UK online bookmaker Betfair is offering in-running betting during a range of Olympic events – promising to even take ‘after-the-gun’ bets during the Men’s 100m.

The company is keen that the athletes won’t be only ones being put through their paces during the Olympics and wants punters to push its technology to the limit of ‘in-running’ betting.



During previous sporting events – such as the final seconds of the England v France match at Euro 2004, which was dramatically turned on its head – Betfair claims to have handled up to 1,000 bets per second and as such believes it can handle betting during the full running of the Men’s 100m final – all 9.9 seconds of it – as long as punters “are quick enough”.



While potential winnings will probably decrease as events unfold and outcomes become clear, the dynamic betting model allows speculative punters to still gamble on the runaway leader clipping the final hurdle, as famously happened to Gail Devers in the 1992 Olympics when apparently coasting to a second gold medal.



Similarly once other bookmakers have announced ‘no more bets’, the possibility is still there for false starts, injury or Zola Budd and Mary Decker-style collisions, as happened in 1984, to change the outcome of an event.



More here.