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This female 100m title race will headline the opening day of events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as part of planners' plans to “launch spectacularly”.

This unexpected decision, that means each heat of the 100m occurring on the identical date, received support by US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, who stated that it indicated “athletics is stepping into the spotlight”.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith also backed the change for the Games, scheduled from July 15th to 30th. “What an inspiring moment – marking the sustained heritage, power, and international reach of female sprinters, precisely one hundred years after their Olympic debut,” she noted.

Although sprinters usually run a maximum of twice a day, World Athletics stated it had sought input broadly with participants to make certain they were on board 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.’”

World Athletics explained it had deliberately arranged the program to enable as many athletes as possible to “enter more than one race”, not only in disciplines including the 100m and 200m but also the middle-distance runs and the 1500m and 5,000m. It said that there would be 10 days’ worth of events at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with a mixed 100m relay making its debut, along with 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 line-up makes it unlikely that US sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can run in both the 400-meter and 400-meter hurdles, since the hurdles semifinals and the 400m final fall on the identical date.

Swimming has traditionally started the Olympics. But as it is occurring in SoFi Stadium, which hosts the opening ceremony, it begins in the second week.

Planners additionally announced that the first day will showcase the highest number of female championship events 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 action-packed Saturday on the penultimate day, with 26 first-place awards across 23 sports available.

Shana Ferguson, the head of sport and games delivery for LA28, explained the plan is to distribute around 14 million passes across 51 events at 49 venues, with public availability starting in spring 2026. Officials added that organisers are avoiding the disputed flexible ticket pricing that provoked outrage among music enthusiasts this past summer and was trialled by Fifa at the Club World Cup in the United States.