LA 28 qualification standards are out, and they are more difficult

The qualification standards for athletics at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are now available.

Note the changes in qualification standards. They are more challenging across the board than at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Should athletes attempt to make their national team by performance, for example, the 2024 Paris Olympic Marathon times were 2:08:10 for the men and 2:26:50 for the women.

They are now 2:05:00 and 2:22:20.

Below are the separate standards with a side-by-side comparison and the change in difficulty indicated.

From World Athletics

The program will feature 23 events for women and 23 for men, plus two mixed events: the 4x100m mixed relay, making its Olympic debut, and the 4x400m mixed relay.

As with recent outdoor global championships, qualification will follow a dual pathway. Under the revised model, rather than the previous 50/50 split, approximately 40 per cent of athletes are expected to qualify by achieving the entry standards, with the remaining 60 per cent earning places through world rankings.

The Paris 2024 Olympic athletics entry standards followed a dual-pathway system where 50 per cent of the quota places were filled by athletes achieving the official entry standard and the remaining 50 per cent were allocated through the World Athletics World Rankings.

Achieving an entry standard does not guarantee qualification. If more athletes meet the standard than there are available quota places in an event, places will be allocated to those with the best performances during the qualification period, up to the event quota. In such cases, no additional athletes will qualify through world rankings.

The qualification and ranking periods vary by event:

• Marathon: November 1, 2026, to April 30, 2028.
• 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays: December 19, 2026, to June 18, 2028.
• All other events: June 19, 2027, to June 18, 2028.

Results from competitions whose final day falls within the applicable qualification period will count in full towards qualification.

Results from national senior outdoor championships that begin within the applicable qualification period will also count, provided performances are achieved no later than Thursday, June 22.

Marathon: Alternative qualification was available through a top-five finish at a Platinum Label Marathon.

Note: Negative time differences indicate faster qualifying standards, while positive field-event differences indicate longer or higher marks required for qualification.