LA28 to feature 351 medal events across 36 sports, IOC confirms

KARACHI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has approved the event program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, confirming a record 351 medal events across 36 sports. 

A total of 11,198 athletes — comprising 5,655 women and 5,543 men — will compete, marking significant progress toward gender equality in Olympic participation.

Aquatics will offer 55 medal events, while athletics will feature 48, maintaining their status as cornerstone Olympic sports. The swimming program expands to include new 50m races in backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke for both genders. 

Other sports introducing new events include rowing, which adds coastal beach sprints, and sport climbing, where boulder and lead competitions will now be separate medal events.

Football makes history with an expanded 16-team women’s tournament, surpassing the 12-team men’s competition. Water polo achieves gender parity by adding two women’s teams to match the 12-team men’s event. 

The program includes 25 mixed-gender events, with new additions in archery, athletics, golf, gymnastics, rowing, and table tennis.

Five new sports will join the Olympic roster under LA28’s host city provisions — baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash. 

Each will feature six teams, except squash, which debuts with 16-player draws for both men and women. 

The 3x3 basketball tournament expands from eight to 12 teams per gender following its successful Tokyo 2020 introduction.

The IOC has maintained its baseline of 10,500 athletes while allocating an additional 698 quota places for the new sports. With 161 women’s events, 165 men’s events, and 25 mixed events, LA28 represents the closest the Olympics has come to full gender parity in its competition program. Boxing completes the equality push by adding a women’s weight category to match the men’s divisions.

The Los Angeles Games will run from July 14 to 30, 2028, featuring competitions across Southern California venues, including the new Inglewood Stadium, which will host swimming events. 

Organizers expect the expanded program to maintain athlete numbers while offering more medal opportunities and greater gender balance than previous editions.