From the sprints to the jumps to the throws to the road races, track and field events have long been the heartbeat of the Summer Olympics, and the 2024 Games in Paris won’t be any different.

Ranging from the 100-meter to the marathon, there are 16 running events (including two relays, the 20km race walk and the two mixed events). Adding in the four jumping events (pole vault, high jump, long jump and triple jump), the four throwing events (shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin) and the heptathlon/decathlon, there will be a total of 48 athletics events at the 2024 Games.

That makes track and field by far the most contested sport at the Olympics.

With more to watch for than in any other sport, here’s what you’ll need to know.

Schedule (all times ET)

With so many events and many of those events involving multiple rounds of competition, here’s a list of the final rounds for each discipline. The full schedule of events is here.

World records in danger

Men’s pole vault: Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis has already established his case as pole vaulting’s GOAT, having broken and re-broken his own world record seven times. The former LSU standout most recently broke the mark in April at the Xiamen Diamond League meet, clearing 6.24 meters.

Women’s 200-meter: Could this be the year Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 36-year-old record goes down? Her time of 21.34 seconds hasn’t been touched, but Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and America’s Gabby Thomas are serious contenders. Jackson ran 21.41, the second-fastest time in history, at the 2023 world championships, while Thomas ran a 21.78 in the semifinals of the U.S. trials in June en route to her victory.

Men’s shot put: Behind Duplantis, American Ryan Crouser has a case for the world’s most dominant athlete in track and field. He’s set the record twice, most recently at the Los Angeles Grand Prix in 2023, tossing 23.56 meters. Crouser has had marks of 22.84 and 22.80 meters in 2024. Fellow American Joe Kovacs has the best throw of the year with a 23.13-meter mark in May.

Men’s triple jump: Great Britain’s Jonathan Edwards’ world-record mark of 18.29 meters has stood since 1995, but a pair of young competitors have the record in sight. Cuban Jordan Díaz, who represents Spain internationally, jumped 18.18 meters in June to win the European championships with the third-best leap ever. In the U.S., Jamaican 19-year-old Jaydon Hibbert won the 2023 Bowerman Award (track’s Heisman) after repeatedly breaking the U20 world record for Arkansas, ending the season with an NCAA-record 17.87 meters at the SEC championships.

Women’s 400-meter hurdles: American star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has struggled with injuries, but when she is on, she’s the best the world has ever seen in the 400-meter hurdles. She broke her own record for the fourth time with a time of 50.65 seconds in June at the U.S. Olympic trials. She could beat it again in Paris, but she’ll have to hold off Netherlands’ Femke Bol, who became the second woman to run sub-51 when she ran 50.95 seconds to break her own European record on July 14.

Women’s 400 meters: Speaking of Bol, the Dutch star ran a 49.17 to win the 400-meter indoor world championship in March, breaking her own world indoor record in the process. The overall record of 47.60 was set by Marita Koch of East Germany in 1985.

Men’s 400-meter hurdles: Norwegian Karsten Warholm and American Rai Benjamin had a battle for the ages at the 2020 Olympics, which ended with Warholm breaking his old world record in the event with a time of 45.94. He bested Benjamin again at the 2023 world championships, but Benjamin posted a world-leading time of 46.46 at the U.S. Olympic trials in June to set the stage for a thrilling rematch.

Team USA stars to watch

There is no bigger American track name than Sha’Carri Richardson. After she was unable to compete at the 2020 Games due to a suspension, the U.S. star is ready to make a splash in Paris in the 100-meter. She defended her U.S. title with a win at the trials, running 10.71. Her PR of 10.65 ties Jackson for fifth-best ever.

In the men’s 100, Noah Lyles caught plenty of attention for tucking “Yu-Gi-Oh!” cards in his singlet before races at the trials, but even more attention for his dominant performances. He won both the 100 and the 200, tying his 100-meter PR of 9.83 and then breaking a 28-year-old trials record in the 200 with a time of 19.53, positioning himself as an Olympic favorite in both events.

