Paris Olympics 2024: Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton, Devynne Charlton - Top performers from the indoor season to watch out for

With the 2024 Paris Olympics a few months away, the world of track and field is filled with competition. Athletes across the world have managed to clock some impressive times only a month into the season, and the likes of Noah Lyles and Devynne Charlton are expected to stun when the time comes.

As always, the highlight of the show and the most anticipated races at the Paris Olympics will be the 100m and 200m sprints. Going into the men's competition, there are a handful of close rivals in the 100m, but the favorite for the win in the 200m is Noah Lyles.

Three-time world champion in his specialist event, the American finished with a bronze in Tokyo, and will be looking to better himself this time around. Lyles has also set the world lead time in the 60m this season, clocking a 6.44 in Boston earlier in the month. This, alongside his World Championship gold in the 100m last year, prove that the 26-year-old is ready to take on the shorter distances.

Challenging Noah Lyles for gold in the 200m at the Paris Olympics will be his compatriot Erriyon Knighton. Knighton finished with a silver at the 2023 World Championships, and narrowly missed out on a medal in Tokyo.

This year though, the youngster seems to be in perfect form, and is the current holder of a world lead time in the 200m. Racing at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais 2024, he clocked a 20.21 on his debut indoor race.

Gabby Thomas during Team USA Road to Paris Bus Tour

Meanwhile, the women's 200m sprint promises an equally thrilling field. Back from an injury and looking for gold, Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Gabby Thomas has already made her presence known this season. Competing at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, the Harvard graduate clocked a world lead of 35.75 in the 300m, despite being down with a stomach bug.

Another athlete to have delivered a splendid performance on an indoor track this season in Julien Alfred. The 22-year-old clocked a 60m world lead time of 6.99 at the Millrose Games, and also holds this season's 200m world lead time with a 22.16. Alfred is yet to win the gold at any major international competition, and will be looking to change that at the Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, the men's and women's hurdles at the Games will feature some intense competition as well. So far this season, fans have already got to witness a record-breaking performance thanks to Devynne Charlton, as the Bahamian breached the 60m hurdles world record with a time of 7.67.

The holder of the world lead time in the men’s 60m hurdles is Grant Holloway. Holloway finished with a silver at the 110m hurdles in Tokyo, and will hope to one up his performance this year.

Paris Olympics 2024: Track and field dates

The schedule for the Paris Olympics track and field events is out, and it promises some exhilarating action for fans.

For the first time in the history of the Games, all individual track events will feature repechage rounds. This means that athletes who don't qualify by place in round one heats, will get another chance to make it to the semifinals.

The athletics events in Paris will kick off on Thursday, August 1, and will continue until Sunday, August 11. Competitions will begin each day at 4 am ET, with the medal ceremonies being held at 1 pm ET.