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The women’s 100m final will headline the first day of competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as part of organisers’ plans to “open with a bang”.
The surprise decision, which will lead to all three rounds of the 100m taking place on the same day, was welcomed by the US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, who said it showed that “track and field is having its moment”.
Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith also backed the switch for the Games, which will take place from 15-30 July. “It’s such an exciting opportunity – celebrating the enduring legacy, strength and global power of women’s sprinting, exactly 100 years on from the first time women competed in Olympic track and field,” she added.
Sprinters usually run a maximum of twice a day, but World Athletics said it had consulted widely with athletes to ensure they were on board with the decision.
“To be the pre-eminent event on the first night of competition in the historic LA Memorial Coliseum – when we presented it to the athletes that way, there was excitement,” said Janet Evans, the chief athlete officer for the Games.
“A majority of athletes said to me: ‘Just let me know. Let me know early, and I’ll start training to run three 100s in one day.’”
World Athletics said it had deliberately arranged the schedule to allow as many athletes as possible to “double up”, not only in events such as the 100m and 200m but also the 800m and 1500m, and the 1500m and 5,000m. It said that there would be 10 days of competition at the LA Coliseum, with a mixed 100m relay having its debut, as well as three days of road events at the end of the Games.
“We have landed on an athletics programme that will start with a bang as our women’s sprinters take centre stage on day one,” said the World Athletics president, Seb Coe. “It is a schedule that is both innovative but also honours tradition, with the men’s marathon on the final day.”
However, the schedule makes it unlikely that the US sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be able to run in both the 400m and the 400m hurdles, given the 400m hurdles semi-finals and the 400m final are on the same day.
Swimming has traditionally kicked off the Summer Games. But as it is taking place in SoFi Stadium, where the opening ceremony will be staged, it will now start in the second week.
Organisers also confirmed that day one will feature the most women’s finals ever in a single day in the Games’ history, with the women’s triathlon gold medal among those up for grabs. They have also scheduled a Super Saturday on the penultimate day, with 26 gold medals across 23 sports in play.
Shana Ferguson, LA28’s chief of sport and games delivery, said the plan is to sell about 14 million tickets across 51 Olympic sports at 49 venues, with public sales due to begin in April 2026. Ferguson also confirmed that organisers would not employ the controversial dynamic pricing model that provoked outrage among Oasis fans in the summer and was trialled by Fifa at football’s Club World Cup in the US.
