LA28 to schedule track and field ahead of swimming

The 2028 L.A. Games will begin with the track and field competition and end with the swimming competition, marking “the first time since the 1968 Mexico City Games that the schedule has switched,” according to Lindsay Schnell of USA TODAY. Flipping the marquee events of the Summer Olympics is a “logistical” decision for LA28, as the plan is for the 2028 Opening Ceremony to take place in SoFi Stadium -- where the Rams play -- before converting the 70,000-seat venue into a “temporary swimming facility that holds 38,000.” Meanwhile, track and field will take place at L.A. Memorial Coliseum. LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman said, “Athletics is our primetime event. We’re starting off with a bang.” Schnell noted there are “still plenty of details to be worked out,” such as naming a host for the 2028 trials. Athletes have “complained for years about the expense and difficulty of getting to Eugene” -- the city has hosted the track trials eight times, including this year) -- but the fanbase at TrackTown, USA is “unmatched.” USATF CEO Max Siegel said that USATF will “open the bidding process as usual” and emphasized that one of its priorities is “‘to make sure we move the sport around the country’ to generate more fan interest” (USA TODAY, 6/23). Siegel said that USATF is in search of a host that “gives them what they get in Eugene: top-notch facilities, a reliable paying crowd and a community that understands the value of the sport and provides a worthy atmosphere” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/23).