This female 100m final is set to feature on the inaugural day of competition at the LA28 Olympics as part of planners' plans to “open with a bang”.
The unanticipated choice, resulting in each heat of the 100m occurring on the single day, was praised by US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, who commented that it indicated “athletics is stepping into the spotlight”.
The UK’s Dina Asher-Smith supported the adjustment for the Olympics, set from July 15th to 30th. “This is a thrilling chance – honoring the lasting impact, resilience, and worldwide influence of women’s sprinting, a full century after women first entered Olympic athletics,” she continued.
While runners typically run a maximum of twice a day, the sport’s governing body stated it had engaged extensively with athletes to guarantee they agreed with the plan.
“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.’”
The international federation detailed it had deliberately arranged the schedule to enable as many athletes as possible to “compete in multiple events”, not just in disciplines such as the 100m and 200m but additionally the 800m and 1500m and the 1500m and 5,000m. It said that there would be 10 days’ worth of competition at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with a co-ed sprint relay being introduced, as well as three days of road events at the conclusion 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 line-up renders it improbable that American athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be able to compete in the 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles, given the 400m hurdles semi-finals and the 400m final are on the same day.
Swimming has customarily kicked off the Summer Games. But as it is taking place in the SoFi venue, where the inaugural event, it commences in the following week.
Planners also confirmed that day one will showcase the most women’s finals ever in a single day in Games’ history, with the women’s triathlon gold medal among those up for grabs. They have also scheduled a mega Saturday on the penultimate day, with 26 gold medals across 23 disciplines up for grabs.
An LA28 official, LA28’s chief of sport and games delivery, explained the goal is to sell about 14,000,000 tickets across 51 events at 49 locations, with public sales due to begin in spring 2026. Officials added that organisers are avoiding the contentious dynamic pricing model that caused anger among Oasis fans in the summer and experimented with by the football governing body at football’s Club World Cup in the United States.
