The heart and soul of every Olympics, athletics is the only sport that I was able to see two sessions of in Atlanta. (My others were table tennis, basketball, weightlifting, baseball, and soccer.) There’s no way of understanding how fun it is actually being in the stadium, because you’ve got two or three things going on at all times. Someone’s running, someone’s jumping, and someone’s throwing, all at once. You never know when someone’s about to move into first place. I hope with all my heart that I get to see it again at the Coliseum in 2028.
Projections:
| Medal | Men’s 100m | Country |
| Gold | Noah Lyles | United States |
| Silver | Ackeem Blake | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Oblique Seville | Jamaica |
| Medal | Men’s 200m | Country |
| Gold | Noah Lyles | United States |
| Silver | Kenny Bednarek | United States |
| Bronze | Letsile Tebogo | Botswana |
| Medal | Men’s 400m | Country |
| Gold | Quincy Hall | United States |
| Silver | Matthew Hudson-Smith | Great Britain |
| Bronze | Kirani James | Grenada |
| Medal | Men’s 800m | Country |
| Gold | Marco Arop | Canada |
| Silver | Emmanuel Wanyonyi | Kenya |
| Bronze | Wyclife Kinyamal | Kenya |
| Medal | Men’s 1500m | Country |
| Gold | Reynold Cheruiyot | Kenya |
| Silver | Jakob Ingebrigtsen | Norway |
| Bronze | Yared Nuguse | United States |
| Medal | Men’s 5000m | Country |
| Gold | Hagos Gebrhiwet | Ethiopia |
| Silver | Yomif Kejelcha | Ethiopia |
| Bronze | Grant Fisher | United States |
| Medal | Men’s 10000m | Country |
| Gold | Joshua Cheptegei | Uganda |
| Silver | Selemon Barega | Ethiopia |
| Bronze | Berihu Aregawai | Ethiopia |
| Medal | Men’s 110m hurdles | Country |
| Gold | Grant Holloway | United States |
| Silver | Hansle Parchment | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Wilhem Belocian | France |
| Medal | Men’s 400m hurdles | Country |
| Gold | Karsten Warholm | Norway |
| Silver | Alison dos Santos | Brazil |
| Bronze | Rai Benjamin | United States |
| Medal | Men’s 3000m steeplechase | Country |
| Gold | Soufiane El Bakkali | Morocco |
| Silver | Abraham Kibiwot | Kenya |
| Bronze | Simon Koech | Kenya |
| Medal | Men’s high jump | Country |
| Gold | Mutaz Esesa Barshim | Qatar |
| Silver | JuVaughn Harrison | United States |
| Bronze | Gianmarco Tamberi | Italy |
| Medal | Men’s pole vault | Country |
| Gold | Armand Duplantis | Sweden |
| Silver | Sam Kendricks | United States |
| Bronze | Ernest John Obiena | Philippines |
| Medal | Men’s long jump | Country |
| Gold | Tajay Gayle | Jamaica |
| Silver | Carey McLeod | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Miltadis Tentoglou | Greece |
| Medal | Men’s triple jump | Country |
| Gold | Hugues Fabrice Zango | Burkina Faso |
| Silver | Lazaro Martinez | Cuba |
| Bronze | Andy Diaz Hernandez | Italy |
| Medal | Men’s shot put | Country |
| Gold | Ryan Crouser | United States |
| Silver | Joe Kovacs | United States |
| Bronze | Tom Walsh | New Zealand |
| Medal | Men’s discus throw | Country |
| Gold | Mykolas Alekna | Lithuania |
| Silver | Kristjan Ceh | Slovenia |
| Bronze | Andrius Gudzius | Lithuania |
| Medal | Men’s hammer throw | Country |
| Gold | Wojciech Nowicki | Poland |
| Silver | Mykhaylo Kokhan | Ukraine |
| Bronze | Ethan Katzberg | Canada |
| Medal | Men’s javelin throw | Country |
| Gold | Neeraj Chopra | India |
| Silver | Jakub Vadlejch | Czech Republic |
| Bronze | Julian Weber | Germany |
| Medal | Men’s marathon | Country |
| Gold | Eliud Kipchoge | Kenya |
| Silver | Benson Kipruto | Kenya |
| Bronze | Sisay Lemma | Ethiopia |
| Medal | Men’s 20km walk | Country |
| Gold | Zhang Jun | China |
| Silver | Alvaro Martin | Spain |
| Bronze | Perseus Karlstrom | Sweden |
| Medal | Men’s decathlon | Country |
| Gold | Pierce LePage | Canada |
| Silver | Karel Tilga | Estonia |
| Bronze | Damian Warner | Canada |
| Medal | Men’s 4 x 100m relay | Country |
| Gold | United States | United States |
| Silver | Jamaica | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Japan | Japan |
| Medal | Men’s 4 x 400m relay | Country |
| Gold | United States | United States |
| Silver | Botswana | Botswana |
| Bronze | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| Medal | Women’s 100m | Country |
| Gold | Sha’Carri Richardson | United States |
| Silver | Shericka Jackson | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Julien Alfred | Saint Lucia |
| Medal | Women’s 200m | Country |
| Gold | Shericka Jackson | Jamaica |
| Silver | Gabrielle Thomas | United States |
| Bronze | Daryll Neita | Great Britain |
| Medal | Women’s 400m | Country |
| Gold | Marileidy Paulino | Dominican Republic |
| Silver | Natalia Kaczmarek | Poland |
| Bronze | Sada Williams | Barbados |
| Medal | Women’s 800m | Country |
| Gold | Mary Moraa | Kenya |
| Silver | Keely Hodgkinson | Great Britain |
| Bronze | Halimah Nakaayi | Uganda |
| Medal | Women’s 1500m | Country |
| Gold | Laura Muir | Great Britain |
| Silver | Faith Kipyegon | Kenya |
| Bronze | Diribe Welteji | Ethiopia |
| Medal | Women’s 5000m | Country |
| Gold | Ejgayehu Taye | Ethiopia |
| Silver | Gudaf Tsegay | Ethiopia |
| Bronze | Beatrice Chebet | Kenya |
