Los Angeles 2028 Olympics puts women’s 100m on opening day in athletics shake-up

LOS ANGELES – The women’s 100m final will headline the opening day of competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, organisers said on Nov 12, under a reshaped schedule that brings athletics into the first week and gives swimmers the rare chance to attend the opening ceremony.

LA28 officials said the switch stems from venue logistics at SoFi Stadium, which will host parts of the opening ceremony and swimming. Athletics will be held at LA Memorial Coliseum and run first to allow time to convert SoFi for aquatics in the second week.

“We want to open with a bang,” said Shana Ferguson, LA28’s chief of sport and games delivery, who called the women’s 100m “one of the most-watched races of the Games”.

World and Olympic medallist Sha’Carri Richardson said: “Track and field is having its moment and the road to LA28 is about to be something special, especially for the women’s sprints.”

Janet Evans, a four-time Olympic champion in swimming, added that placing swimming in the second week could let more swimmers join the opening ceremony, which many typically skip with the competition starting the next morning.

“There’s a component of the Olympic experience we want athletes to have at our Games,” said Evans, who serves as LA28’s chief athlete officer.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said the plan, which will see the women run every round of the 100m on the same day, was “overwhelmingly” supported by the athletes and coaches consulted.

“Their view was, why would you not want to be starting with that kind of flair off the back of the first day?” Coe told reporters on Nov 12. “Personally, I think it’s an innovative thing to do.”

Ferguson said the schedule was built over months with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and international federations, factoring in athlete welfare, television windows and local conditions such as heat, tides and sun angles for outdoor events.

“Weather considerations were made not only for athletes but also fans,” she said, adding that the welfare of horses competing in equestrian events was also taken into account.

Day 1 will also award the first LA28 medals in the women’s triathlon and feature the most women’s finals ever in a single day, organisers said.

A “Super Saturday” on Day 15 is slated to include 26 medal sessions across 23 sports. LA28 expects women to represent more than half of athlete quotas and highlighted new sports including flag football and squash, and the return of cricket, lacrosse and baseball/softball.

Ferguson said LA28 plans to sell about 14 million tickets across 51 Olympic sports at 49 venues, with public sales set to begin in April 2026 after registration in January.

For the initial sale, pricing is fixed and will not use dynamic pricing, she said, adding that organisers will outline measures to address secondary-market concerns closer to the sale date.

Organisers said 77 per cent of sessions will be staged in existing venues, with 23 per cent in temporary sites such as the Sepulveda Basin and Long Beach, with more than 90 per cent of temporary materials to be reused or repurposed.

Softball will be held at Oklahoma City’s existing facilities, a move Evans said offers “world-class” conditions and broadens the Games’ reach within the United States.

After LA28, the quadrennial showpiece will be hosted in Brisbane for the 2032 edition.

Meanwhile, South Africa said on Nov 13 that it is planning a bid to host the 2036 or 2040 Games, adding that it had entered into “continuous dialogue” with the IOC, headed since June by Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry. AFP, REUTERS