Breaking
Explainer

Athletics at LA Olympics 2028: Qualification system, entry standards, total quotas

World Athletics has published the qualification system for track and field at Los Angeles 2028.

By , Editor

· 3 min read

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (file photo) Photo: Quintin Soloviev / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Athletics at the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 will run from July 15 to 30. The programme includes 23 women's events, 23 men's events and two mixed events, and there are two pathways to qualification.

Key takeaways

  • Track and field events at LA28 will be held between July 15 and 30.
  • The programme includes 23 women's events, 23 men's events and two mixed events.
  • Forty per cent of athletes are expected to qualify through entry standards and 60 per cent through world rankings.
  • Qualification windows differ by event group.
  • The mixed 4x100m relay makes its Olympic Games debut.

World Athletics on Tuesday published the qualification system for athletics at the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, where track and field events will be held between July 15 and 30.

Events and programme

The programme will include 23 women’s events and 23 men’s events as well as two mixed events: the 4x100m mixed relay, making its Olympic Games debut, and the 4x400m mixed relay.

Qualification pathways

Forty per cent of athletes are expected to qualify through entry standards and the remaining 60 per cent through world rankings. Achieving the entry standard does not automatically guarantee a quota place.

If more athletes than the quota by event meet the entry standard, qualification will be limited to those with the best performance in the qualification period within the quota number, and in that case no athletes will be qualified by world rankings.

Qualification windows

For the marathon, the qualification and ranking period runs from November 1, 2026 to April 30, 2028. For the 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays, the window runs from December 19, 2026 to June 18, 2028.

For all other events, the period runs from June 19, 2027 to June 18, 2028. Results from national senior outdoor championships that start within the applicable qualification and ranking periods will count towards qualification if achieved no later than June 22.

Marathon, race walks and relays

For the marathon, any athlete ranked higher than the 56th athlete on the filtered Quota Place ‘Road to LA’ list on March 19, 2028 will be considered qualified.

After March 19, 2028, the remaining 15 athletes will be determined by the same dual pathway qualification criteria outlined above, without displacing the athletes qualified by 19 March 2028.

The first five finishers at Platinum Label marathons held during the whole qualification period will also be considered as having achieved the entry standard and will be listed first on the ‘Road to LA’, World Athletics’ official qualification monitoring tool.

Any National Olympic Committee (NOC) may choose to reallocate, at the time of the final entries, a quota place to an unqualified athlete provided the athlete in the whole qualification window has achieved at least a 2:11:00 (men) or 2:29:00 (women) performance.

Automatic qualification events

For race walks, the first 12 placed athletes at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships (WRWTC) in Hefei, China, on 9 April 2028 shall automatically qualify for the half marathon race walk events at LA28.

If a quota place is declined, it shall be allocated via the world rankings. The remaining 36 places will be allocated via the world rankings.

For the relays, the first 14 placed NOCs at the World Athletics Relays held in The Bahamas on 22-23 April 2028 shall automatically qualify for LA28.

Teams will have two opportunities to qualify at the World Relays – if unsuccessful on day one, another chance will be provided on day two.

Context

Athletics at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were held between 1 and 11 August 2024, featuring a total of 48 medal events across three distinct sets: track and field, road running, and racewalking.

Four venues were used: Pont d'Iéna for race walking, Hôtel de Ville and Les Invalides for the start and end points of the marathon races, and Stade de France for the track and field events. India made its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Indian athletes have appeared at every edition of the Summer Olympic Games since 1920 and the Paris Games edition marked India's 26th appearance at the Summer Olympics. It was China's twelfth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1952.

The nation has participated in every Olympics since the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Key qualification figures for LA28 athletics

Detail

Figure

Women's events

23

Men's events

23

Mixed events

2

Qualify via entry standards

40%

Qualify via world rankings

60%

Sources

Topics

Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy or use the flag button above. Our editorial standards explain how we report.

Discussion

Sign in or create a free account to join the discussion. Please follow our community guidelines.