| Medal | Women’s 10000m | Country |
| Gold | Gudaf Tsegay | Ethiopia |
| Silver | Tsigie Gebreselama | Ethiopia |
| Bronze | Lilian Kasait Rengeruk | Kenya |
| Medal | Women’s 100m hurdles | Country |
| Gold | Devynne Charlton | Bahamas |
| Silver | Jasmine Camacho-Quinn | Puerto Rico |
| Bronze | Danielle Williams | Jamaica |
| Medal | Women’s 400m hurdles | Country |
| Gold | Femke Bol | Netherlands |
| Silver | Rushell Clayton | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Janieve Russell | Jamaica |
| Medal | Women’s 3000m steeplechase | Country |
| Gold | Winfred Yavi | Bahrain |
| Silver | Beatrice Chepkoech | Kenya |
| Bronze | Faith Cherotich | Kenya |
| Medal | Women’s high jump | Country |
| Gold | Yaroslava Mahuchikh | Ukraine |
| Silver | Nicola Olyslagers | Australia |
| Bronze | Iryna Gerashchenko | Ukraine |
| Medal | Women’s pole vault | Country |
| Gold | Katie Moon | United States |
| Silver | Nina Kennedy | Australia |
| Bronze | Molly Caudery | Great Britain |
| Medal | Women’s long jump | Country |
| Gold | Tara Davis-Woodhall | United States |
| Silver | Ivana Spanovic | Serbia |
| Bronze | Larissa Iapichino | Italy |
| Medal | Women’s triple jump | Country |
| Gold | Shanieka Ricketts | Jamaica |
| Silver | Thea LaFond | Dominica |
| Bronze | Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk | Ukraine |
| Medal | Women’s shot put | Country |
| Gold | Chase Jackson | United States |
| Silver | Gong Lijiao | China |
| Bronze | Jessica Schilder | Netherlands |
| Medal | Women’s discus throw | Country |
| Gold | Valerie Allman | United States |
| Silver | Feng Bin | China |
| Bronze | Sandra Elkasevic | Croatia |
| Medal | Women’s hammer throw | Country |
| Gold | Camryn Rogers | Canada |
| Silver | DeAnna Price | United States |
| Bronze | Sara Fantini | Italy |
| Medal | Women’s javelin throw | Country |
| Gold | Haruka Kitaguchi | Japan |
| Silver | Flor Ruiz | Colombia |
| Bronze | Lina Muze | Latvia |
| Medal | Women’s marathon | Country |
| Gold | Tigst Assefa | Ethiopia |
| Silver | Peres Jepchirchir | Kenya |
| Bronze | Amane Beriso Shankule | Ethiopia |
| Medal | Women’s 20km walk | Country |
| Gold | Kimberly Garcia Leon | Peru |
| Silver | Jemima Montag | Australia |
| Bronze | Maria Perez | Spain |
| Medal | Women’s heptathlon | Country |
| Gold | Anna Hall | United States |
| Silver | Katarina Johnson-Thompson | Great Britain |
| Bronze | Nafissatou Thiam | Belgium |
| Medal | Women’s 4 x 100m relay | Country |
| Gold | Jamaica | Jamaica |
| Silver | United States | United States |
| Bronze | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| Medal | Women’s 4 x 400m relay | Country |
| Gold | United States | United States |
| Silver | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| Bronze | Jamaica | Jamaica |
| Medal | Mixed 4 x 400m relay | Country |
| Gold | United States | United States |
| Silver | Jamaica | Jamaica |
| Bronze | Great Britain | Great Britain |
| Medal | Mixed racewalk relay | Country |
| Gold | China | China |
| Silver | Australia | Australia |
| Bronze | Spain | Spain |
Projected medal count:
| Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| United States | 15 | 7 | 3 | 25 |
| Jamaica | 4 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
| Ethiopia | 4 | 4 | 4 | 12 |
| Kenya | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 |
| Canada | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| China | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Great Britain | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Poland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Uganda | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Bahamas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bahrain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Burkina Faso | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Morocco | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Peru | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Qatar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Australia | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Spain | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Botswana | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brazil | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Colombia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Dominica | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Estonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Serbia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Slovenia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Italy | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Barbados | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Croatia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| France | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Greece | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Grenada | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Latvia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Philippines | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Saint Lucia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |