- Odds are now available for multiple Olympic fighting events like Judo and Taekwondo, with members of Team Canada listed as the betting favorites.
- Christa Deguchi (+150) and Jessica Klimkait (+225) star in the 57kg Women’s Lightweight Judo draw, while Skyler Park (+700) looks for glory in the Women’s 57kg Taekwondo division.
TOKYO - Odds for the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games are beginning to appear across many sports betting platforms. Fans of martial arts at the Olympics will be pleased to see the appearance of odds for Judo and Taekwondo ahead of this year’s Games.
While the odds are scarce in terms of name recognition, most of the major online Olympic sportsbooks will allow bettors to bet on other athletes by request.
This means that anyone who is a die-hard fan of a certain athlete in a specific event can likely reach out to the sportsbook in order to place a wager on that particular athlete in their sport.
The sportsbooks do however have some of the biggest names in the sport available for betting straight off the bat. One of those names is Canadian Judo champion Antione Valois-Fortier, who is available for +1200 odds to win the gold medal in men’s half-middleweight Judo.
Tokyo 2021 - Men’s Half-Middleweight Judo (81kg)
Antoine Valois-Fortier (CAN) +1200
Valois-Fortier just came in second at the Judo Grand Slam championships in Hungary, and is building buzz ahead of the Olympics.
Valois-Fortier became the first Canadian to win a medal in Olympic Judo in twelve years when he brought home the bronze in the 2012 Olympics.
While he is not the favorite to win the award, his popularity among the Canadian fanbase has led to his appearance on the betting board.
The same goes for a pair of Canadian stars looking to take over the women’s lightweight Judo division in Tokyo.
Tokyo 2021 - Women’s Lightweight Judo (57kg)
- Christa Deguchi (CAN) +150
- Jessica Klimkait (CAN) +225
Both Christa Deguchi and Jessica Klimkait are strong favorites to win the 57kg division in Tokyo, with a possibility of the two Canadians even meeting in the finals.
Olympic bettors have been watching Klimkait since her win at the Grand Slam of Judo in Budapest, Hungary back in late 2020.
That same event saw Deguchi upset in the semifinals and missing out on the automatic qualifiers for the Olympics. Luckily, Deguchi was able to qualify later in the year, making Team Canada one of the most stacked competitors in Judo this time around.
Team Canada will also feature one of the best stories in Tokyo as 20-year old Skyler Park competes in the 57kg division for Taekwondo.
Tokyo 2021 - Women’s 57kg Taekwondo
Skyler Park (CAN) +700
At a decent price for someone of her youth, Park's Taekwondo Olympic odds sit at +700 odds. Park won the silver medal at the Pan American Games in Peru in 2020, and will fulfill her lifelong dream of fighting in the Olympics in just a few weeks.
With her dad as her coach, Park represents another classic story that defines the special nature of the Olympics.