World Athletics Raises the Olympic Qualifying Bar: Even Beating the Standard May Not Be Enough

MONACO, Monaco, November 10, 2026: Running faster than the Olympic qualifying standard may no longer be enough to secure a place at the Games. World Athletics unveiled tougher entry requirements for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on Tuesday, cutting the men’s marathon benchmark by three minutes and 10 seconds, demanding a sub-9.94-second men’s 100 meters, and increasing the expected share of athletes qualifying through world rankings from 50% to 60%. The changes affect competitors across track, field and road events, with marathon qualification already underway.

The most consequential detail lies beyond the faster times. World Athletics has confirmed that athletes who achieve an entry standard can still miss qualification if more competitors reach the mark than an event’s quota permits. In that situation, the best eligible performances take priority, and no additional athletes qualify through rankings. The governing body has retained its dual qualification system while making the performance requirements substantially more selective. For Olympic hopefuls and national federations, qualifying now demands closer attention to competitive rankings, event limits and the timing of performances.

What Has World Athletics Changed for the Los Angeles Olympics?

The new qualification framework establishes higher performance requirements across most individual athletics disciplines and changes the expected balance between the two principal qualification routes.

At Paris 2024, the intended distribution was approximately 50% of athletes qualifying through direct entry standards and 50% through world rankings. For Los Angeles, World Athletics expects 40% to qualify through standards and 60% through rankings.

TSE VISUAL BRIEFING

Story at a glance

01

What Has World Athletics Changed for the Los Angeles Olympics?

The new qualification framework establishes higher performance requirements across most individual athletics disciplines and changes the expected balance between the two principal qualification routes.

02

How Much Faster Must Sprinters and Distance Runners Go?

The changes are particularly noticeable in the running events.

03

Why the Marathon Faces One of the Biggest Qualification Changes

The marathon provides perhaps the clearest illustration of how demanding Olympic qualification has become.

04

Which Field Events Have Tougher Standards?

The changes extend beyond running events, although the adjustments are not uniform.

05

How the 40% Standards and 60% Rankings System Works

The largest structural change concerns how World Athletics expects athletes to reach the Games.

The shift was initially approved in principle by the World Athletics Council in March. The official LA28 qualification announcement now provides the specific performance thresholds, qualification windows and event pathways.

The system retains the possibility of direct qualification through an exceptional performance. However, the published marks are more demanding in the majority of events, and achieving one does not automatically override the total number of available places.

That creates three questions for athletes: Is the performance fast or high enough? Was it achieved in an eligible competition during the correct qualification period? And will the athlete remain within the event quota after all eligible performances and ranking allocations are assessed?

How Much Faster Must Sprinters and Distance Runners Go?

The changes are particularly noticeable in the running events.

Men’s 100m athletes now need to run 9.93 seconds, compared with the 10.00-second standard used for Paris. The women’s mark falls from 11.07 to 10.96 seconds.

In the men’s 200m, the requirement improves from 20.16 to 19.95 seconds. Women must improve on the previous 22.57-second benchmark with a time of 22.25.

The greater numerical differences emerge in middle- and long-distance races, where the new standards remove multiple seconds from already demanding targets.

Paris 2024 vs LA28: Running Entry Standards Compared

Times are minutes:seconds or hours:minutes:seconds where applicable. Paris benchmarks come from the official World Athletics Paris 2024 qualification document; LA28 thresholds come from World Athletics’ newly approved standards.

The men’s 5000m standard improves by 15 seconds, from 13:05 to 12:50. The women’s equivalent improves by 18 seconds, from 14:52 to 14:34.

Those margins may appear modest compared with marathon changes, but they are substantial at the competitive level required to reach an Olympic final.

They also reflect the extraordinary pace of development in global athletics.

American sprinter Kenny Bednarek, for example, completed a remarkable 100m and 200m double at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship. His performances, examined in The Sports Encounter’s analysis of Bednarek’s Olympic ambitions, show how elite competitors have continued improving across sprint distances.

The same championship produced a double sprint victory for Melissa Jefferson-Wooden. TSE’s report on the Budapest sprint doubles documented the performances that helped establish the pair among the leading names in their events.

Those athletes are already competing at a level comfortably beyond many qualifying thresholds. The more consequential effect may be felt among competitors whose performances sit near the entry cutoff.

