gave us a taste of what could be to come in Rome last month with one of the two competitions in history where two men jumped 18m. They’ll face off with the reigning outdoor and indoor World champ, a 19-year-old wunderkind, and an extremely talented Cuban ex-pat, all of whom have a shot at gold.

Top contenders: You’re splitting hairs between Díaz Fortun and Pichardo when deciding a favorite. Díaz Fortun is heading into his first Olympic appearance and his first time representing Spain on the global stage. The 23-year-old won the European title with a mark of 18.18m into a headwind, the third-farthest jump in history. He didn’t compete throughout all of July (a trend amongst the world’s top triple jumpers this year), but the form he showed in June gives him the edge leading into Paris. Pichardo comes to Paris in similarly good form, having jumped 18.04m in Rome, but also has a much stronger championship pedigree: Olympic champ in Tokyo, World champ in Eugene, and silvers in both Beijing and Moscow.

More names to watch: Leaving Hugues Fabrice Zango top contenders section may ultimately look very silly. The Burkinabé stalwart has been the most consistent jumper in the world as of late, medaling at every outdoor global championship since Doha and winning last year in Budapest. But looking at the form he’s shown in 2024 (season’s best of 17.57m), he’s just a step behind the two aforementioned world-beaters. Jaydon Hibbert’s 2023 season was nothing short of legendary. The young Jamaican routinely set the runway on fire, producing the six best jumps by a junior athlete in history. He unfortunately picked up an injury on the first jump of the final in Budapest, but he enters Paris (still as a junior athlete, now at 19 years old) with a strong chance to land on the podium. Health has still been a concern this season and he hasn’t triple jumped since June 1st, but it feels like Hibbert is on the precipice of a huge jump every time he competes.

Men’s High Jump

First round: Wednesday, August 7th, 4:05 a.m. ET

This event gave fans one of the best moments in the sport’s history in Tokyo, and while most of the same players are back, there are significant question marks hanging around many of the top contenders. Gianmarco Tamberi looked to be the favorite last month after winning the European title with a dramatic jump of 2.37m, which still stands as the world lead, but the reigning World and Olympic champ has been dealing with a hamstring issue over the past few weeks and hasn’t competed since June 19th. The other gold medallist from Tokyo, Mutaz Essa Barshim, hasn’t produced any dominant jumps so far in 2024, but that aligns pretty well with what he’s done heading into championship season the last three years.

Top contenders: World Indoor champ Hamish Kerr of New Zealand has the most momentum heading into the Olympics. He won both the Monaco and London Diamond Leagues, and his winning mark of 2.36m from Glasgow has him second on the world list this year. However, he failed to make it out of qualifying in both Eugene and Budapest, so making the final may be a mental battle. Even with some concerns about their fitness, Tamberi and Barshim are probably still the safest bets to take home gold. When Tamberi is on (like he was in Rome) he’s almost unbeatable, and Barshim is in pursuit of an unprecedented fourth Olympic high jump medal in the twilight of his career.

More names to watch: The American duo of JuVaughn Harrison and Shelby McEwen both have medal potential, but their seasons look to be on very different trajectories right now. Harrison opened his season with a 2.34m clearance in April, which is still good for third in the world, but his best mark in the last two months is only 2.26m. McEwen, on the other hand, has gone 2.30m and 2.31m his last two times out after a slow start to the season. South Korea’s Sanghyeok Woo is always a player at global championships, and the silver medallist from Eugene could very well find his way onto the Olympic podium after finishing fourth in Tokyo.

Men’s Pole Vault

First round: Saturday, August 3rd, 4:10 a.m. ET

Unless you live under a rock or have never followed track and field before today (welcome!), this should come as no surprise: Mondo Duplantis is the best pole vaulter that has ever walked the face of the Earth and, barring disaster, will become the first man to defend the Olympic pole vault title since Bob Richards in 1956. No other man in the world has cleared 6 meters outdoors this year– and Mondo has yet to miss 6 meters in an outdoor competition.

Top contenders: Behind the Swedish superstar, the battle for the other podium positions is guaranteed to be fascinating. EJ Obiena of the Philippines heads to Paris as last year’s silver medalist, and he bounced back from a ninth place finish at World Indoors with two big marks in Poland in late June (5.97m and 5.87m). He’s in a great spot to become the Philippines’s first ever Olympic medallist in track and field. Two-time World champion Sam Kendricks will be competing outdoors for Team USA for the first time since Doha, and he has been on a tear this year. He’s cleared at least 5.90m on seven occasions this year, which includes a 5.90m clearance to secure silver at World Indoors.

More names to watch: Thibaut Collet has excited the French faithful with clearances of 5.92m indoors and 5.95m outdoors on home soil. If he can perform that well in Paris, he could very well continue the impressive French lineage of Olympic medallists in the pole vault. Kurtis Marschall of Australia and Chris Nilsen of the U.S. were co-bronze medallists in Budapest. Both have had solid, but not particularly impressive, outdoor campaigns, making another podium a possibility but not a guarantee for both jumpers.

Decathlon

Day 1: Friday, August 2nd, 4:05 a.m. ET