In the relays, teenage sensation Quincy Wilson will become the youngest male competitor in U.S. Olympic track history. The 16-year-old finished sixth at the trials in the 400 with a time of 44.94, leaving him out of the running for the open 400 but earning a slot on the relay team.

While Americans love the mile, the international stage runs the 1,500-meter, and U.S. fans should be eager to catch Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker mix it up with the world’s best. Nuguse was considered a contender to break up the dominant rivalry of Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr, and then Hocker stunned Nuguse and the world by upsetting Nuguse at the Olympic trials.

Hocker’s winning time of 3:30.59 broke the trials record by 3.5 seconds and showed he has the world-class fitness to mix it up at Paris.

In the women’s 1,500, Nikki Hiltz will lead the American charge. Hiltz identifies as transgender and nonbinary and won the trials with a personal-best time of 3:55.33.

Grant Holloway will be seeking Olympic vengeance in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, as he owns the world’s fastest time in 2024 but finished as the runner-up in Tokyo. He’s run sub-13 seconds three times this year and was joined under 13 seconds by Freddie Crittenden and Daniel Roberts, the first time in trials history three hurdlers broke that time barrier.

How to watch

TV: NBC, USA, E!, Telemundo and Universo

Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, the NBC app and the NBC Olympics app

In addition to the medal events listed above, there will be morning sessions Aug. 2-9 beginning at 4 a.m. ET featuring preliminary rounds airing live on E! or USA. Check here for full day-by-day TV and streaming info. Medal events will be heavily featured in NBC’s tape-delayed prime-time coverage.

Stars not in action

The most notable name in track who won’t be competing in Paris this summer is Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time defending Olympic champion in the 100 and 200. She withdrew from the Jamaican Olympic Trials and later revealed she was dealing with an Achilles injury.

Thompson-Herah’s 100-meter time of 10.51 in 2021 made her the second-fastest woman in history behind Griffith-Joyner.

From the U.S., 800-meter star Athing Mu will miss out on her chance to defend her Olympic gold medal after she fell around the 200-meter mark in the semifinals of the Olympic trials and couldn’t catch back up to the leaders. The 22-year-old’s coach argued Mu was clipped from behind, but their protest was denied.

Mu is the American record holder in the event and became the first American, male or female, to win Olympic gold in the 800 since Dave Wottle in 1972.

Venezuelan fans will feel a similar sting with the absence of Yulimar Rojas, one of the greatest jumpers in world history. She’s nicknamed “la reina del triple salto” (queen of the triple jump) for good reason: She broke a 25-year-old record in the event at the 2021 Olympics and then broke her own record a couple years later, leaping 15.74 meters.

In April, she suffered an Achilles injury during a training session and subsequently announced she would miss the Olympics.

In memoriam

Kelvin Kiptum had all the makings of the next GOAT in the marathon. The 24-year-old broke the world record in the fabled event in his third career marathon, running 2:00:35 to take 34 seconds off the previous record, setting up a showcase for the ages with compatriot Eliud Kipchoge, who previously held the world record and is also recognized as the greatest marathoner ever after becoming the first man to run sub-2 hours in a controlled race environment.

Then tragedy struck, as Kiptum died in a car accident in February.

Kipchoge will lead the Kenyan team as he looks to become the first person to win three Olympic gold medals in the marathon, but the event will certainly carry an air of sadness as fans miss out on what could have been a generational passing of the torch.

Required reading

(Photo of Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson: Tim Clayton / Corbis via Getty Images)

Every athlete at the Paris Games is probably worth watching, but here are some of the top contenders for gold.

Simone Biles, women’s gymnastics — The favorite in the women’s all-around competition and considered one of the greatest in the history of her sport, Biles has won seven Olympic medals, including four at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After her shocking withdrawal from the team and all-around competitions in Tokyo, Biles is out to win gold in what could be the final chapter of her storied career.