Why the Marathon Faces One of the Biggest Qualification Changes

The marathon provides perhaps the clearest illustration of how demanding Olympic qualification has become.

For men, the standard falls from 2:08:10 at Paris to 2:05:00 for Los Angeles. Women must improve from 2:26:50 to 2:22:20.

These changes amount to 190 seconds for men and 270 seconds for women.

Viewed against the previous qualifying times, they represent improvements of approximately 2.47% and 3.06%, respectively.

World Athletics explained that its methodology examined qualifying-period performances from the 2022, 2023 and 2025 World Championships and the Paris Olympics, using national representation limits and expected performance trends.

It also considered evidence that marathon times in Olympic years tend to be 30 to 60 seconds faster than underlying performance trends would otherwise suggest.

What Do the New Marathon Standards Mean in Practical Terms?

A men’s marathon runner capable of 2:07:00 would have met the old Paris entry standard by more than a minute. The same performance would now be two minutes slower than the LA28 benchmark.

A women’s marathon runner finishing in 2:24:00 would similarly have beaten the Paris requirement but would be one minute and 40 seconds outside the new Los Angeles standard.

Neither example automatically rules an athlete out of Olympic qualification, because the world-ranking pathway and marathon-specific provisions remain available.

They demonstrate why athletes and federations cannot assess the new system using historical qualifying times alone.

The competitive context has changed alongside the regulations.

Kenya’s Sheila Chepkirui won the New York City Marathon in 2:24:36, a performance documented in TSE’s analysis of her victory over Jessica McClain and Hellen Obiri.

That winning time is slower than the new women’s Olympic entry standard. This does not diminish Chepkirui’s achievement or establish anything about her eventual qualification prospects. New York’s demanding course and tactical racing conditions make a direct comparison with faster courses incomplete.

It does reveal an important limitation of using a single finishing time to judge marathon quality.

Elite competitors can win major races without producing a time that meets the Olympic standard. The new framework therefore makes the distinction between race performance, direct-standard qualification and world-ranking qualification particularly important.

Which Field Events Have Tougher Standards?

The changes extend beyond running events, although the adjustments are not uniform.

Men’s pole vault now requires 5.90 meters, compared with 5.82m at Paris. The women’s standard increases from 4.73m to 4.80m.

The men’s triple jump requirement rises by 13 centimeters, from 17.22m to 17.35m, while the women’s equivalent becomes slightly less demanding, moving from 14.55m to 14.50m.

Some events retain their previous benchmark. The men’s shot put and javelin standards remain 21.50m and 85.50m respectively.

Selected Field-Event Changes

The pole vault changes are especially interesting given the extraordinary performances of Mondo Duplantis and Emmanouil Karalis.

Duplantis cleared 6.25m at the Zurich Diamond League meeting, while Karalis reached 6.20m, establishing a Greek national record.

TSE’s analysis of their Zurich rivalry explained how both athletes were helping redefine expectations at the top of men’s pole vault.

Those performances far exceed the new Olympic qualifying standard. However, the increasing depth of an event does not mean every capable international vaulter will secure a place.

The event quota and national representation limits remain decisive.

How the 40% Standards and 60% Rankings System Works

The largest structural change concerns how World Athletics expects athletes to reach the Games.

Under the Paris qualification framework, approximately half of the available individual places were intended for athletes achieving the entry standard, with the remainder allocated through world rankings.

For Los Angeles, the intended ratio shifts to 40% and 60%.

This means world rankings are expected to account for a greater share of the final Olympic field.

However, the governing body has included an important exception.

If more athletes meet the direct standard than there are places available in an event, the qualified field will be determined by the best eligible performances within the qualification period, subject to the event quota and applicable representation rules.

In that situation, no additional places are allocated through rankings.

The distinction prevents the 40/60 model from being interpreted as an unconditional division of every event’s places.

The original policy direction was approved during the World Athletics Council meeting in March, when the governing body explained its intention to place greater emphasis on world rankings while maintaining demanding entry standards.

The official World Athletics Council announcement also established the broader policy framework for developing qualification opportunities through eligible international competitions.

What Happens if an Athlete Meets the Standard but the Event Is Full?

Consider a hypothetical event with 40 available places and 45 eligible athletes who have achieved the entry standard.

Under the published oversubscription principle, the field would be restricted to the best 40 eligible performances rather than adding ranking qualifiers. Actual allocations must also respect national limits and any other applicable rules.

