World Athletics has announced the qualification system for track and field at the 2028 Summer Olympics, set to be held in Los Angeles, CA, from July 15-30, 2028.

The system is structured around the same anticipated qualification model that will be in place for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, China, with 40% of the field expected to qualify by attaining the designated entry standard and 60% through the world rankings quota. This means more difficult standards as a way of emphasizing the importance of competing at higher level meets to build a stronger ranking.

The qualifying standards for the LA 2028 Summer Olympic Games are as follows:

- 100m: Women - 10.96 | Men - 9.93

- 200m: Women - 22.25 | Men - 19.95

- 400m: Women - 49.90 | Men - 44.40

- 100/110mH: Women - 12.58 | Men - 13.18

- 400mH: Women - 54.00 | Men - 48.00

- 800m: Women - 1:57.00 | Men - 1:43.00

- 1500m: Women - 3:57.00 | Men - 3:30.00

- 5000m: Women - 14:34.00 | Men - 12:50.00

- 10,000m: Women - 30:30.00 | Men - 26:48.00

- 3000mSC: Women - 9:06.00 | Men - 8:07.50

- Marathon: Women - 2:22:20 | Men - 2:05:00 (Finishing inside the Top 5 at a Platinum Label race also is acknowledged as an Olympic qualifying performance, regardless of time.)

- High Jump: Women - 1.97m | Men - 2.32m

- Long Jump: Women - 6.90m | Men - 8.30m

- Pole Vault: Women - 4.80m | Men - 5.90m

- Triple Jump: Women - 14.50m | Men - 17.35m

Shot Put: Women - 19.30m | Men - 21.50m

- Discus Throw: Women - 65.00m | Men - 67.20m

- Hammer Throw: Women - 74.00m | Men - 78.50m

- Javelin Throw: Women - 63.80m | Men - 85.50m

- Heptathlon: 6550 points

- Decathlon: 8650 points

The qualifying window for the marathon opened on November 1, meaning there have already been 10 athletes to achieve qualification. While the winning times in both the men’s and women’s races at the 2026 TCS New York City Marathon were slower than the standard, its standing as a Platinum Label race means that Andreas Almgren, Yeman Crippa, Kamohelo Mofolo, Benson Kipruto, Haftu Strintzos, Sheila Chepkirui, Jess McClain, Hellen Obiri, Edna Kiplagat and Mercy Chelangat have already secured their places in Los Angeles, should their federations select them.

The full qualification windows by event are as follows:

- Marathon: November 1, 2026 - April 30, 2028

- 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays: December 19, 2026 - June 18, 2028

- All other events: June 19, 2027 - June 18, 2028 (The 2027 Meeting de Paris on June 25 will be the first Diamond League within the qualifying window)

Unlike for the World Championships, where there are several potential automatic bids handed out, including to defending champions and Diamond League champions, there are no such circumstances when it comes to Olympic qualification. Each federation can enter a maximum of three qualified athletes.

One caveat in the qualification process for the marathon is that federations can choose to reallocate a qualifying spot, whether by standard or world rankings, to an athlete that has not qualified themselves. The only requirement in that case is that the selected athlete must have run at least 2:11:00 for men or 2:29:00 for women inside the qualifying window. American fans will remember this rule as it allowed for Leonard Korir to round out Team USA in Paris two years ago after finishing third at the Trials.

For the projected 60% of the field that will make their way to LA through world rankings, that is determined by the average of an athlete’s five best performances in most events (two or three for longer distance events and two for multi events), with a performance score that is the sum of the results score (based on the mark) and placing score (based on level of meet and finishing position).

Qualification in the relay events–men’s and women’s 4x100m, men’s and women’s 4x400m, and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m–will largely be determined at the 2028 World Athletics Relays, which will return to the Bahamas on April 22-23, 2028. 14 of the 16 Olympic relay squads in each event will earn their spot through that meet, with the remaining two teams to be determined by descending order performance lists within the qualifying window.

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