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This female 100m final is set to feature on the inaugural day of events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games as part of planners' strategies to “launch spectacularly”.

The unanticipated choice, which will lead to all three rounds of the 100m occurring on the same day, was praised by US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, who stated that it demonstrated “track and field is having its moment”.

The UK’s Dina Asher-Smith also backed the change for the Games, scheduled 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.

While sprinters typically compete up to two times daily, World Athletics stated it had consulted widely with athletes to make certain they were on board the arrangement.

“Hosting the premier event on the opening evening at the iconic LA Memorial Coliseum – when we explained it to competitors, they were thrilled,” noted Janet Evans, the Games’ chief athlete officer. “Most athletes told me: ‘Simply inform me. Give me advance notice, and I’ll prepare to race three 100-meter events in a single day.’”

The international federation clarified it had carefully structured the program to enable as many athletes as possible to “compete in multiple events”, not only in events like the 100m and 200m but also the 800m and 1500m and the 1500m and 5,000m. Officials confirmed that there would be a decade’s worth of events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with a mixed 100m relay premiering, as well as three days of street competitions at the end of the Olympics.

“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.”

Nonetheless, the schedule makes it unlikely that US sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone will be able to participate in the 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles, since the hurdles semifinals and the 400-meter championship are on the same day.

Swimming has traditionally initiated the Olympics. But as it is occurring in SoFi Stadium, where the inaugural event, it begins in the second week.

Planners additionally announced that day one will include the highest number of female championship events ever in a 24-hour period in Games’ history, with the female triathlon title one of the prizes available. Additionally, they planned a mega Saturday on the penultimate day, with 26 titles across 23 sports at stake.

Shana Ferguson, LA28’s chief of sport and games delivery, noted the plan is to offer approximately 14 million tickets across 51 Olympic sports at 49 sites, with public availability starting in April 2026. Ferguson also confirmed that planners are avoiding the contentious dynamic pricing model that sparked criticism among Oasis fans in the summer and experimented with by the football governing body at the Club World Cup in the US.