2028 LA Olympic Swimming Will Include 50s Of Stroke
Olympic athletes and officials pose alongside Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, LA28 chairman Casey ... More Wasserman and California Governor Gavin Newsom, waving the Olympic flag during the event celebrating the arrival of the Olympic flag at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, on August 12, 2024. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. (Photo by Etienne LAURENT / AFP) (Photo by ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images)
World Aquatics has announced that the 50s of stroke events will be added to the swimming program at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, sparking excitement and conversation within the swimming community. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board has approved the addition of the men's and women's 50 backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly—six events in total. This expansion will come exactly 40 years after the 50 freestyle was first included in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
In total, the 2028 program will consist of 41 events, highlighting how far the sport has come since its debut at the 1896 Olympic Games in Greece, where only four events were held. Women made their official Olympic swimming debut at the 1912 Stockholm Games, with just two events—the 100 freestyle and the 400 freestyle relay. In 2028, there will be seventeen individual men's events, seventeen individual women's events, three men's relays, three women's relays and one mixed relay. And of course, the location of swimming events has changed as well, with the 2028 Olympics set to take place inside SoFi Stadium, which will make it the largest swimming venue in Olympic history.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 20: Aerial view of the SoFi Stadium, which will host the opening ... More and closing ceremonies of the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, on February 20, 2022 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
While new to the Olympic stage, the 50s of stroke have been part of major international meets like the World Championships, which has included the 50s since 2001. Some swimmers have already found success across all three distances of a stroke. Regan Smith, for instance, won the 50, 100 and 200 backstroke recently at the 2024 Short Course World Championships in Budapest.
Change is nothing new for the sport of swimming; it's always evolving. The 2020 Tokyo Games introduced new events to the swimming program, including the mixed 400 medley relay, women's 1500m freestyle and men's 800m freestyle. The addition of the 50s has sparked excitement among Olympians.
TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 26: Adam Peaty of Team Great Britain celebrates after winning the gold medal in ... More the Men's 100m Breaststroke Final on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 26, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by)
The addition of the 50s of stroke to the 2028 Games has thrilled some Olympians—and even played a role in one swimmer's decision to train for another Games. Olympic gold medalist Adam Peaty of Great Britain confirmed he will continue training for 2028, with the 50 breaststroke being part of what influenced his decision. Peaty, 30, is a breaststroke specialist and holds the world records in both the 50 (25.95) and 100 (56.88) breaststroke.
Peaty isn't the only Olympic gold medalist to express approval on social media. Others, including Chad le Clos of South Africa, Sarah Sjöström of Sweden and Michael Andrew of the U.S., have also shown their support on Instagram. With this change, experienced swimmers may have a better chance of extending their careers, as the 50s are less physically demanding due to the shorter distance.
TOKYO, JAPAN - JULY 30: Michael Andrew of Team United States competes in the Men's 50m Freestyle ... More heats on day seven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by)
With the addition of the 50s of stroke, some questions have been raised. How will this affect roster caps? For the 2024 Paris Olympics, there was a 26-swimmer cap for each gender. What will the qualifying times be? How will this impact Olympic scheduling? How else will it affect the sport across different levels and competitions?
The swimming community will have to wait and see. However, it's certain that this change will influence how some swimmers train as they prepare for the 2028 Games. For U.S. swimmers, it could present both new challenges and opportunities. Currently, no U.S. swimmer holds a world record in an LCM 50 of any stroke, though the U.S. has shown strong performances in the 50-meter races at other major competitions.
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