2 Years TO LA28 Ignites Next Generation Of Athletes

The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) is marking an important milestone today with exactly two years to go until the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

LA28 will host the biggest ever Olympics featuring 353 medal events and over 11,000 athletes.

With an expected Australian Team size of approximately 580 athletes competing in up to 40 sports, this could be Australia’s largest Team since Sydney 2000. 

Chef de Mission for the Australian Olympic Team, Anna Meares said today’s milestone is a great motivator for Australia’s athletes as they start to qualify for LA28.

“This is not going to be an easy undertaking as it is the home Games of the United States of America, but I believe our Australian Olympians will be up to the challenge,” the six-time Olympic cycling medallist said. 

“For our Olympic hopefuls, the hard work is being done now. There are athletes training and preparing in all corners of the world on that shared journey to LA28. 

“Each sport has a unique qualification journey – it could mean steadily collecting rankings points over the next two years, or it could mean performing when it matters most at a one-off event with everything on the line. 

“It was especially exciting to see one of our six new or returning sports qualify for the Games. The Australian women’s cricket team is the first team sport to qualify for LA after winning the T20 World Cup earlier this month. The road to LA has begun!”

The AOC’s preparation for the Australian Team and planning visits to LA are well underway, with Meares leading the next delegation to LA in August.

“This is the most geographically spread Summer Olympics. Like Milano Cortina, the AOC will establish performance hubs to service athletes and create the right high performance environment in multiple locations,” Meares said. 

Athletes are already getting acquainted with the conditions in LA and its surrounds. Gold medal sisters and New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) athletes Jessica and Noemie Fox, and their team-mates are at the LA28 Olympic venue in Oklahoma preparing for the Canoe Slalom World Championships starting Monday 20 July. 

Fellow Olympic Champion Matt Wearn has been training in the Port of LA with Australia’s sailing team for four-weeks of Olympic Class racing. Their goals are to try to become a ‘local’ by 2028, and to find performance gains. 

“I’m very much looking forward to getting out into the wind and waves off the coast of LA. It is a really promising place for some great sailing,” Wearn said.

“I’m feeling great with two years to go. It has been a dream return to the campaign at this stage.”

Meanwhile in Australia, Olympic Champion and NSWIS scholarship holder Saya Sakakibara is racing for her first BMX World Title in Brisbane this weekend, the medal winning Stingers are competing at the Water Polo World League Finals in Sydney starting 22 July, and some of our emerging and Olympic skateboarders are on the Gold Coast competing at the Festival of Skate.  

The LA28 Games will be held from 14 – 30 July 2026.