Olympic Games Odds
Dream Team Basketball
Phelps Swimming
The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are finally upon us and actually started on Wednesday when the women’s soccer Tournament got underway. The Team USA women’s soccer team is the 7/4 favorite to win the gold medal and rallied back for a 4-2 win over France in their opener after trailing 2-0. Alex Morgan led the comeback victory with a pair of goals, and she will be one of the key players as the Americans go for their Fourth gold medal and third in a row.
The U.S. overall has an OVER/UNDER of 38.5 golds and 103.5 total medals, which are both higher than any other country at the Olympics. China is the second choice to win the most gold medals at +140 compared to the Americans (-175) with an O/U of 36.5. Russia (+2500) and the host country Britain (+3300) are also in the mix, although they are each considered longshots.
To give you an idea of how many medals the U.S. has averaged per Olympics, they have totaled 2,296 overall in 25 appearances for an average of nearly 92, including a little more than 37 golds. A majority of those medals have been earned in track and field (738 or 32 percent) while another big chunk have come in the pool between swimming and diving (620 or 27 percent). The other top sports for the Americans traditionally are boxing (108 medals), shooting (103) and basketball (24).
While many have recently debated whether or not the current Team USA men’s basketball team is better than the 1992 Dream Team, there is no argument against the United States being the best in the world. The U.S. has medaled in every Olympics except 1980 with 24 total, including 19 gold. This year, Team USA is an overwhelming 1/12 favorite to win the gold in women’s basketball and 1/10 in men’s basketball.
For swimming fans, Michael Phelps already owns a place in history as the most dominant man ever in the sport. Phelps has won a record 16 medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics combined, including 14 golds. He will be participating in seven events this time around, including five as an individual and two team relays. The only individual event in which Phelps will likely be an underdog is the 400 individual medley, as teammate Ryan Lochte is currently a slight 8/11 favorite compared to him at EVEN odds.
The 2012 Summer Olympics will run through August 12 with betting restricted to offshore sportsbooks.