LA28 Events Program Commits to Gender Equality

The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board (EB) has officially endorsed the event programme and athlete quotas for the upcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 (LA28).

This new program will feature a total of 351 medal events, an increase of 22 events compared to the 329 set for Paris 2024.

Importantly, the athlete quota remains stable at 10,500, while 698 additional quota spots have been allocated for five sports introduced by the LA28 Organising Committee: baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash.

A landmark achievement in gender equality will be realised at LA28, as every team sport will now have an equal number of teams for both women and men.

In water polo, two additional women’s teams have been added, resulting in 12 teams each for both genders.

Football will also make history with the presence of 16 women’s teams, surpassing the 12 men’s teams.

The prioritisation of gender parity is evident in the overall athlete distribution. Of the 10,500 athletes, 5,333 will be female and 5,167 male, with the additional sports contributing 322 female and 376 male athletes.

The inclusion of six mixed events further exemplifies this commitment: out of 351 events, there will be 161 for women, 165 for men, and 25 that are mixed.

Noteworthy updates include:

• Football: Marking a historic first, women’s teams will outnumber men’s teams.
• Boxing: An additional women’s weight category ensures parity in athlete quotas alongside previous events from Paris 2024.
• Water Polo: The addition of two women’s teams solidifies gender equality within the athlete quota.
• Mixed Events: Archery, athletics (with a new 4x100m mixed relay), golf, gymnastics, rowing coastal beach sprint, and table tennis will see new mixed team events introduced.
• Swimming: High-speed races in the 50m backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke for both genders will feature prominently at Inglewood Stadium.
• Rowing: The debut of women’s solo (CW1x) and men’s solo (CM1x) events alongside mixed double sculls (CX2x) in coastal beach sprints.
• Sport Climbing: Boulder and lead events will now be recognised as separate medal competitions.
• Basketball 3×3: Following its introduction at Tokyo 2020, this event will expand to include 12 teams for each gender, up from eight.

The pathway to LA28 was significantly influenced by the requests from 24 of the 31 Olympic International Federations, which proposed alterations to their event programmes from Paris 2024.

In total, 46 new events were requested, comprising 16 for men, 17 for women, and 13 mixed, with six intended to replace existing events.

This resulted in a net increase of 40 additional events, alongside a request for 772 extra quota spots (339 for men and 433 for women).

The IOC’s decisions regarding the LA28 event programme reflect a careful consideration of the recommendations put forth by the Olympic Programme Commission, adhering to principles established in 2023 that highlight gender equality, global appeal, cost-effectiveness, and athlete-centric focus.

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