Plans for major athletics event in Olympic 2028

LOS Angeles has announced plans for a new major athletics event that they promise “celebrates and elevates the sport of track and field while honouring Olympic legends”.

The LA Grand Prix in the 2028 Olympic host city is due to take place in May at the University of California’s Drake Stadium.

Details of the event were revealed by Bobby Kersee, the coach and husband of three-time Olympic gold medallist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Internet Brands/WebMD Impact Fund, which partially funded the LA Grand Prix in partnership with USA Track & Field (USATF).

“Designed as a no-holds-barred, maximum-energy celebration of the sport, the LA Grand Prix will consist of a daytime international track meet and fan festival, and the USATF Legends Jam, a dazzling night-time musical experience combining performances from renowned artists and appearances from some of the biggest legends in track and field,” USATF said.

Joyner Kersee, voted the Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time by Sports Illustrated for Women, will be part of the Host Committee for the event.

“LA used to be the pinnacle of the track and field world - and we intend to reignite that passion in one of the largest and most successful running communities in the world,” said Bobby Kersee, who has also coached several other female Olympic gold medallists, including the late Florence Griffith Joyner and Gail Devers.

The LA Grand Prix will be part of USATF’s Grand Prix Series of elite gold-label events.

A portion of funds raised from the LA Grand Prix events will go toward funding for athlete development and youth athletics.

World Athletics under its President Sebastian Coe have long had the aim of making the sport more popular in the United States and have joined forces with USATF on a series of initiatives called “Project America”.

“USATF is thrilled to be returning in such a big way to LA, with the Olympics on the horizon,” Max Siegel, chief executive of USATF, said.

“We’re viewing the LA meet as an incubator of exciting new approaches for engaging our athletes, fans, and communities.

“We’re back in LA to stay in a big way.”

The LA Grand Prix weekend is due to open on May 26, with the USATF Distance Classic, followed the next day with an international, gold-label meeting.

Organisers promise to draw some of the biggest names in the sport, even though it is to clash with a World Athletics Diamond League meeting in Rabat the following day, and will be broadcast nationally by Olympic broadcaster NBC.

Music, food, and fan festival will run throughout the day adjacent to the event.

Following the meeting and fan festival, the first-ever USATF Legends Jam is set to take place at UCLA, featuring a collection of Los Angeles musical acts. The Legends Jam plans to honour several athletics legends who left a lasting impact on the sport and their larger communities.

“At this athletic and musical weekend, we will celebrate the five core elements of the sport: equality, equanimity, community, vitality, and inclusivity,” said Bob Brisco, the chief executive of Internet Brands and WebMD.

“And we will have a lot of fun surprises.” — Inside the Games.