The 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games Photo: Screenshot from the website

In response to the news that the first gold medal of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games will no longer come from shooting, a tradition upheld in recent Games, the Chinese national shooting team said that whether it is the first gold of the Games or not, a gold medal is still a gold medal. "From the team's perspective, we will give the same 100 percent effort and meticulous preparation as we did for the Tokyo and Paris Olympic first-gold events, and fight with full strength for the honor of our country," the team said, per Beijing Youth Daily.

On Monday, the LA 2028 organizing committee released the first version of the official competition schedule. According to the timetable, the first Olympic gold medal will be awarded in the triathlon event, scheduled to take place between 7:30 am and 10:10 am local time on July 15, 2028. Shooting finals will also take place later that day, with medal events scheduled between 1:45 pm and 9:00 pm

In previous Olympics, the first gold of the Games was traditionally awarded in a shooting discipline, although the specific events varied. For example, the women's 10m air rifle opened the gold medal tally at the 2004 Athens Olympics, while the 2024 Paris Olympics began with the 10m air rifle mixed team event.

The Chinese shooting team had already claimed the first Olympic gold medal for five times. This includes Xu Haifeng's historic win, which marked China's first-ever Olympic gold medal, as well as the 10m air rifle mixed team gold won by post-2000 generation athletes Huang Yuting and Sheng Lihao at the Paris Olympics.

The LA 2028 schedule also introduces several major changes. Notably, track and field events will be held during the first week of the Games, while swimming—traditionally a first-week event—will be moved to the second week. 

The opening ceremony of the 2028 Olympics is scheduled for 5:00 pm local time on July 14, while the closing ceremony will take place at 6:00 pm on July 30.

Global Times