The example illustrates why the new benchmark should not be described as a guaranteed Olympic ticket.

World Athletics has increasingly experimented with ways to balance elite performances, global participation and competitive presentation.

Its Ultimate Championship introduced changes to event formats and qualification structures, examined in TSE’s report on the competition’s new rules.

The Olympic system serves a different purpose, but the LA28 changes similarly reflect an effort to align entry rules with the current depth of global athletics.

When Do the LA28 Athletics Qualification Windows Open and Close?

The qualifying period does not begin simultaneously for every discipline.

Marathon runners already have eligible results dating from November 1, 2026.

The 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays begin their relevant qualification period on December 19, 2026.

Most other events begin on June 19, 2027.

Official LA28 Qualification Calendar

The staggered calendar reflects the different competitive schedules and preparation demands of marathon runners, track athletes, field-event competitors and relay teams.

It also creates an early decision for distance runners. Marathon athletes have already entered the qualifying period, while most sprinters and field-event athletes will wait until the following year for eligible results to begin counting.

The governing body plans to introduce its official Road to LA qualification monitoring tool during the latter part of 2027.

Until that tool is published, athletes and federations must assess their position through the approved rules, eligible performances and world-ranking information rather than assuming a final qualification ranking is already established.

Why Marathon Qualification Has Additional Rules

The marathon has a distinct allocation process beyond the general entry-standard and ranking pathways.

Under the new system, athletes ranked above 56th place on the filtered Road to LA marathon quota list on March 19, 2028, will be considered qualified, subject to the applicable national limit.

After that date, the remaining 15 places will be allocated using the approved qualification criteria without displacing athletes already qualified through the earlier process.

There is also a specific route through Platinum Label marathons.

The first five finishers at eligible Platinum Label races during the qualification period will be treated as having achieved the entry standard and listed accordingly on the qualification monitoring system.

World Athletics also allows national Olympic committees, under defined conditions, to reallocate a marathon quota place to an otherwise unqualified athlete who has achieved at least 2:11:00 for men or 2:29:00 for women during the qualification window.

These provisions recognize that elite marathon qualification cannot be evaluated through one fast finishing time alone.

Course characteristics, major-race placing and the international calendar can materially affect how athletes build an Olympic qualification case.

Kenya’s continuing prominence in global distance running adds another dimension. The country will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships in Nairobi, making it the first African nation awarded the event.

TSE’s examination of Kenya’s historic hosting award explored how the country’s distance-running tradition intersects with its growing influence in international athletics.

For established marathon nations, LA28 selection could become particularly competitive where several athletes satisfy the standards but national entry limits restrict the number who can compete.

How Will Relay Teams Qualify for Los Angeles?

Relay qualification follows a separate competition-based route.

World Athletics has confirmed that the first 14 eligible national Olympic committees at the World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas on April 22-23, 2028, will automatically qualify for LA28.

Teams will have two opportunities during that competition to secure their places.

Those unsuccessful on the opening day will have another chance on the second.

Remaining positions will be filled through the World Athletics relay performance list covering the qualification period.

The Los Angeles program will also introduce the mixed 4x100m relay as an Olympic event.

It joins the existing mixed 4x400m relay, giving the Games two mixed relay competitions alongside 23 men’s and 23 women’s events.

For national federations, relay preparation therefore involves building eligible team performances and selecting effective combinations, rather than simply relying on individual sprinters achieving the 100m or 400m entry standards.

What Do Tougher Standards Mean for Developing Athletics Nations?

The changes create a significant planning question for federations whose athletes do not consistently perform at the very highest level of global competition.

Stricter entry standards reduce the number of performances likely to qualify directly, while the increased expected ranking allocation makes rankings more prominent.

That does not automatically mean athletes from developing programs will lose representation.

Ranking qualification still provides an alternative to achieving the entry standard, and the final effects will depend on eligible results, event quotas, rankings and the applicable Olympic participation rules.

However, athletes and federations may need to plan eligible competitions more carefully, particularly where access to high-level international meetings is limited.

The question of access is especially relevant to athletes whose participation in international events remains affected by eligibility disputes.

For example, TSE previously examined Russian Athletics’ challenge to World Athletics sanctions and the possible implications for future Olympic qualification.

