World Athletics: Rising Global Performances Forced Higher Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games Standards

World Athletics has raised the entry standards for several events at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after its analysis of performances at recent global championships revealed the need for higher qualification benchmarks.

The governing body said the standards were determined using performances during the qualification periods of the last four major global championships: the 2022, 2023 and 2025 World Athletics Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Top lists from the four championships were calculated using a limit of three athletes per country. World Athletics then considered performance trends, existing levels and expected improvements before establishing the standards for Los Angeles.

The assessment also identified events where performances had improved sufficiently to justify higher entry marks than those used at previous global championships.

The result is a demanding set of standards, particularly in the men’s and women’s 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, as well as the men’s high jump and long jump.

The men’s 100m standard is 9.93 seconds, compared with 10.96 for women. The 200m requirements are 19.95 seconds for men and 22.25 for women, while the 400m standards are 44.40 and 49.90 respectively.

In the field events, men must clear 2.32m in the high jump and reach 8.30m in the long jump. The corresponding women’s standards are 1.97m and 6.90m.

World Athletics also explained that the marathon standards took account of the tendency for performances in Olympic years to be between 30 and 60 seconds faster than trends would otherwise forecast.

The marathon qualification system will use the ‘Road to LA’ ranking list, with athletes occupying the first 56 positions on the filtered quota list by March 19, 2028, considered qualified, subject to the limit of three athletes per National Olympic Committee. The first five finishers at Platinum Label marathons during the qualification period will also be considered to have achieved the entry standard.

The qualification window for the relevant events runs from June 19, 2027, to June 18, 2028. Athletes who do not achieve the automatic entry standards can still qualify through the world-ranking pathway, subject to the applicable quotas and regulations.

But for Nigeria, the tougher standards have exposed how much work the country’s athletes must do to remain competitive in the Olympic qualification race.

In the women’s 100m, only Rosemary Chukwuma, Favour Ofili and Tima Godbless have run faster than the 10.96-second standard. The situation is even more restrictive in the 200m, where Ofili is the only Nigerian woman to have run inside 22.30 seconds in the last six years, with the LA28 requirement set at 22.25.

The women’s 400m presents another major concern. Ella Onojuvwevwo is the only Nigerian woman to have broken 50 seconds since the 1990s, when Falilat Ogunkoya, Charity Opara and Fatimah Yusuf were running below that barrier. The Olympic entry standard is 49.90 seconds.

In the women’s long jump, no Nigerian has reached the 6.90m requirement since 2022. The 14.50m triple jump standard is also a formidable target, having not been reached since Ruth Usoro set the Nigerian record at that distance in 2021.

The men’s sprint events offer little reassurance. Only three Nigerians have run 9.93 seconds or faster in the 100m over the last five years, with one of them ineligible to represent Nigeria at the 2028 Games.

In the 200m, only Israel Okon and Udodi Onwuzurike have achieved the 19.95-second standard since 2022. Samuel Ogazi, meanwhile, remains the only Nigerian in a long while to have run 44.40 seconds or faster in the men’s 400m.

The men’s high jump and long jump standards of 2.32m and 8.30m respectively add to the challenge, requiring performances at a level that Nigerian athletes have struggled to reach consistently.

The figures underline the gap between the standards required for automatic Olympic qualification and the recent performances of many Nigerian athletes. While the ranking route offers another opportunity, it does not remove the need for substantial improvements in performance and consistency.

With the qualification window approaching, Nigeria’s athletes and coaches face a clear assignment: raise their levels, produce personal bests and break new ground if the country is to secure a strong representation in Los Angeles.