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This female 100m final will take center stage on the opening day of events at the LA28 Olympic Games as a key element in organisers' strategies to “start with excitement”.

The surprise decision, which will lead to each heat of the 100m occurring on the identical date, was praised by US sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson, who commented that it showed “athletics is stepping into the spotlight”.

Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith supported the adjustment for the Olympics, 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 runners normally compete up to two times daily, World Athletics confirmed it had engaged extensively with participants to ensure they supported 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 deliberately arranged the program to enable as many athletes as possible to “enter more than one race”, not just in events such as the sprints but additionally the 800m and 1500m and the longer track events. The organization stated there would be 10 days’ worth of events at the LA Coliseum, with a mixed 100m relay making its debut, along with three days of street competitions at the end of the Olympics.

“Our athletics agenda begins explosively as women’s speedsters lead the way on opening day,” commented Seb Coe, head of World Athletics. “It’s a timetable that merges novelty with heritage, concluding with the men’s marathon.”

Nonetheless, the line-up renders it improbable that American athlete Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone can participate in the 400m and the 400 hurdles, since the 400m hurdles semi-finals and the 400-meter championship fall on the identical date.

Aquatics has traditionally started the Summer Games. However, since it is being held in SoFi Stadium, which hosts the opening ceremony, it begins in the following week.

Officials additionally announced that day one will feature the highest number of female championship events ever in a 24-hour period in Games’ history, with the women’s triathlon gold medal one of the prizes available. They have also scheduled a Super Saturday on the penultimate day, with 26 titles across 23 sports at stake.

Shana Ferguson, the head of sport and games delivery for LA28, said the goal is to offer approximately 14,000,000 passes across 51 Olympic sports at 49 sites, with public availability starting in spring 2026. Ferguson also confirmed that planners would not employ the contentious flexible ticket pricing that caused anger among music enthusiasts this past summer and was trialled by the football governing body at football’s Club World Cup in the US.