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The women's 100m final is set to feature on the opening day of events at the LA28 Olympic Games as part of organisers' plans to “start with excitement”.

The surprise move, resulting in all three rounds of the 100m being held on the single day, received support by American track athlete Sha’Carri Richardson, who stated that it demonstrated “the sport is enjoying a resurgence”.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith endorsed the change for the Olympics, scheduled from 15-30 July. “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.

While sprinters normally run a maximum of twice a day, World Athletics announced it had sought input broadly with participants to ensure they agreed with the arrangement.

“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 clarified it had intentionally designed the program to allow as many athletes as possible to “compete in multiple events”, not just in disciplines including the 100m and 200m but also the middle-distance runs and the longer track events. Officials confirmed that there would be 10 days’ worth of competition at the LA Coliseum, with a mixed 100m relay being introduced, as well as three days of street competitions at the conclusion of the Games.

“We’ve developed a track and field schedule that kicks off spectacularly with female sprinters in the spotlight on the first day,” stated Seb Coe, World Athletics president. “This programme blends creativity with respect for customs, featuring the men’s marathon on the closing day.”

However, the schedule makes it unlikely that American athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can run in both the 400m and the 400 hurdles, given the hurdles semifinals and the 400m final occur simultaneously.

Swimming has customarily started the Olympics. However, since it is taking place in the SoFi venue, which hosts the inaugural event, it will now start in the second week.

Officials further stated that day one will include the most women’s finals ever in a 24-hour period in Games’ history, with the women’s triathlon gold medal among those up for grabs. They have also scheduled a mega Saturday on the second-to-last day, with 26 first-place awards across 23 sports available.

An LA28 official, the head of sport and games delivery for LA28, noted the goal is to distribute around 14,000,000 tickets across 51 events at 49 locations, with public sales starting in April 2026. It was also confirmed that organisers would not employ the contentious variable pricing strategy that caused anger among music enthusiasts in the summer and experimented with by the football governing body at the Club World Cup in the United States.