Caeleb Dressel, men’s swimming — After winning five golds in Tokyo, Dressel nearly walked away from the sport in 2022. After rediscovering his passion for competitive swimming, he proved at the U.S. trials in June he is among the favorites to win gold in the 100-meter butterfly and 50 freestyle.

Katie Ledecky, women’s swimming — She is the most-decorated athlete competing at the Paris Olympics. Ledecky has 10 Olympic medals, including seven golds. She will be looking to add to her medal count in the 1,500-meter freestyle, 800 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Will this be her Olympic swansong, or will she be swimming at SoFi Stadium in four years?

Noah Lyles, men’s 100 and 200 meters — Never camera shy, the Yu-Gi-Oh! card-carrying Lyles is the defending world champion in the men’s 100 and 200 meters. He set the world’s fastest time in the 200 at the U.S. trials last month and he’ll try to become the first man since Usain Bolt (2016) to win Olympic gold in the 100 and 200.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, women’s 400-meter hurdles — The overwhelming favorite for gold, McLaughlin-Levrone broke her world record in the event at the U.S. trials. She won gold in the 400 hurdles and 4×400 relay in Tokyo.

Sha’Carri Richardson, women’s 100 meters — After her controversial disqualification three years ago because of a positive marijuana test, Richardson won the U.S. trials in June and is considered a favorite for gold. She’ll face tough competition in Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.

U.S. women’s gymnastics team — They’re the favorite to win the team competition, with four of the five having previous Olympic experience. Suni Lee won gold in the all-around and Jade Carey took gold in floor exercise in Tokyo. Jordan Chiles played a critical role in helping the Americans take silver in the team championship then.

Other gold contenders worth watching: Ryan Crouser (men’s shot put), Lilly King (women’s swimming), Simone Manuel (women’s swimming), Carissa Moore (women’s surfing), Ryan Murphy (men’s swimming), Gabby Thomas (women’s 200 meters), U.S. women’s basketball team, U.S. men’s basketball team.

LONDON — LeBron James, a soon-to-be four-time Olympian shooting for his third gold medal, will carry the American flag for the United States delegation during the Paris Games opening ceremony Friday along the River Seine.

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Monday in a news release that James had won a vote among nearly 600 members of Team USA to carry the flag. A female athlete was also selected and the committee said that vote would be revealed Tuesday.

“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States on this global stage, especially in a moment that can bring the whole world together,” said James, 39,  whose popularity has soared well beyond his country as the face of the NBA and the sport’s all-time leading scorer.

“For a kid from Akron, this responsibility means everything to not only myself, but to my family, all the kids in my hometown, my teammates, fellow Olympians and so many people across the country with big aspirations,” he said. “Sports have the power to bring us all together, and I’m proud to be a part of this important moment.”

Two other USA Basketball players — Sue Bird in 2021 and Dawn Staley in 2004 — have served as flag bearers. Steph Curry, who is competing in his first Olympics, was also nominated.

James was on the 2004 Olympic team that finished third in Greece, and was co-captain of the “Redeem Team” in 2008 that started the current string of four consecutive Olympic golds for the American men. He last played in the Olympics in 2012 in London, where he and the current American team will play an exhibition Monday night against Germany.

James is Team USA’s all-time leader in assists. He is also a four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP, and has appeared in more All-Star games (20) than any player in history.

“We will watch with great pride as the flag bearers lead our athletes who are about to embark on a remarkable journey together,” Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the USOPC, said in a release.

The Olympic opening ceremony — the first ever outside a stadium — will start at 7:30 p.m. in Paris (1:30 p.m. in New York) and will be shown live on NBC. Delegations are set to float on barges down the river and exit underneath the Eiffel Tower.

The USOPC said it expected more than 350 of the 592 American athletes to participate in the ceremony.

Required reading

(Photo: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP via Getty Images)