The men's 200 meter freestyle final set to take place at 2:40 p.m. ET has one American competing, and he's among the favorites to medal in the event.
Luke Hobson is +120 to medal in his first Olympic event after finishing in the top three in the semifinals for this event. Overall, Hobson has +1200 odds to win it all.
Those long odds are despite Hobson's impressive showing in the 2024 World Championships from earlier this year, where he narrowly missed out on gold with a bronze medal performance.
In fact, the world champion from this event — Hwang Sun-woo from South Korea — did not qualify for the final of this event, seemingly leaving the door open for the 21-year-old Hobson to win his first Olympic medal.
Hobson is tied for third on the leaderboard to finish with gold, behind David Popovici from Romania — who put up the fastest times in the heats and semifinals — at -700, and Duncan Scott from Great Britain at +900, according to odds from DraftKings. Scott had registered the second-best time in the semifinals of this event.
Men's Swimming 200M Final to Win Gold: Luke Hobson Rates Highly
| Swimmer | Odds |
|---|---|
| David Popovici (Romania) | -700 |
| Duncan Scott (Great Britain) | +900 |
| Luke Hobson (United States) | +1200 |
| Lukas Martens (Germany) | +1200 |
| Matthew Richards (Great Britain) | +2500 |
| Danas Rapsys (Lithuania) | +3000 |
| Maximillian Giuliani (Australia) | +4000 |
| Katsuhiro Matsumoto (Japan) | +8000 |
Odds are according to DraftKings as of Monday afternoon.
Rapsys — clocking in at +3000 odds — beat out Hobson for the silver medal in the February world championships by .21 of a second. Popovici did not compete in this world championships, but did qualify for the final in 2023. There, he finished fourth — behind the aforementioned Sun-woo, Tom Dean from Great Britain (who is not competing) and Matthew Richards, who is 25-1 to win gold on Monday afternoon.
Hobson rates highly to win a medal, however, by virtue of being tied for third on the overall board. He's +120, tied for Lukas Martens from Germany. Hobson beat out Martens in both heats and the semifinal.
Men's Swimming 200M Final: To Win a Medal
| Swimmer | Odds |
|---|---|
| David Popovici (Romania) | -3500 |
| Duncan Scott (Great Britain) | +100 |
| Luke Hobson (United States) | +120 |
| Lukas Martens (Germany) | +120 |
| Matthew Richards (Great Britain) | +200 |
| Danas Rapsys (Lithuania) | +300 |
| Maximillian Giuliani (Australia) | +350 |
| Katsuhiro Matsumoto (Japan) | +700 |