The new standards do not determine the outcome of that legal dispute. They do make the timing of any eligibility resolution important, because qualifying performances must satisfy the rules and occur within the relevant windows.

Does the New System Favor Established Olympic Contenders?

Established world-class athletes are often capable of comfortably exceeding the published entry standard.

That advantage becomes more pronounced when the threshold rises.

However, the new rules still require those athletes to satisfy the relevant eligibility, qualification and national-selection conditions.

There is a legitimate debate over whether tougher standards and greater reliance on world rankings improve the Olympic field by emphasizing sustained competitive quality or create additional challenges for athletes from smaller athletics programs.

The available rules establish the qualification structure. They do not yet demonstrate how the final geographic distribution of competitors will differ from Paris.

That question can only be assessed properly once the qualification period has produced a meaningful sample of eligible performances and rankings.

World Athletics’ recent athlete awards provide one indication of the level at the top of the sport.

The World Athlete of the Year nominees analyzed by TSE include leading marathon runners, sprinters, hurdlers and field-event specialists whose achievements illustrate the extraordinary standards of current international competition.

But Olympic participation extends beyond the athletes most likely to win medals.

For competitors near the qualification cutoff, the difference between a direct entry mark, a viable ranking position and missing out can be decisive.

What Happens Next on the Road to LA28?

World Athletics will publish its Road to LA monitoring tool in the latter part of 2027, providing a clearer picture of how eligible performances and ranking positions are developing.

The marathon qualification process will produce important milestones earlier, including the March 2028 quota assessment.

The race walk and relay championships in April 2028 will then provide additional direct qualification opportunities.

Athletics competition at the Los Angeles Olympics is scheduled from July 15 to July 30, 2028, with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum hosting the main stadium program.

Fans planning to attend will also need to distinguish Olympic ticket availability from athlete qualification. TSE’s LA28 ticketing analysis explains why spectators may purchase event sessions long before the final competitors are known.

That uncertainty is now especially relevant in athletics, where a qualifying mark alone may no longer identify an eventual Olympian.

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Frequently Asked Questions About LA28 Athletics Qualification

What is the men’s 100m qualifying standard for LA28?

The men’s 100m entry standard is 9.93 seconds, compared with 10.00 seconds at Paris 2024.

What is the women’s 100m qualifying standard?

The women’s 100m standard is 10.96 seconds, down from 11.07 seconds for Paris.

What are the new Olympic marathon entry standards?

The men’s marathon standard is 2:05:00, while the women’s standard is 2:22:20.

Does meeting the Olympic entry standard guarantee qualification?

No. Athletes must also satisfy event quotas, eligibility conditions and applicable national representation limits. If more eligible athletes meet the standard than an event has places, the best qualifying-period performances determine the field.

Can athletes qualify without reaching the entry standard?

Yes. World Athletics retains a world-ranking qualification pathway and expects approximately 60% of athletes to qualify through rankings, subject to event-specific allocation rules.

When does LA28 athletics qualification begin?

Marathon qualification began November 1, 2026. The 10,000m, combined events, race walks and relays begin December 19, 2026, while most other individual events begin June 19, 2027.

When will the Road to LA qualification rankings be published?

World Athletics plans to launch the official Road to LA qualification monitoring tool during the latter part of 2027.

How will relay teams qualify?

The first 14 eligible national Olympic committees at the 2028 World Athletics Relays in the Bahamas will qualify directly, with remaining teams selected through the approved relay performance list.

Why the New Standards Change the Olympic Qualification Debate

World Athletics has raised the entry requirements at a time when elite performances are advancing across much of the sport.

The men’s marathon benchmark is three minutes and 10 seconds faster than at Paris. The women’s is four minutes and 30 seconds faster. Sprinters, middle-distance athletes and many field-event competitors face higher requirements too.

Yet the more important change may be how those performances interact with world rankings and quotas.

Athletes can now beat a tougher qualifying standard without necessarily securing a place, while others may reach Los Angeles through ranking positions despite missing the direct benchmark.

That makes the Olympic qualification process more complicated to follow, particularly before World Athletics publishes its official Road to LA monitoring system.

The qualification race has already begun for marathon runners. For everyone else, the next challenge is understanding exactly which performances count, where they must be achieved and how they compare with the rest of the world.

For LA28 hopefuls, the clock is running. A fast time is a substantial achievement, but the final place on the Olympic start list is the result that matters.