The 2028 Summer Olympics have made a major change for female athletes.
The city of Los Angeles is scheduled to host the 2028 Games. While the games are more than two years away, there is already a lot of planning taking place. And that planning includes a schedule change.
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The schedule change is a big move, in hopes of prioritizing female athletes. According to USA Today’s Christine Brennan, the women’s 100m dash final will be taking place on opening night. This is a drastic change to the Summer Olympics schedule. Typically, swimming takes place in the first week, with track and field headlining the second week.
The 100m dash is often viewed as the big finish to the Summer Olympics.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 09: Gold medalist Sha’carri Richardson of Team United States and bronze medalist Rebekka Haase of Team Germany celebrate as they cross the finish line during the Women’s 4 x 100m Relay Final on day fourteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 09, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)Michael Steele/Getty Images
However, the 2028 Summer Olympics want to prioritize female athletes, putting them on the big stage early.
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According to Olympic gold medalist and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, the men’s final will take place on the second night. It’s about “equality.”
“It’s really important that we’re able not only to talk about equality, but to actually demonstrate it in a really powerful way, and there’s no bigger platform than the first day of an Olympic Games featuring the women’s 100-meter final,” Coe told USA Today.
It’s a huge schedule change that will have ripple effects
Olympic gold medalist and LA28 chief athlete officer Janet Evans explained the reason behind the move.
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“It was one of the things we talked about, running three 100 meters in one day,” Olympic gold medalist and LA28 chief athlete officer Janet Evans said. “How would that feel as an athlete, mentally and physically? What does that mean? And we took that question very seriously as we spoke to athletes commissions of LA28 as well as athletes commissions from World Athletics.
“And so I think when we presented it to the athletes that way, there was excitement. And for the few naysayers, the majority of the athletes said to me, just let me know, right? Like, let me know if this is what’s going to happen, let me know early, and I will start training to run three 100 meters in one day, because it can be done, but I just need to schedule my training.”
With the women’s final taking place on opening night, all three qualifying rounds will have to take place on July 15.
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The men, meanwhile, will run their first round on July 15 and the semifinals and final on July 16.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Nov 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Olympics section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
