LA 2028 Olympics, More Medals and More Female Athletes

Several changes have been established for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, including the addition of competition events and the expansion of female athlete participation. These changes will increase the number of medals contested and further raise the total number of female athletes.

This effort is undertaken to uphold gender equality and elevate women's sports at the world's highest sporting event. Additionally, the change responds to widespread calls for the Olympics to be more modern and attract a broader audience.

The changes were finalized after receiving approval from the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday (10/4/2025). "Today marks a monumental step forward in the efforts of the LA 2028 Olympics to welcome the greatest athletes to the world's largest sporting stage," said Janet Evans, Head of Athletes for the LA 2028 Olympics or LA28.

"We are opening the door for more athletes to compete, win, and realize their Olympic dreams at LA28, where athletes have always been, and will always be, the heart of the Olympics," Evans added.

LA28, which will be held from July 14 to 30, 2028, will add 22 competition events, thereby automatically increasing the number of medals contested. A total of 351 medals will be available, more than the Paris 2024 Olympics with 329 medals.

The total athlete quota remains maintained at 10,500, consisting of 31 sports disciplines. However, the composition of female athletes at the LA 2028 Olympics will be higher compared to previous editions.

For the first time in Olympic history, the quota for female athletes (5,655) will surpass the quota for male athletes (5,543). The Olympics will also feature full equality in all team sports.

The women's soccer tournament, for example, expanded its quota to 16 teams, while adjusting the men's tournament to 12 teams. This was done to keep the overall tournament size consistent with previous Olympics.

This change marks the first time, in Olympic history, that more women's teams have competed than men's teams in football.

Likewise, water polo and boxing, both historically male-dominated sports, will achieve parity for the first time.

Boxing added a new weight category for the women's division, making a total of 7 classes. This means that both men's and women's boxing will compete in 7 weight categories.

The addition marks a new milestone in the evolution of a sport that was once exclusively for men. After first appearing at the modern Olympics in 1904, it took more than a century for boxing to make it to the women's category at the 2012 London Games.

In water polo, the women's event will be expanded to 12 teams. This number matches the men's event.

The 3x3 basketball sport will also be expanded to feature 12 men's and women's teams. The increase is in line with the increasing popularity of the sport since its introduction at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

LA28 will also debut six exciting new mixed team events in archery (in a new compound event), artistic gymnastics, athletics (mixed team 4x100 relay), coastal rowing beach sprint (mixed doubles sculls), golf and table tennis.

“This mixed event is a true manifestation of gender equality — women and men competing on the same team, on the same court for their country,” IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said at a press conference.

The competition format for the new artistic gymnastics mixed team event will be finalized and announced by the International Gymnastics Federation at a later date.

Other additional events at LA28 include short-distance swimming, including the 50m breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly for men and women. These join the 50m freestyle already contested at the Olympics and provide six additional medal opportunities for the world's fastest swimmers.

In the sport climbing branch, there are two additional medal opportunities after the boulder and lead disciplines were separated. Thus, there are three sport climbing disciplines that will be competed separately, namely boulder, lead, and speed.

Previously, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there was only one medal for each male and female athlete because only one event was competed, namely a combination of boulder, lead, and speed. This number increased at the Paris Olympics when boulder and lead were included in the combination event, while speed was competed separately.

“Since the beginning of our Olympic journey, we have always targeted three sets of medals for our athletes. Each of our sports disciplines has its own strengths, and now everyone will see them at LA28,” said International Climbing Federation (IFSC) President Marco Scolaris.

The LA28 organizing committee's proposal was also approved by the IOC to reintroduce or give debut places to five sports, namely baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, and squash. These five sports provide a quota of 698 athletes.

The IOC previously received 46 proposals for new events from 24 of the 31 international federations. The final program is shaped by guiding principles set out in 2023, which emphasize global appeal, cost efficiency, athlete focus and gender balance.

While LA28 will introduce more events than ever before, the IOC says the impact of each addition has been considered. That includes the impact on scheduling, logistics and the overall athlete experience.