The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games will feature 22 more medal events than the previous Games in Paris 2024. This brings the total number of medal events to 351, with an athlete quota set at 10,500.
An additional 698 athlete slots have been allocated for five sports proposed by the LA28 Organizing Committee: baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash. These new additions aim to expand the Olympic program and introduce fresh opportunities for athletes worldwide.
In a historic move toward gender equality, all team sports at LA28 will have at least the same number of women’s teams as men’s teams for the first time. The IOC emphasized that gender balance was a key consideration in determining athlete quotas and event numbers. The initial sports program will feature 5,333 female athletes and 5,167 male athletes.
LA28 will also see an expansion of mixed events across several sports, including archery, athletics (4x100m mixed relay), golf, gymnastics, rowing coastal beach sprint, and table tennis. Swimming will introduce men’s and women’s competitions in the 50m backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke events.
Rowing will debut the women’s solo (CW1x), men’s solo (CM1x), and mixed double sculls (CX2x) in coastal beach sprint. Basketball 3×3 will expand its participating teams from eight to 12 per gender, and in sport climbing, boulder and lead events will now be contested as separate medal events, providing new platforms for athletes to excel.
The IOC noted that 24 out of 31 Olympic International Federations requested changes to their event programs from Paris 2024, proposing a total of 46 new events. These changes reflect the dynamic nature of the Games and the IOC’s commitment to evolving the Olympic experience.
The inclusion of boxing at LA28 is set to be approved in March 2025, bringing the total number of sports in the program to 31. The LA28 Games promise to be a landmark event, showcasing diversity, innovation, and a strong commitment to gender equality in the world of sports.
