When 56 marathon places for Los Angeles 2028 will be secured

World Athletics announced the marathon qualifying standards for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games on Tuesday 10 November 2026: 2:05:00 for men and 2:22:20 for women. Achieving the required time does not automatically guarantee a place.

The marathon qualification period is already under way: it began on 1 November 2026 and will end on 30 April 2028. The athletics events will take place from 15 to 30 July that year.

Less demanding standards than in Paris

The required times for Los Angeles are lower than those for Paris 2024, when the men’s standard was 2:08:10 and the women’s was 2:26:50. The difference is 3:10 for men and 4:30 for women.

The top 56 athletes on the Olympic marathon qualification list will be assured a place as of 19 March 2028, with a maximum of three per country.

As well as times, the system takes account of finishing positions in certain marathons. Finishing in the top five of a Platinum Label race during the qualification period counts as meeting the qualifying standard directly.

Two routes and a planned allocation of places

World Athletics is retaining qualification through entry standards and the world rankings. 40% will qualify by standard and 60% by ranking, compared with the planned allocation of 50% for each route at Paris 2024.

The allocation may change if the number of athletes who achieve the required standard exceeds the places available in an event. In that case, the best performances achieved during the qualification period will be prioritised and no places will be awarded through the rankings in that event.

Track standards and other deadlines

In the 5,000 metres, the standards will be 12:50 for men and 14:34 for women, compared with 13:05 and 14:52 in Paris. In the 1,500 metres, the required times will be 3:30.00 and 3:57.50 respectively; for the previous Games they were 3:33.50 and 4:02.50.

The qualification period for the 10,000 metres, combined events, race walking and relays will begin on 19 December 2026 and end on 18 June 2028. For all other events, the period will open on 19 June 2027 and end on the same date.

The RFEA selection criteria

The Royal Spanish Athletics Federation has yet to publish its selection criteria for Los Angeles 2028. The international standards should not be confused with the final requirements that Spanish athletes will have to meet.

For Paris 2024, the RFEA established additional competitiveness standards: athletes had to meet the international requirements and achieve specified domestic standards to be shortlisted.

The athletics programme in Los Angeles

The Olympic programme includes 23 men’s events, 23 women’s events and two mixed relays. The mixed 4×100 metres will make its Olympic debut, while the mixed 4×400 will remain on the programme.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will host the main track and field programme.