World Athletics raises the bar for LA28 as new Olympic qualifying standards are unveiled

KINGSTON, Jamaica — World Athletics has raised the qualification challenge for athletes targeting the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with new entry standards setting demanding performance targets across track and field, road racing and field events.

The new standards, published on Tuesday, November 10, provide athletes with an early indication of the performances required to secure places at the Games, which will be staged from July 15-30, 2028.

The new standards cover 23 events for men and 23 for women, with the qualification system also introducing a significant shift in the balance between automatic qualification through entry standards and qualification through world rankings.

Under the new system, approximately 40 per cent of athletes are expected to qualify by achieving the prescribed entry standards, while the remaining 60 per cent will gain places through the World Athletics rankings. This represents a departure from the 50-50 arrangement used for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The change means that world rankings will play an even greater role in determining Olympic participation, particularly for athletes who fall short of the qualifying marks but produce consistently strong performances during the qualification period.

The increase in the required performances is particularly noticeable in the sprint and middle-distance events, where athletes will have to run faster to meet the automatic qualifying standards.

In the men’s 100 metres, the standard has moved from 10.00 seconds for Paris to 9.93 seconds for Los Angeles, while the women’s mark has improved from 11.07 to 10.96 seconds.

The men’s 200m standard has dropped from 20.16 to 19.95 seconds, with the women’s mark moving from 22.57 to 22.25 seconds.

There are also significant adjustments in the 400m, where the men’s standard has been lowered from 45.00 to 44.40 seconds, and the women’s from 50.95 to 49.90 seconds.

The demands are equally high in the middle-distance events. The men’s 800m standard has moved from 1:44.70 to 1:43.00, while the women’s has gone from 1:59.30 to 1:57.00.

In the 1,500m, men will have to run 3:30.00, compared with 3:33.50 in Paris, while women must achieve 3:57.50, down from 4:02.50.

Distance runners also face tougher targets. The men’s 5,000m standard has moved from 13:05.00 to 12:50.00, while the women’s has been reduced from 14:52.00 to 14:34.00.

For the 10,000m, the men’s mark has improved from 27:00.00 to 26:48.00, while the women’s has moved from 30:40.00 to 30:30.00.

The marathon standards have also been tightened considerably. Men will now be required to run 2:05:00, compared with 2:08:10 for Paris, while the women’s standard has moved from 2:26:50 to 2:22:20.

These changes reflect the increasingly competitive performance levels in international athletics and World Athletics’ projections of the standards required to compete at the highest level in 2028.

However, the new standards are not tougher across every discipline. For example, the men’s high jump mark has moved slightly from 2.33 metres to 2.32m, while the women’s remains at 1.97m. The women’s triple jump standard has also moved from 14.55m to 14.50m, while the women’s javelin standard has changed from 64.00m to 63.80m.

In the field events, the men’s long jump standard has increased from 8.27m to 8.30m, while the women’s has moved from 6.86m to 6.90m. The men’s triple jump requirement has increased from 17.22m to 17.35m.

The combined events have also become more demanding, with the decathlon standard rising from 8,460 to 8,650 points and the heptathlon from 6,480 to 6,550 points.

One of the most important changes is the increased reliance on the World Athletics rankings.

However, athletes should not assume that achieving the qualifying mark automatically guarantees an Olympic place. If more athletes achieve the standard than there are available quota places in an event, qualification will be restricted to those with the best performances during the qualifying period. In that situation, no additional athletes will qualify through the rankings.

The qualifying periods will also differ according to the event.

The marathon qualification window opened on November 1, 2026, and will close on April 30, 2028.

For the 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays, the period runs from December 19, 2026, to June 18, 2028.

For all other events, including the sprints and middle distances, the qualifying period runs from June 19, 2027, to June 18, 2028.

World Athletics will introduce its “Road to LA” qualification monitoring system in the latter part of 2027 to allow athletes and national federations to track their progress.